The Briefing
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In today’s email:
- Featured story: Trump criticizes Fox News after GOP losses in midterms
- New from Pew Research Center: Americans’ trust in local and national news organizations increases
- In other news: One of the last independent news outlets in Russia will shut down
- Looking ahead: How the next Congress may investigate the Trump administration’s relationship with media companies
- Chart of the week: Majorities in both parties say media criticism keeps politicians in check
🔥 Featured story
President Donald Trump directed blame at Fox News for Republicans’ losses in the midterm elections on Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that the network “bears responsibility” for the results for giving airtime to Democratic Party candidates. He also called into Fox News’ live coverage around midnight, criticizing the network’s polls on air.
Fox News reported lower viewership numbers in October compared with last year, which Trump blamed on its coverage but Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch attributed to “viewer fatigue.”
The network has long stood out as a dominant news source among Republicans. Over half of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (57%) said in a 2025 Pew Research Center survey that they regularly get news from Fox News – 30 percentage points higher than any of the other 29 news sources included in the survey. And prior to the 2024 presidential election, an even larger share of Republicans (69%) said Fox News was a major or minor source of political and election news for them.
🚨 New from Pew Research Center
Americans are more likely to trust information from national and local news organizations than they were a year ago, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Overall, 62% of U.S. adults now say they have at least some trust in information from national news organizations, up from 56% in 2025. Three-quarters (75%) say the same about local news organizations, up from 70% last year. Trust has increased among both Republicans and Democrats, though Democrats remain substantially more trusting of news organizations.
Americans continue to express lower levels of trust in information from social media sites.
📌 In other news
📅 Looking ahead
After the Democratic Party regained control of the House and Senate in this week’s midterm elections, one area of focus in the new Congress reportedly may be investigating the Trump administration’s relationships with media companies. These include the government’s role in recent mergers and sales involving Paramount, TikTok and others, as well as the Federal Communications Commission’s review of broadcast licenses.
Many Americans are wary of both corporate and political influence on U.S. news organizations, according to a June 2026 survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative. A large majority of Americans say U.S. news organizations are at least somewhat influenced by both corporate and political interests, including around half who think U.S. news organizations are influenced a great deal by corporations and financial interests (54%) or government and political interests (49%).
📊 Chart of the week
This week’s chart comes from a new Pew Research Center analysis of how Americans view the news media’s watchdog role.
Eight-in-ten U.S. adults say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t, up from 75% in 2025. Majorities of both Republicans (73%) and Democrats (89%) express this view, including those who lean to each party. The share of Republicans who say the news media help keep political leaders in check has risen from 67% in 2024, bucking a recent pattern in which Republicans have typically become less likely to express this view in the years after GOP presidents take office.
80% of Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t
% of U.S. adults who say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldn’t be done
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
80% of Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t
% of U.S. adults who say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldn’t be done
| All U.S. adults | Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/2026 | 80 | 73 | 89 |
| 9/2025 | 75 | 66 | 86 |
| 9/2024 | 74 | 67 | 81 |
| 3/2019 | 68 | 50 | 82 |
| 3/2018 | 65 | 42 | 84 |
| 3/2017 | 70 | 48 | 88 |
| 2/2016 | 75 | 77 | 74 |
| 7/2013 | 68 | 69 | 70 |
| 7/2011 | 58 | 61 | 57 |
| 7/2009 | 62 | 66 | 59 |
| 7/2007 | 58 | 47 | 70 |
| 11/2005 | 62 | 43 | 73 |
| 6/2005 | 60 | 44 | 75 |
| 7/2003 | 54 | 49 | 58 |
| 7/2002 | 59 | 54 | 68 |
| 11/2001 | 55 | 49 | 63 |
| 9/2001 | 60 | 51 | 68 |
| 2/1999 | 58 | 67 | 55 |
| 2/1998 | 55 | ||
| 1/1994 | 66 | 70 | 64 |
| 8/1989 | 68 | ||
| 7/1985 | 67 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Christopher St. Aubin, Emily Tomasik, Joanne Haner, and Sawyer Reed. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by David Kent.
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