U.S. News Media – 6 Complete Reports from Gardner Magazine

The Generational News Gap: A Guide to Modern Media Consumption and Trust

The Generational News Gap: A Guide to Modern Media Consumption and Trust

Welcome to this essential guide on the state of American journalism. As a student of media literacy, understanding how information reaches you—and why you trust certain sources over others—is a foundational civic skill. Today, the way we consume news is more than just a personal choice; it is a reflection of a massive historical shift that has fundamentally altered the American democratic landscape.

1. Introduction: The Fragmented World of News

The “Modern News Environment” is no longer a centralized town square. Instead, it is defined by its fragmented nature. In a 2024 Pew Research Center study, Americans provided over 8,000 unique responses when asked to name their primary news source, highlighting a world where thousands of niche outlets and individual creators compete for our limited attention.

This fragmentation represents a core shift in American journalism history. Throughout the 20th century, news was dominated by the “appointment viewing” of a few powerful entities in radio and television (such as ABC, CBS, and NBC). However, the 21st century has brought a “business crisis” for legacy media. As digital platforms emerged, readers and advertisers migrated to social media, leaving traditional organizations to struggle for relevance.

Learner’s Roadmap In this guide, we will analyze:

• The Platform Divide: How age dictates whether you turn to a TV or a smartphone.
• The Trust Paradox: Why younger and older adults view source reliability differently.
• The Misinformation Factor: A risk assessment of social-media-first consumption.
• The Partisan Lens: How identity and “framing” shape the facts you see.

This evolution from a few dominant voices to thousands of digital fragments has created a profound divide in how different age groups access, process, and value information today.

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2. The Platform Divide: Television vs. Social Media

Where you get your news depends heavily on your generational cohort. While the legacy model was built around broadcast news, younger generations have shifted toward a digital-first existence.

Category	Adults Under 45	Adults 45 and Older
Primary News Platform	Social Media (73%)	Television (69%)
Print Newspaper Usage	10%	16%
Reliance on Friends/Family	50%	42%

The “So What?”: Incidental Exposure A significant finding in modern media is the shift toward incidental exposure. Unlike older adults who might “actively seek” news by tuning into a specific broadcast, many younger adults encounter news while using social media for other purposes. They aren’t necessarily looking for the news; the news finds them while they scroll.

This divide extends to specific networks. Fox News remains a powerhouse for those 65 and older, with 22% naming it their main source. In contrast, only 5% of adults under 30 rely on it as their primary outlet.

Where we get our news deeply influences how much we trust the information provided, as different platforms have vastly different standards for verification.

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3. Trust and Reliability: The Age-Based Perception Gap

Trust in national news organizations is on a steady decline, dropping roughly 20% over the last decade. However, “utility” outlets—those providing objective data without political charge—maintain the highest levels of trust across the board.

Top 3 Most Trusted News Sources (Net Trust Score)

1. The Weather Channel (+49): Maintains the highest trust by providing essential, non-partisan data that lacks political charge.
2. BBC (+26): Public broadcasters are often viewed as more stable and less driven by the American partisan cycle.
3. PBS (+25): Its local, non-profit nature contributes to a high perception of reliability.

The Trust Paradox There is a striking age-related paradox: Adults under 45 are significantly more likely to trust news found on social media than older adults are, despite the documented risks. Conversely, adults over 30 tend to distrust social media and place their faith in traditional, legacy organizations.

Insight: The “Polarization Penalty” The most popular outlets often suffer from a “Polarization Penalty.” While Fox News (40% usage) and CNN (36% usage) are the two most-used sources in America, their net trust scores are relatively low (+0 and +8, respectively). High usage does not equal high trust; many people consume these sources because they align with their Confirmation Bias, while those on the opposing side deeply distrust them.

Trust is not just about age; it is about the platforms we choose and the inherent risks of digital-first consumption.

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4. The Social Media Landscape and the Misinformation Challenge

Social media platforms are now the primary lens through which millions view the world, yet they present a unique set of “Media Literacy red flags.”

• The Meteoric Rise of TikTok: TikTok usage for news has jumped from 22% of its users in 2020 to 55% in 2025.
• The News-Seeking of X: 57% of users on X (formerly Twitter) report going there specifically for news, making it a major destination for news-seeking behavior.

