• by March 2, 2020

The coronavirus scare escalated last week as U.S. health officials warned the deadly virus will spread throughout the country, helping to trigger the worst stock-market selloff since the 2008 financial crisis.

Unfortunately, news about the disease has become so politicized it's difficult to tell whether to ignore the dire warnings or stock up on food, keep the kids home from school and avoid any form of mass transit.

China has accused the U.S. of sowing fears unnecessarily, while the U.S. has accused China of censoring information. Within the U.S., the coronavirus has ignited political debate about the best way to secure public health, while avoiding a full-blown panic. Democratic candidates for president are using the coronavirus as another chance to attack the Trump administration, which is pushing back with its own narrative.

The press also is scrutinizing the administration's handling of the crisis as part of its role as a public watchdog. People want journalists to function as watchdogs over elected officials, but their perceptions about how journalists perform that role vary by their political leanings and news preferences, Pew Research Center found in a survey published last week.

About one-third (35%) of U.S. adults say the media is "going too far" as watchdogs, while 32% say they're "not going far enough" and 30% say they're "getting it about right," Pew found in survey of more than 12,000 people.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say it's important for journalists to function as watchdogs. Republicans are more likely to say the press goes too far in that role.

Pew also found significant differences of opinion among the audiences for right-leaning Fox News and left-leaning MSNBC. About two-thirds of U.S. adults who cite Fox News as their main source of news said journalists are currently going too far as watchdogs, while only 6% of people who rely on MSNBC said media is too aggressive.

Readers who rely on The New York Timesas their main source of news were mostly likely to say the media isn't going far enough as watchdogs. More than half (51%) of those readers expressed that opinion, ahead of people who depend on NPR (48%), MSNBC (46%) and CNN (35%), among others.

Pew's research demonstrates how political leanings greatly affect how U.S. adults perceive the news media. Ideally, coverage of the coronavirus will focus on the public-health risks instead of resorting to petty political squabbling.