Public opinion in last week’s election was nearly evenly divided between President-Elect Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. When it comes to perceptions of the media, though, it wasn’t even a contest.

A YouGov poll of actual voters conducted on behalf of the Media Research Center immediately after the election reflects widespread rejection of the news media among ordinary Americans. Even many Clinton voters think reporters were biased in her favor.

“The media are in full panic mode because the American people rejected their leftist agenda — and them.”

“The media are in full panic mode because the American people rejected their leftist agenda — and them,” Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said in a prepared statement. “People didn’t believe the nonsense that the media were politically neutral. Even a third of Hillary’s supporters believe they were pro-Hillary.”

An overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that the media were pro-Clinton and that the press is dishonest.

Press neutrality took a major beating during the campaign. Leaked emails from Clinton campaign Chairman John Podesta’s Gmail account offered nearly daily revelations of journalistic ethics violations. A New York Times reporter gave the Clinton campaign veto power over quotes in exchange for access to the Democratic candidate in summer 2015. Democratic operative-turned-commentator Donna Brazile gave the Clinton camp questions in advance of a Democratic primary forum hosted by her employer, CNN.

[lz_ndn video= 31616284]

CNN also leaned on Democratic opposition researchers for questions to ask Trump and other Republican candidates. And CNBC’s John Harwood offered advice to Podesta while bragging about going after Trump at a Republican primary debate.

But readers and viewers did not need a peek behind the curtain to conclude that Clinton was the overwhelming choice of news-gatherers. Multiple surveys over the years have placed journalists well to the political left of the American people. A Media Research Center study in October found an overwhelming disparity in the network news coverage given to the candidates.

[lz_related_box id=”244056″]

And in August, The New York Times published a story that essentially concluded that reporters were throwing off the pretense of objectivity this year because stopping Trump was too important.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

“When you have a strong majority of actual voters saying the national ‘news’ media were biased in favor of Hillary Clinton and tried to influence the public to vote for her; and believing they are fundamentally dishonest, you have a major problem that can’t be fixed with an apology,” Bozell stated. “The public has rejected this institution as being either objective or truthful. There is an institutional bias at major media networks that must be repaired and I am highly skeptical that news executives are interested or capable of undertaking this responsibility.”

Findings of the poll include:

  • Sixty-nine percent of voters do not believe the news media are honest and truthful.
  • Seventy-eight percent of voters believe the news coverage of the presidential campaign was biased, with 59 percent believing it had a pro-Clinton tilt and 21 percent believing Trump was the beneficiary.
  • Thirty-two percent of respondents who voted for Clinton indicated that the media were in her corner.
  • A more credible media likely could have swayed the outcome; 8 percent of Trump voters indicated they would have voted for Clinton if they had believed the coverage of Trump. But they didn’t — so Trump will be the 45th president.
  • Ninety-seven percent said they did not let the media’s bias influence their vote.

“Despite the overwhelming and persistent bias of this cycle in particular, I am heartened by the fact that, according to our poll, the American people didn’t let it sway their vote,” Bozell stated. “If this isn’t a wake-up call for the left-wing media to stay out of politics, I don’t know what is.”