The Misinformation Factor: A Risk Assessment Digital citizens must navigate “tailored algorithms” that prioritize engagement over accuracy, often creating echo chambers where false claims circulate at “lightning speed.” A 2021 systematic review of health misinformation revealed the scale of the danger: 87% of social media content regarding smoking and drugs was inaccurate, as was 43% of content regarding vaccines.

CRITICAL TAKEAWAY: The Factual Knowledge Gap Scholarly research consistently indicates that consumers who get their news primarily from social media demonstrate lower levels of factual knowledge regarding current events compared to those using traditional outlets.

These platform risks are further complicated by how our political identities shape our news feeds and the “frames” used by journalists.

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5. The Partisan Lens: How Identity Shapes the News Feed

Political identity is the strongest predictor of news consumption. The “Political Gap” shows two distinct styles of media usage:

• Republicans: Tend to have a concentrated news diet. A majority (57%) rely on Fox News, with few other sources reaching more than 30% of the group.
• Democrats: Turn to a wider range of sources, including CNN, NBC, ABC, and the New York Times, with none holding singular dominance.

Perception of “Mainstream Media”	Democrats/Leaners	Republicans/Leaners
Source is “Mainstream”	72%	48%
Source is “Not Mainstream”	13%	36%

Defining the Media’s Power

• Agenda-Setting: The process by which the media tells the public what to think about by choosing which topics deserve national priority.
• Episodic Framing: The tendency of news to focus on individual incidents or “episodes” rather than the structural causes of social issues. This often reinforces stereotypes and limits policy understanding.

Tactical Framing and Voter Cynicism Journalism is increasingly focused on “Horse Race” tactics. A study of 1,742 stories found that 63% of coverage focused on campaign strategy, while only 1% focused on candidates’ public records. This “Tactical Framing”—asking how a policy affects the next election rather than if it is a good idea—has been shown to make voters more cynical and less likely to remember substantive information.

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6. Conclusion: Navigating the Future of Information

To thrive in today’s media environment, you must recognize that the news you see is filtered by your age, your platform, and your political identity.

Critical Takeaways

1. Fragmentation is the New Normal: Thousands of outlets compete for your attention; there is no longer a single, centralized “truth” source.
2. The Usage-Trust Gap: The most popular news sources are often the most polarizing and may suffer from a “Polarization Penalty.”
3. Algorithmic Bias: If you rely on a social feed, engagement-based algorithms are likely prioritizing emotional reaction over factual accuracy.

Proactive Tip for the Learner To overcome the fragmented and biased nature of modern news, practice cross-referencing. Do not rely on a single “feed.” When you encounter a high-impact story, check it against a high-trust, non-partisan source like the Associated Press, the BBC, or even The Weather Channel for objective context. In the digital age, understanding the source is the first step in understanding the story. ——————————

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Strategic Assessment of the 2025 U.S. Media Landscape: Trust, Reach, and Partisan Influence

Strategic Assessment of the 2025 U.S. Media Landscape: Trust, Reach, and Partisan Influence

1. The Modern News Ecosystem: Fragmentation and Platform Evolution

The strategic landscape of American news has transitioned from a centralized “public square” into a hyper-fragmented environment, presenting a fundamental challenge for professional communication. According to 2024 Pew Research data, when Americans were asked to name their primary source for political news, more than 8,000 open-ended responses yielded hundreds of unique outlets. This fragmentation is not merely a technological shift; it is a structural crisis of information authority.

This evolution marks the end of the “network television” era, where three major broadcasters commanded 80 million consumers with relatively neutral reporting. The current state of “digital journalism” has birthed a business crisis for legacy outlets, as ad revenue has migrated to social platforms that prioritize engagement over editorial rigor. Crucially, 73% of Americans now report a fear that they cannot discern misinformation, a “cynicism metric” that colors all modern news consumption. For the strategic communicator, navigating this landscape requires a sophisticated balance between audience reach and the “Net Trust” required to maintain message integrity.

2. The Reach vs. Trust Paradox: Evaluating Top-Tier Outlets

A primary tension exists between an outlet’s “Reach” (total monthly usage) and its “Net Trust” (the margin between those who find the source trustworthy versus untrustworthy). High-reach outlets offer massive visibility but often carry a “polarization tax” that can undermine credibility. Conversely, high-trust outlets often reach smaller, more specialized demographics.

