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Study Finds Fox News Disparages Other Outlets Far More Often
Researchers studied what three cable news networks said about journalism and other news outlets.
They looked at transcripts from 2011 through 2025.
The study found that Fox News made disparaging remarks about journalism much more often than CNN or MSNBC.
It estimated that these remarks occurred about every 14.5 minutes on Fox News.
On MSNBC, the estimate was once every 61 minutes, and on CNN, once every 140 minutes.
The researchers counted comments about journalism generally as well as comments about particular outlets.
They used an OpenAI GPT model to help find the remarks in a large collection of transcripts.
The study suggests that frequent criticism of other media may be one factor in declining trust in journalism.
A study found disparaging remarks about other journalism occurred on Fox News about once every 14.5 minutes.
The study estimated the frequency at once every 61 minutes on MSNBC and once every 140 minutes on CNN.
Researchers examined transcripts from Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC spanning 2011 to 2025.
The dataset included 3,543 transcripts and nearly 19 million words.
Researchers used an OpenAI GPT model, guided by a 20-page document, to identify and classify disparagement.
- Who
- Researchers at Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy studied Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC.
- What
- A study compared how often the networks made negative statements about journalism or identified news outlets.
- Where
- The study examined transcripts from three U.S. cable news networks.
- When
- The transcripts covered 2011 to 2025; the study was recently completed and published by the Nieman Journalism Lab.
- Why
- The research examined whether disparagement of other media may be one factor behind declining trust in journalism.
Key facts
- Fox News frequency
- About once every 14.5 minutes
- MSNBC frequency
- About once every 61 minutes
- CNN frequency
- About once every 140 minutes
- Transcript period
- 2011–2025
- Dataset
- 3,543 transcripts and nearly 19 million words
- Study definition
- Negative statements about the conduct or content of an explicitly identified journalism target
- Classification method
- An OpenAI GPT model guided by a 20-page instruction document
Quotes
Duke University study
Research examining disparagement of journalism on three major US cable news networks.
“The results were stark. Fox News far exceeds the other networks, with inter-journalism disparagement taking place once every 14.5 minutes. In contrast, CNN engages in inter-journalism disparagement roughly every 140 minutes, and MSNBC every 61 minutes.”
theprint.in
“I can’t believe this is in this real newspaper.”
theprint.in
Sources
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