The partisan divide between Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of national institutions such as churches, universities, and the news media is rapidly growing, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center. The survey found that Republicans view banks more favorably than the news media and colleges or universities.
According to Pew, a majority of Republicans (58 percent) now believe that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country—a 12 percent increase from the year before. Meanwhile, 72 percent of Democrats believe universities have a positive effect. A full 85 percent of Republicans believe that the news media is bad for the country, compared to just 46 percent of Democrats.
While Democrats’ views of the media have remained relatively stable since the survey was first taken in 2010, shifts in Republicans’ views have been more drastic: In 2010, almost a quarter of Republicans believed the media had a positive effect on the country, compared to just 10 percent today.
