{"id":195015,"date":"2024-12-02T11:55:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T16:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=195015"},"modified":"2024-12-06T10:35:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T15:35:18","slug":"most-americans-continue-to-say-media-scrutiny-keeps-politicians-from-doing-things-they-shouldnt","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/12\/02\/most-americans-continue-to-say-media-scrutiny-keeps-politicians-from-doing-things-they-shouldnt\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Americans continue to say media scrutiny keeps politicians from doing things they shouldn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Speaker
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson turns away from reporters outside his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 2024. (Kent Nishimura\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As they have for the past four decades, most Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn\u2019t, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in September 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Republicans\u2019 and Democrats\u2019 views on this question often shift depending on which party controls the White House. And Republicans became much more skeptical about the media\u2019s so-called \u201cwatchdog role\u201d during President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center has been asking Americans about the news media\u2019s role in investigating and reporting on public officials to hold them accountable since the mid-1980s. That was about a decade after The Washington Post\u2019s coverage of the Watergate scandal<\/a> contributed to President Richard Nixon\u2019s resignation in 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n

How we did this<\/div>