The Gap Between Media Coverage and Public Opinion

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode Title: The Gap Between Media Coverage and Public Opinion
Air Date: January 31, 2026
Hosts: Georgia Howe & John Bickley
Guest: Bill d’Agostino (Senior Analyst, Media Research Center)

Episode Overview

This episode examines the striking disconnect between mainstream media narratives and public opinion, focusing mainly on the coverage surrounding immigration enforcement and associated protests in Minneapolis. The discussion features findings from the Media Research Center (MRC), exploring both the scope and tone of media reporting, and how these influence the national conversation and perception of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The episode unpacks why trust in media has reached record lows and what stories are left untold.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media Bias Against ICE and Immigration Enforcement

• Broadcast Networks Under the Lens:
  • The MRC’s main focus is analyzing the three major evening news broadcasts: ABC, NBC, and CBS, which collectively attract 18–20 million viewers nightly, making them the most influential news sources in the US.
  • Their recent study (based on an 11-day sample period) found that 93% of coverage was negative towards ICE; only 7% offered any leniency or neutral tone.
  • Crimes by Illegal Aliens Underreported: Just 1.6% of stories referenced crimes committed by those ICE was seeking to apprehend.
    • Quote:

      "Only 1.6% of any of the coverage had anything to do with crimes committed by some of the illegal aliens that ICE was there to apprehend to begin with."
      — Bill d’Agostino (04:11)

2. Context & Important Details Omitted by Legacy Media

• Violence and Intimidation by Protesters:
  • Protester violence, property damage, and public intimidation have been scarcely covered, even when incidents are widely acknowledged elsewhere.
  • Networks avoid stories that cast left-wing protesters negatively.
    • Quote:

      "It's very rare that all three networks will cover any individual violent incident that ... makes the rioters or the protesters, the left in general, look bad."
      — Bill d’Agostino (04:47)

• Sanctuary Status Not Mentioned:
  • The context of Minnesota as a "sanctuary state" and Minneapolis as a "sanctuary city"—central to the tensions—remains unaddressed in legacy coverage.
    • Quote:

      "That is never mentioned in any of the coverage. And that's, I think, probably the most important context..."
      — Bill d’Agostino (07:30)

3. Analyzing Individual Incidents: Biased Framing and Reporting

• The Jonathan Ross/Renee Goode Incident:
  • When covering this high-profile shooting, only CBS failed to acknowledge that Renee Goode had struck Officer Ross with her car.
  • CBS stood out for being especially negative:
    • 96% of CBS’s coverage was negative on ICE.
    • They directly labeled Ross a "murderer" without qualifiers.
    • Quote:

      "They were also the only network that had a reporter just outright accuse Jonathan Ross of murder. Not even like saying alleged or whatever."
      — Bill d’Agostino (05:42)

• No Examination of Protest Organization:
  • Legacy networks skip investigation into funding, leadership, or orchestration of protests—issues that independent outlets frequently probe.
    • Quote:

      "There was none...there's basically no interest whatsoever in investigating what is actually behind these protests."
      — Bill d’Agostino (06:32)

4. Media Framing on The View & Other Mainstream Shows

• Inconsistency on Second Amendment Takes:
  • The View notably defended Second Amendment rights in the context of the Alex Preddy case.
  • d’Agostino critiques this sudden stance as opportunistic and narrative-driven rather than principled:
    • Quote:

      "...They basically have no principles and will argue whatever facts they think bolster whatever narrative they’re trying to push. If becoming pro Second Amendment...helps their argument, then okay, they'll wear their Second Amendment hat for as long as it takes."
      — Bill d’Agostino (09:08)

5. Reframing Local Scandal: The Nick Shirley Example

• Coverage of Daycare and Healthcare Fraud:
  • Nick Shirley, an independent journalist, investigated apparent daycare scams in Minneapolis’s Somali community—an angle largely recontextualized by mainstream outlets as a partisan or dubious "right-wing" pursuit.
  • Larger issues of healthcare fraud, estimated at $19 billion, receive even less direct scrutiny.
    • Quote:

