Americans tune out of the news ahead of Trump's return

As a Democrat who immersed himself in political news during the presidential campaign, Ziad Aunallah has much in common with many Americans since the election. He's tuned out.

"People are mentally exhausted," said Aunallah, 45, of San Diego.

"Everyone knows what is coming and we are just taking some time off."

Television ratings — and now a new poll — clearly illustrate the phenomenon.

According to a survey from the Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, about two-thirds of American adults say they have recently felt the need to limit their media consumption about politics and government because of overload.

The poll says smaller percentages of Americans are limiting their intake of news about overseas conflicts, the economy, or climate change.

Election news on CNN and MSNBC was taking up too much of Sam Gude's time before the election, said the 47-year-old electrician from Lincoln, Nebraska.

"The last thing I want to watch right now is the interregnum," said Gude, a Democrat and no fan of President-elect Donald Trump.

A poll, conducted in early December, found that about seven in 10 Democrats say they are stepping back from political news.

The percentage isn't as high for Republicans, who have reason to celebrate Trump's victory.

Still, about six in 10 Republicans say they've felt the need to take some time off too, and the share for independents is similar.

The differences are far starker for the TV networks that have been consumed by political news.

After election night through December 13, the prime-time viewership of MSNBC was an average of 620,000, down 54 per cent from the pre-election audience this year, the Nielsen company said.

For the same time comparison, CNN's average of 405,000 viewers was down 45 per cent.

At Fox News Channel, a favourite news network for Trump fans, the post-election average of 2.68 million viewers is up 13 per cent, Nielsen said.

Since the election, 72 per cent of the people watching one of those three cable networks in the evening were watching Fox News, compared to 53 per cent prior to election day.

A post-election slump for fans of the losing candidate is not a new trend for networks that have become heavily identified for a partisan audience. MSNBC had similar issues after Trump was elected in 2016.

Same for Fox in 2020, although that was complicated by anger: many of its viewers were outraged then by the network's crucial election night call of Arizona for the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, and sought alternatives.

MSNBC had its own anger issues after several "Morning Joe" viewers became upset that hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited Trump shortly after his victory last month.

Yet while the show's ratings are down 35 per cent since election day, that's a smaller drop than the network's prime-time ratings.

CNN points out that while it has been suffering in the television ratings, its streaming and digital ratings have been consistent.

Will political interest rebound when Trump takes office? MSNBC can take some solace in history.

In previous years, network ratings bounce back when the depression after an election loss lifts, When a new administration takes office, people who oppose it are frequently looking for a gathering place.

"I'll be tuning back in once the clown show starts," Aunallah said. "You have no choice. Whether or not you want to hear it, it's happening. If you care about your country, you have no choice but to pay attention."

But the ride may not be smooth. MSNBC's slide is steeper than it was in 2016, and there's some question about whether Trump opponents will want to be as engaged as they were during his first term.

People are also unplugging from cable television in rates that are only getting more rapid, although MSNBC believes it has bucked this trend eating away at audiences before.

The poll indicates that Americans want less talk about politics from public figures.

After an election season where endorsements from celebrities like Taylor Swift made headlines, the survey found that Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of celebrities, large companies and professional athletes speaking out about politics.

Some Americans who have turned away from political news lately have advice for getting them engaged again.

Gude said, for example, that MSNBC will always have a hard-core audience of Trump haters.

But if the network wants to expand its audience: "then you have to talk about issues, and you have to stop talking about Trump".