The “Weather Channel Effect” remains the benchmark for neutral communication. With a net trust score of +49, it persists as the most trusted outlet in America because it operates outside the tactical framing of political discourse.

Metric Comparison: National News Leaders (2025)

Outlet Name	Monthly Usage %	Net Trust Score	Primary Audience Alignment
The Weather Channel	17%	+49	Universal / Non-Partisan
BBC	23%	+26	Broad Internationalist
PBS	14%	+25	Non-Profit / Public Interest
ABC News	30%	+13	General “Mainstream”
CNN	36%	+8	Democrat-Leaning
Fox News	40%	+0	Republican-Leaning

Note: Usage data synthesized from Pew 2025 News Media Tracker; Net Trust data sourced from YouGov 2025. Net Trust represents the percentage point difference between those finding the source trustworthy versus untrustworthy.

3. The Partisan Divide: Mapping Trust Polarities and “Mainstream” Perceptions

In 2025, the label “mainstream media” (MSM) serves as a partisan signifier rather than a descriptor of reach. Audience receptivity is now governed by a “Polarization Gap”: 72% of Democrats view their sources as mainstream, compared to only 48% of Republicans. Strategically significant is the finding that 36% of Republicans actively seek sources they perceive as not mainstream, viewing counter-establishment status as a proxy for truth.

The trust divide is most acute for cable leaders:

• CNN: Possesses an 80-point trust gap between parties (trusted by 57% of Democrats, distrusted by 58% of Republicans).
• Fox News: Possesses a 76-point trust gap (trusted by 56% of Republicans, distrusted by 64% of Democrats).

This divide is exacerbated by “Tactical Framing”—a journalistic tendency to cover the strategy and political “horse-race” of an issue rather than its substance. This framing, as identified by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, increases public cynicism and reduces the retention of factual information, forcing communicators to find “safe havens” of common ground.

4. Emerging High-Influence Channels: Social Media, Podcasts, and News Aggregators

As traditional TV trust declines among younger demographics, incidental news exposure on digital platforms has become the primary discovery mechanism.

Social Media Platforms Reach powerhouses like Facebook (44% news usage) and YouTube (41%) dominate, yet they operate under severe trust deficits (Facebook at -22; TikTok at -26). However, there is a burgeoning generational divide: adults under 45 report significantly higher trust in news from these platforms than those 45 and older.

The Podcast Universe Podcasting is defined by “Host-Centric” loyalty. The conservative model favors single-host powerhouses—such as The Joe Rogan Experience, which now serves as a primary news source for 22% of Republicans—as well as Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino. The liberal model is more fragmented, favoring multi-host or rotating formats like Pod Save America.

AI and Aggregator Tools News discovery is increasingly mediated by algorithms. Google News (37%) remains the leading aggregator. While generic AI chatbot usage for news sits at 4%, ChatGPT has emerged as the clear leader in the space, used by 8% of Americans (and 14% of those under 45), doubling the reach of other AI tools.

5. Strategic Framework for Targeted Professional Communication

To maximize message receptivity, communicators must match channel selection to the trust profile of the target segment.

Communication Selection Matrix

Target Demographic	Strategic Intent	Recommended Outlets	Risk Factor / Polarization Tax
Universal / Non-Partisan	Establishing factual baseline; crisis comms	The Weather Channel, BBC, PBS, Reuters	Lower reach, but highest cross-party credibility.
Republican Concentrated	Deep GOP mobilization; counter-establishment appeal	Fox News (61% usage), The Joe Rogan Experience (22%), Newsmax	High distrust among Democrats; perceived as “non-mainstream” by 36%.
Democrat Concentrated	Deep Democratic saturation; institutional authority	CNN (55% usage), MSNBC, The New York Times	High distrust among Republicans; associated with “MSM” label.
Younger (Under 45)	Rapid discovery; incidental exposure	YouTube (50% usage), Instagram, ChatGPT (14%)	High “misinformation fear” (73%); requires verifiable, high-value content.
Professional / Economic	Common ground; financial/corporate authority	Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg	Rare “positive net trust” (+12 to +24) from both parties.