      "The way that the broadcast networks have dealt with Shirley is generally to try to recenter the entire Minneapolis mostly Somali...fraud story writ large around him basically to recontextualize it as well. All of this came from this right wing YouTuber..."
      — Bill d’Agostino (10:21)

6. Media Influence on Public Opinion: Do the Numbers Shift?

• Despite overwhelmingly negative media coverage, most recent polling (excluding some outliers like YouGov) shows that the majority of Americans still support ICE's enforcement and even mass deportations.
• Media’s persistent attempts to phrase or spin polls fail to break the majority consensus.
  • Quote:

    "...every time they pull it, they find that, yeah, still a majority of Americans support mass deportations. And all of them are basically competing to try to become the first...to get that under 50% result."
    — Bill d’Agostino (12:01)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bill d’Agostino, on media's selective reporting:

  "There’s basically no interest whatsoever in investigating what is actually like behind these protests. And more importantly, I think what is the cause of this whole melee to begin with." (06:32)

• On sanctuary city context:

  "That is never mentioned in any of the Coverage...probably the most important context." (07:30)

• On polling and public sentiment:

  "Still a majority of Americans support mass deportations. And everybody is...trying to become the first network...to get that under 50% result." (12:01)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [03:08] – Bill d’Agostino introduces Media Research Center’s methodology and focus
• [04:00] – Data on media negativity towards ICE and lack of crime reporting
• [04:47] – Exclusion of protester violence/property damage from network coverage
• [05:14–05:50] – Case study: Ross/Goode incident and CBS’s unique reporting slant
• [06:12–06:47] – Discussion of protest organization and why it goes uninvestigated
• [07:25] – The importance of Minnesota's sanctuary status and its absence in reporting
• [08:22–09:14] – The View’s debatable stance-switch on Second Amendment issues
• [09:33–10:21] – Nick Shirley’s investigation reframed by mainstream as right-wing
• [11:24–12:28] – Public opinion vs. media coverage on ICE enforcement

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Summary

This episode spotlights the recurring gap between media coverage and what the broader American public appears to believe, particularly around controversial policy issues such as immigration. Using data and recent case studies, the conversation demonstrates a persistent pattern of omission and negative slant within the legacy media—whether on crime, policy context, protester conduct, or fraud—while public support for enforcement remains robust. The discussion raises larger questions about trust, impartiality, and the narratives prioritized by mainstream platforms.

Transcript

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[Georgia Howe]

While the American public remains divided on immigration policy, the legacy media has become almost completely unipolar. In this episode, we speak to a Media Research center analyst about just how tilted the big three newscasts have become on the issue. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Saturday, January 31st, and this is a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

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[Georgia Howe]

Discuss the latest findings from the Media Research Center, a firm that monitors media bias, is Bill d', Agostino, Senior analyst at the mrc. Bill, thanks for coming on.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, President Trump has been slammed in the media just over the past week or so about his deployment of ICE to Minneapolis and then some of the fallout from that. Those of us in the independent media space have reported a more mixed picture of what's going on, but that hasn't been the prevailing narrative in the legacy press. Your organization, the Media Research center, has come out with some interesting findings regarding the legacy media's emphasis with their coverage. Can you unpack what your firm has found?

[Bill d'Agostino]

We primarily focus on broadcast networks when we do these kind of studies because.

[John Bickley]

The three evening newscasts, ABC, NBC and CBS, average about 18 to 20 million viewers per night, which makes them like the most watched news programs in the country.

[Bill d'Agostino]

The most recent study, we're still updating.

[John Bickley]

The numbers to get it more current, but the most recent full numbers that we have on those evening newscasts were.

[Bill d'Agostino]

From an 11 day period where the.

[John Bickley]

Coverage was 93% negative against, against ice. Only, only 7% of it gave any sort of leniency or leeway to ice.

[Bill d'Agostino]

I think most salient though of all the details that we picked out from that is that only 1.6% of any of the coverage had anything to do with crimes committed by some of the.

[John Bickley]

Illegal aliens that ICE was there to apprehend to begin with.

