Fox News may be the network where the largest group of Americans say they get their news, but those same people are much more likely than most other Americans to say their favorite news source is not part of the “mainstream media.” a survey published last week.

It may sound paradoxical that those who watch the most viewed channel are more likely to say that it is not mainstream media, but that is the case. questionnaireIt was published Friday by the Pew Research Center.

Pew asked nearly 10,000 adults between Sept. 16 and Sept. 22 where they most often get political news. Of the 8,000 unique responses, 13% said Fox, followed by CNN at 10%. Fox’s share remained flat compared to a similar poll conducted in 2021, while CNN’s share fell by four percentage points.

These were followed by local TV with 6%, ABC with 5%, NBC, NPR, MSNBC and CBS with 3%. The New York Times was the only newspaper with more than 1 percent; 3 percent of those surveyed said they preferred this newspaper for political news.

In a sign of the balkanizing media landscape, 32% of respondents named a major source of political news that was not in the top 10.

Another question in the survey gave a clue as to the type of programming viewers see on Fox.

When asked if their favorite news source is part of the mainstream media, only 61% of those who prefer Fox said it is. That compares with 96% for the New York Times, 88% for NBC and MSNBC, 85% for ABC, 84% for CNN and 82% for CBS.

NPR listeners were more likely to see themselves as a separate species; 69% preferred to say it was part of mainstream media.

Another implication may be that some people may define “mainstream media” as something other than news organizations adhering to common standards. Of the group that said they preferred local TV, only 57% said their source was part of the MSM.

The survey also confirmed that Fox’s audience is older than its counterparts.

“Older adults are much more likely than younger adults to name Fox News: 22 percent of those 65 and older say it is their primary source of news, compared to only 5 percent of adults under 30.”

The survey also asked what medium people use to get their news. 35 percent said it was from TV, 21 percent said it was from news sites, and 20 percent said it was from social media.

Predictably, respondents aged 65 and over were much more likely to get their news from TV, at 63%, than those aged 18-29 (10%). Nearly half of the second group said they get their news primarily from social media.