Closing Strategic Mandate: Navigating the 2025 landscape requires a multi-platform approach that ignores reach metrics in isolation. Success is determined by the “Trust Fit” between the messenger and the specific partisan or demographic filter of the audience. To counter prevailing cynicism, professional communications must avoid the pitfalls of tactical framing and prioritize verifiable substance over strategic posturing. —————————————————-

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Communication Strategy Framework: Emotional and Partisan News Drivers

Communication Strategy Framework: Emotional and Partisan News Drivers

1. The Landscape of Fragmented News Consumption

In the current U.S. media ecosystem, the primary challenge for communications strategy is navigating extreme fragmentation. As identified by the Pew Research Center, Americans turn to a staggering array of information hubs, with over 8,000 unique sources cited by news consumers. This “fragmentation factor” is evidenced by the fact that 32% of Americans name a primary news source outside the top ten dominant brands. From a strategic standpoint, brand reach is now dictated by a partisan disparity in consumption habits. Republican media habits are highly consolidated; reaching this demographic requires winning over a “gatekeeper”—specifically Fox News, which serves as the primary anchor for a majority of the cohort. Conversely, Democratic audiences maintain a more distributed news diet across legacy broadcast and digital-first outlets. Reaching the left requires a “cross-platform saturation” strategy to achieve equivalent frequency and impact.

The following table illustrates the hierarchy of news sources based on primary user preference:

Top 10 Political News Sources (2024-2025)

News Source	Percentage of U.S. Adults (Primary Source)
Fox News	13%
CNN	10%
Local TV (General or Specific Station)	7%
ABC News	At least 2%
NBC News	At least 2%
MSNBC	At least 2%
CBS News	At least 2%
NPR	At least 2%
The New York Times	At least 2%
X (formerly Twitter)	At least 2%

This landscape necessitates a deeper “archeological” look at the psychological and emotional underpinnings of these choices to understand why audiences remain siloed.

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2. The Emotional Architecture of News Engagement

Emotional resonance is the primary driver of news virality and audience retention in a digital-first economy. In the “attention economy,” content that triggers high-arousal states outperforms neutral reporting. This has created an “Informed vs. Adverse” paradox: while 53% of adults report that news makes them feel “informed,” nearly identical numbers report significant negative emotional labor. Specifically, 43% feel angry, 38% feel anxious, and 34% report feeling cynical.

High-Engagement Emotional Triggers Engagement dynamics vary significantly by platform architecture:

• Awe-inspiring/Positive Content: Prevalent on YouTube, where positive viral elements drive higher retention and sharing than purely negative ones.
• Surprising/Socially Significant Content: Prevalent on X, where “unexpectedness” and immediate social significance (economic or political impact) trigger rapid engagement.

The Impact of Episodic Framing Strategists must recognize the structural failure of “Episodic Framing”—the media’s tendency to focus on individual anecdotes rather than systemic causes. By prioritizing the “episode” over the “system,” news coverage reduces the public’s understanding of root issues like corruption or social exclusion. This framing reinforces stereotypes and exacerbates the emotional strain on the consumer, ultimately feeding the “Informed vs. Adverse” paradox.

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3. Trust Profiles: The Partisan and Platform Divide

Trust metrics are the most critical KPI in PR planning, as net trust in news organizations has declined by roughly 20% over the last decade. Furthermore, “Mainstream Media” (MSM) has shifted from an industry descriptor to a partisan identifier. While 72% of Democrats view their primary source as mainstream, only 48% of Republicans agree. Crucially, a full 36% of Republicans explicitly view their news sources as non-mainstream, defining their media identity through opposition to legacy institutions.

Net Trust Leaderboard (General Population)

• The Weather Channel: +49 (The ultimate “Safe Ground”)
• BBC: +26
• PBS: +25
• Forbes: +24
• The Wall Street Journal: +20

The Distrust Index

• National Enquirer: -37
• Infowars: -15
• Breitbart News: -7

Partisan Trust Favorites (Net Trust Scores)

Democratic Trust Favorites	Republican Trust Favorites
PBS (+66)	Fox News (+46)
CNN (+57)	Fox Business (+40)
NPR (+55)	Newsmax (+25)
MSNBC (+53)	OAN (+20)

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4. Platform-Specific Engagement Dynamics: TV, Social, and Podcasts

Strategic brand messaging must be tailored to the demographic nuances and technical “affordances” of specific platforms.