[Georgia Howe]

Beyond not discussing the very serious crimes that some of these targeted individuals have committed, there's also been little coverage of things like property damage and intimidation caused by the protesters and some of the protest tactics that are putting people in harm's way. Have you also been tabulating some of those more contextual stories?

[Bill d'Agostino]

Largely, yeah. I mean, so it's, it's very rare that all three networks will cover any individual violent incident that, that makes, makes.

[John Bickley]

The rioters of the protesters, the left in general, look bad.

[Bill d'Agostino]

For example, when the officer, Jonathan Ross, who shot Renee Goode, when the video from his cell phone, a lot of.

[John Bickley]

People were calling it a body cam video, but his cell phone video came out.

[Bill d'Agostino]

All three networks showed it. But CBS was actually the only network of the three not to explicitly state that Renee Goode actually hit Jonathan Ross with her car. The closest they came was pointing out one time that, that the Trump administration was claiming that, but never actually officially acknowledged it themselves. Interestingly, just as a side note, CBS.

[John Bickley]

Was also the worst of the three networks.

[Bill d'Agostino]

They were 96% negative on ice. They were also the only network that.

[John Bickley]

Had a reporter just outright accuse Jonathan Ross of murder.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Not even like saying alleged or whatever.

[John Bickley]

Just straight up said he murdered Renee.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Goode, which I find interesting because there's.

[John Bickley]

A lot of hue and cry from the left right now about how CBS.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Has basically become Trump propaganda network, which our numbers say is very much not the case.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, independent media has been reporting on the organized funding and structure of these protests. Has there been any discussion of that angle in the legacy press?

[Bill d'Agostino]

There was none in the. Again, we're still updating the numbers. So I don't, I don't know some.

[John Bickley]

Of the most recent broadcasts. I can't say with 100% certainty that.

[Bill d'Agostino]

They haven't mentioned it, but certainly there was none of that in, in the.

[John Bickley]

Period that we studied and anything that I've, I've looked at since then. And we're, we're about, we're a few days behind still as, as far as updating all the numbers.

[Bill d'Agostino]

But it's, it's, there's basically no interest whatsoever in investigating what is actually like behind these protests. And more importantly, I think what, what is the cause of, of this whole melee to begin with.

[John Bickley]

Right?

[Bill d'Agostino]

Because it's, it's basically there are three things that could or I guess, have to change for the temperature to be.

[John Bickley]

Taken down, which is one, the Trump administration backs down and sends ICE out of the state, stops trying to enforce immigration law.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Two, state law enforcement are permitted to assist ICE and protect them from protesters. And three, the left just in general stops trying to actually prevent ICE from doing its job. Right. And so only one of those is something that the President of the United States campaigned heavily on, won on, and.

[John Bickley]

Is now trying to enact. Right.

[Bill d'Agostino]

And so basically all of this is.

[John Bickley]

The result of Minnesota being a sanctuary state and Minneapolis being a sanctuary city.

[Bill d'Agostino]

That is never mentioned in any of the Coverage.

[John Bickley]

Right.

[Bill d'Agostino]

And that's, I think, probably the most important context that you could provide to anybody who has a question of the obvious question of, well, why is this suddenly happening in Minneapolis? Because ICE has been all over the country.

[John Bickley]

Why aren't we seeing this anywhere else?

[Bill d'Agostino]

And the answer is that. But the media have absolutely no interest in pointing that out because that, that.

[John Bickley]

Makes the left and Democrats writ large look bad.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, it's not one of the main three nightly broadcasts that you mentioned, but the View also brings in a lot of viewers and they actually talked about something really interesting on a recent show. I'm wondering if you can weigh in on this. They actually supported and defended the Second Amendment when it came to Alex Preddy, which is a pretty wild departure from their usual stance, if you follow their show. Can you describe the argument that was presented on the View?

[Bill d'Agostino]

I mean, yeah, this is, this is kind of the low info, disingenuous take.

[John Bickley]

That'S being pushed by a lot of, a lot of liberals.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Not necessarily.

[John Bickley]

I mean, some Democrat politicians too, I guess.

