According to a just-released Pew Research Center study, 72% of respondents said it was either very likely (34%) or somewhat likely (38%) that U.S. media outlets use illegal tactics like phone hacking, which has gotten News Corp. in trouble in Britain. Only 8% say it was not at all likely.
They appeared to be referring to any news organization, not necessarily ones owned by News Corp. since only a third of the people answering the survey even knew that News Corp. owned any major news organizations in the U.S. (Fox News, Wall Street Journal, etc.), with 35% saying it didn't and 31% saying they didn't know.
Republicans (32%) were slightly more likely than Democrats (27%) to believe that U.S. media were "very likely" using illegal tactics in their newsgathering, while independents were the most suspicious at 39%.
The survey was conducted July 18-24 from a "nationally representative sample of 999 adults."
The survey is a product of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in conjunction with its Project for Excellence in Journalism.