Television Broadcast news continues to rely on an aging demographic. While broadcast networks maintain higher net trust among Democrats, Republican audiences have consolidated around Fox News, with 61% of Republicans reporting usage within the past month.

Social Media A significant “Trust vs. Usage” gap exists. Facebook (44%) and YouTube (41%) dominate news usage despite low net trust scores. A vital “media archeology” find is the dramatic jump in TikTok news interaction: usage for news among its users rose from 22% in 2020 to 55% in 2025. Younger demographics (18-29) now rely almost exclusively on TikTok and Instagram for discovery.

Podcasts: The Personality Divide Edison Research identifies two distinct engagement models in the podcasting space:

• The Single Personality Model (Conservative): Relies on a “star” host to build deep loyalty.
  • Top Shows: The Ben Shapiro Show, The Dan Bongino Show, The Tucker Carlson Show.
• The Rotating Ensemble Model (Liberal): Favors collective, conversational formats.
  • Top Shows: Pod Save America, The Meidas Touch Podcast, The Young Turks.

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5. Strategic Implications for Brand Positioning and PR

The strategic risk of “Tactical Framing” and “Horse Race Journalism” cannot be overstated. By focusing on campaign strategy and “who is winning,” the media inadvertently increases audience cynicism and decreases the retention of substantive policy details.

Strategic Recommendations

1. Shift from Tactical to Structural Framing: PR professionals should avoid framing brand stories around “winners and losers” or political impacts. Instead, provide “Structural Context”—focusing on systemic policy details and long-term societal benefits—to mitigate the “Informed vs. Adverse” paradox.
2. Leverage the “Recent User Trust Boost”: Analysis shows that net trust is 55 points higher among those who actually use an outlet compared to the general public. This implies that even polarizing outlets like CNN or Fox News are high-trust environments for their actual users. Ad placement and earned media should be targeted at users of these outlets to leverage familiarity-based trust.
3. Prioritize “Safe Ground” Environments: For broad-reach campaigns, prioritize financial news (WSJ, Forbes) and non-partisan services. The Weather Channel remains the only entity with universal net-positive trust across both parties (+59 Dems, +48 Reps).

Navigating the 2025 landscape requires an emotionally aware approach that actively combats the “Spiral of Cynicism” caused by tactical journalism. Success depends on moving beyond superficial summaries toward messaging that provides the feeling of being informed without the cost of increased anxiety.

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Navigating the Truth: A Guide to Trust in the American Media Ecosystem

Navigating the Truth: A Guide to Trust in the American Media Ecosystem

In our current information landscape, the ability to interrogate the credibility of news sources is a foundational civic skill. As we navigate a fragmented media environment, we must move beyond passive consumption and learn to decode the metrics and structural forces that shape our perception of reality. This guide provides the analytical tools necessary to evaluate the American media ecosystem with the precision of a scholar.

1. Decoding the “Net Trust” Formula

To accurately evaluate media credibility, we must look past simple usage statistics or brand recognition. Media literacy researchers, most notably those at YouGov, utilize a specific metric called Net Trust. This calculation provides a sophisticated look at a source’s reputation by balancing affirmative trust against active distrust.

While simple familiarity might suggest an outlet is influential, Net Trust reveals whether that influence is based on a foundation of credibility or is merely a product of polarization.

The Net Trust Formula

(Percentage of Trustworthy Responses) – (Percentage of Untrustworthy Responses) = Net Trust Score Note: Respondents who select “neither” or “don’t know” are excluded, focusing the metric on the active reputation of the brand.

Understanding this formula is essential because trust in national news organizations has undergone a significant decline—dropping roughly 20% over the last decade. By applying this metric, we can distinguish between outlets that serve as unifying pillars of information and those that function primarily as markers of political identity.

2. The Champions of Common Ground: Why Weather and Public Media Lead

To understand how trust is maintained, we must analyze why certain outlets bridge the American political divide. The leaders in the 2025 YouGov data—The Weather Channel, the BBC, and PBS—succeed by prioritizing non-partisan utility or operating under non-profit structures.

The Weather Channel leads because it provides a necessary service devoid of political framing. Public broadcasters like the BBC and PBS benefit from funding models that rely on member contributions rather than the commercial pressures of the 24-hour news cycle, which often prioritizes sensationalism for profit.

