





In fact, according to the same January 2018 NBC/WSJ poll, the 21% of Americans who watch MSNBC are also slightly older:
And, MSNBC viewers are nearly as likely to be white as those who watch Fox News:
Additionally, when it comes to their self-described economic circumstance, they are essentially identical:
Differences start to emerge when looking at these cable news viewers by profession and education. Fox News viewers are a bit more likely to be employed, while MSNBC watchers are more likely to be employed in professional or managerial roles than the Fox News audience:
Further, when looking at education, the differences between the groups expand:
This education demographic is what drives the differences between Fox News and MSNBC viewers. As 2016 exit polls demonstrated, education level has become the new political divide in America. President Trump won voters with less than a college education, while Hillary Clinton won among voters with a college degree – and in the two years since the election, their choice for their news source follows this pattern as well.
The biggest differences come, not too surprisingly, along party and ideological lines (some viewers may well be “hate watching” the news on the other side of their political beliefs):
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