MIDTERM MEDIA MACHINE: ARE WE BEING INFORMED...OR INFLUENCED?

<p>As the 2026 midterms approach, is the news simply reporting events...or helping shape how voters see them? In this episode of <em>Murders, Mysteries, and Conspiracies</em>, Glenn P. Clinger III examines documented studies from Harvard, Pew Research Center, Reuters Institute, and other sources on negative political coverage, media framing, headline psychology, and declining public trust in journalism. Are Americans being informed, influenced, or both?</p><p>SOURCES </p><p><strong>Harvard Kennedy School, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy — “News Coverage of Donald Trump's First 100 Days.”</strong> The study found that among reports with a clear tone, Trump's coverage was 80% negative and 20% positive.</p><p><strong>Pew Research Center — “Covering President Trump in a Polarized Media Environment” (2017).</strong> Pew found 62% negative and 5% positive assessments during Trump's first 60 days in its historical comparison sample, versus 20% negative coverage for Obama and 28% for both George W. Bush and Clinton.</p><p><strong>Pew Research Center — “Americans Value Press Freedom but Differ on Its Limits” (September 15, 2026).</strong> Pew found 71% of Americans describe the Trump administration-media relationship as bad and 55% believe news organizations have too much political power and influence.</p><p><strong>Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism — Digital News Report 2026, United States.</strong> Only 25% of Americans surveyed said they trust news overall, while 45% said they sometimes or often avoid news.</p><p><strong>Robertson et al., Nature Human Behaviour — “Negativity drives online news consumption.”</strong> Approximately 105,000 headline variations, 5.7 million clicks and more than 370 million impressions were analyzed; each additional negative word in an average-length headline increased click-through rate by about 2.3%.</p><p><strong>Chan &amp; Smales, International Review of Economics &amp; Finance (2025) — “U.S. Presidential News Coverage: Risk, Uncertainty and Stocks.”</strong> Peer-reviewed research examining presidential coverage from 1989–2020 found strong negative/risk-oriented characteristics across presidential administrations without significant polarization according to the president's political party.</p><p><strong>Media Research Center/NewsBusters — First 100 Days analysis (2025).</strong> The conservative media-watchdog organization classified 92.2% of the evaluative statements it examined on ABC, CBS