The Trust Leaders (2025 Data)

Outlet	Net Trust Score	Primary Appeal/Structure
The Weather Channel	+49	Non-partisan utility (daily necessity)
BBC	+26	International public broadcaster; non-profit model
PBS	+25	Non-profit public television; local member support

These sources provide a rare “shared reality” in a fractured landscape, standing in stark contrast to the deeply divided world of national partisan news.

3. The Partisan Divide: Analyzing the Polarization of “The Big Three”

When we interrogate the trust levels of cable news giants, we find that credibility is often a reflection of the audience’s political identity rather than a universal standard of accuracy. This creates a “mirror effect” where an outlet’s Net Trust is almost entirely dependent on the partisan lens of the viewer.

To decode this influence, we must also examine how audiences perceive the “mainstream.” According to Pew 2024 data, Republicans are nearly three times as likely as Democrats (36% vs. 13%) to view their primary news source as “non-mainstream.” This is particularly evident with Fox News, where 28% of its own users claim the network is not part of the mainstream media—a perception that deeply affects how they receive and validate information.

• CNN: Exhibits a staggering 80-point gap in Net Trust between Democrats and Republicans.
• MSNBC: Shows a 77-point gap, with its credibility viewed almost exclusively through a Democratic lens.
• Fox News: Maintains a 76-point gap. Despite being the most used outlet for political news (40% of Americans), its general Net Trust score sits at 0 because its high trust among Republicans is offset by intense distrust from Democrats.

As traditional television news becomes a theater for partisan identity, consumers are migrating to digital platforms where a new paradox of anxiety and usage emerges.

4. Usage vs. Credibility: The Paradox of Social Media News

There is a profound disconnect between where Americans encounter news and whether they actually believe it. While 61% of Americans consume news via social media, the platforms themselves suffer from deeply negative Net Trust scores.

This is driven by “Incidental Consumption”—the phenomenon where users encounter news while seeking entertainment or social connection. This leads to a dangerous “Anxiety/Usage Paradox.” For instance, news consumption on X (formerly Twitter) is up 8 percentage points, yet the fear of being unable to discern misinformation has reached a record high of 73% in the United States.

Platform Comparison: Popularity vs. Trust

Most Used Platforms (Past Month)	Least Trusted Platforms (Net Trust Score)
1. Facebook (44%)	1. TikTok (-26)
2. YouTube (41%)	2. Facebook (-22)
3. X / Twitter (26%)	3. Snapchat (-21)

While platforms dictate the flow of information, the framing of that information is determined by specific tactical choices made by media organizations.

5. Behind the Curtain: Agenda-Setting and the “Horse Race” Effect

To decode media influence, we must examine the hidden levers of power that prioritize commercial engagement over public understanding. These “political functions” shape not just what we know, but how we feel about our democracy.

1. Agenda-Setting: This is the media’s power to define national priorities. By selecting which stories to highlight, they don’t tell the public what to think, but they are incredibly effective at telling the public what to think about.
2. Episodic vs. Systemic Framing: Commercially driven outlets often prefer “episodic” framing—focusing on individual drama or isolated events. This obscures “systemic context,” such as the structural causes of poverty or the social determinants of health. Research indicates that this lack of context makes it harder for consumers to remember substantive information.
3. Horse Race Journalism: This involves covering elections as a sporting event, focusing on “who is winning” rather than candidate records. A significant 63% of election stories study campaign tactics and strategy. This “tactical framing” triggers a “Spiral of Cynicism,” making voters more disillusioned and less informed.

6. Final Synthesis: The Learner’s Toolkit

Media literacy is a dynamic practice, not a destination. While national news trust is in flux, local news remains a more trusted resource (approximately 70%), though even this is in a slow decline. As a discerning consumer, you must recognize that “trust” is often a relative badge used to signal identity. To remain informed, you must actively cross-reference and look for the structural “why” behind every headline.

Pro-Tip: The Media Literacy Checklist

To navigate the multi-platform nature of modern consumption, apply this three-step interrogation to your news feed:

1. Identify the Funding Model: Is this source a non-profit utility or a commercial entity driven by clicks?
2. Context Check: Does the story focus on an individual “episode” (drama) or the systemic “structural causes” of the issue?
3. Assess the “Horse Race” Ratio: Is the coverage detailing policy impact, or is it merely analyzing campaign strategy and polling?

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