[Bill d'Agostino]

But the idea is basically, oh, okay.

[John Bickley]

So just because the guy had a gun when he was interfering with law enforcement and acting aggressive towards them, suddenly that means they can shoot him? Him possessing a gun. Okay, well, I guess the right doesn't support the Second Amendment anymore.

[Bill d'Agostino]

That's basically the argument. The thing I think that everybody is failing to notice when they make that argument is the term brandish or the.

[John Bickley]

Phrase brandish at law enforcement is actually nowhere in the Second Amendment.

[Bill d'Agostino]

And I think for probably a pretty obvious reason, but more, more generally, this is, this is actually fairly consistent for the View in as much as they basically have no principles and will argue whatever facts they think bolster whatever narrative.

[John Bickley]

They'Re trying to push. Right.

[Bill d'Agostino]

So if, if becoming pro Second Amendment, they think helps their argument, then okay, they'll wear their Second Amendment hat for as long as it takes for them.

[John Bickley]

To win the argument.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, speaking of cbs, they recently brought up Nick Shirley again in the context of some of the unrest in Minneapolis. What are they saying about Nick Shirley?

[Bill d'Agostino]

Yeah, Nick Shirley is the. He's, he's an independent journalist, I think.

[John Bickley]

Mostly a youtuber from what I understand.

[Bill d'Agostino]

And he, he went around, In December.

[John Bickley]

Of 2025, he went around Minneapolis looking at a lot of these Somali run daycare centers and found that a lot of them had no kids in them whatsoever. A lot of them seemed to be barely operational, if operational at all.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Everybody was very, very testy with him. Wouldn't let him, you know, check out the place at all. And the, the implication there is that basically these are, these are scams, right?

[John Bickley]

These are people not actually providing the services that they're telling the state they're providing and receiving a lot of government funding which, the funding which they're basically just pocketing.

[Bill d'Agostino]

That's the implication there's, there's been a.

[John Bickley]

Ton of aggressive pushback against him from the left in general.

[Bill d'Agostino]

The way that the broadcast networks have, have dealt with Shirley is generally to try to recenter the entire Minneapolis mostly Somali like fraud story writ large around him basically to recontextualize it as well. All of this came from this, this.

[John Bickley]

Right wing youtuber who went out and, and shot this, this questionable video of him asking, asking to enter daycare centers when he had no right to enter.

[Bill d'Agostino]

That's, that's basically the argument that they're making. Of course, the daycare side of things is, is significantly smaller than the larger.

[John Bickley]

Portion which is health care, where the total is, is estimated to be about $19 billion of fraud.

[Bill d'Agostino]

The reason that they're doing this is basically to minimize what the actual story is.

[Georgia Howe]

Now you mentioned that the big three networks have a massive combined audience. How do you think the coverage from the legacy press is affecting general support for ice? Do you think most Americans opinions at this point are baked in or is this having a pretty devastating effect?

[Bill d'Agostino]

Probably not as much as these networks would, would hope that it is. I have seen some, some polls from like YouGov which I generally, I don't think many people take too seriously as an accurate gauge of public consensus saying that a lot of people think ICE is going too far in their enforcement tactics. But we're seeing a lot of other polls that, and we've seen this by the way, for the entire Trump administration, second Trump administration's duration so far that show that the majority of Americans actually.

[John Bickley]

Do still support mass deportations of illegal aliens.

[Bill d'Agostino]

And in fact it's kind of become this, like this, this constant source of frustration for the media because every time they pull it, they find that, yeah, still a majority of Americans support mass deportations. And everybody is, all of them are basically competing to try to become the first network or the first poll group to finally find a way to phrase the question at the right time with the right cohort of poll respondents to get that under 50% result.

[John Bickley]

Right.

[Bill d'Agostino]

And finally, so then everybody can run headlines of oh, you know, has America turned on ICE's immigration plan?

[Georgia Howe]

Well, Bill, this was very helpful. Thank you so much for coming on.

[Bill d'Agostino]

Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

[Georgia Howe]

That was Bill d' Agostino from the Media Research center. And this has been a weekend edition of MORNING Wire.

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