Importance of journalists acting as political watchdogs U.S. by politics 2020

A survey found that 73 percent of American adults find it important for journalists to act as watchdogs over politicians, although there was a divergence of opinion when considering the political affiliation of the participants. Republicans were less inclined to find the watchdog role to be important, with 36 percent of Republicans surveyed stating it was not important, compared to just 15 percent of Democrats.

Importance of journalists serving as watchdogs over elected leaders according to adults in the United States as of November 2019, by political affiliation

Characteristic	Not important to serve as watchdogs	Important to serve as watchdogs
Total adults	25%	73%
Republican/ Lean Rep	36%	61%
Democrat/ Lean Dem	15%	83%

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Release date

February 2020

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

October 29 to November 11, 2019

Number of respondents

12,043 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

respondents who did not give an answer are not shown

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

Question: Thinking beyond the current political environment, do you think that it is important or not important for journalists to serve as watchdogs over elected leaders?

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