Importance of News Media to Democracy in the U.S. (October 2017)

• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?"
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents . Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Race is calculated according to the race variable.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Community is based on the following question, " Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Age is calculated according to the AGEG variable.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Religiosity is calculated according to the IMPORT variable.
• More Respondents were asked, "How important is the news media to democracy in the U.S.?" Fundamentalism is calculated according to the LITERAL variable.