• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

Media may not form the opinions of Americans. But news consumption habits can be a barometer of how people feel, judging by a new study from Numerator. 

Case in point: Asked to describe the state of the country, viewers of legacy networks like CBS, NBC and ABC say it is "chaotic," "struggling" and "troubled."

In contrast, viewers of conservative media such as Fox News and Newsmax say it is "divided," "better" and "hopeful."

Similarly, 6.7% of Fox fans say “This is the best we’ve ever been doing” in today’s economy, versus the overall average of 3.4%. Moreover, 12.7 claim “We’re doing pretty well” and 46.8% say "We are doing just fine.”

On the other end of the presumed spectrum, 2.7% of PBS viewers say “This is the best we’ve ever been doing,” while 10.5% feel they are doing pretty well.

Meanwhile, 2.3% of CNN viewers say they are doing better than ever before, and 8.7% state they are doing pretty well and 36.9% that they are doing pretty well. 

However, only 0.3% of those who watch CBS state they are doing better than ever, while another 6.3% say they are doing pretty well and 33.5% say they are just fine. 

“As a country, we’re very polarized on where we get our news and information from,” concludes Leo Feler, chief economist of Numerator. “Currently, the more people get their information from legacy networks, the more pessimistic they are.” 

Numerator surveyed 2,000 Americans in May.