The Cable TV Quarantine Fight

A recent Pew Research Center study found that Americans’ attitudes toward the coronavirus pandemic vary sharply depending on where they get their news. Just 35 percent of people who mostly watch MSNBC, for instance, said the media had exaggerated the risks of the virus, compared with 79 percent of people who mostly watch Fox News and 54 percent for CNN. That’s standard these days, the dueling perceptions of reality. Many people in politically mixed families have spent the last few years trying to keep the peace by avoiding political topics. They agree to turn off their preferred cable TV networks during family visits; they limit Thanksgiving discussions to anodyne topics; they refrain from engaging in Facebook arguments. But the coronavirus has thrust politics front and center into daily life. It has forced families to be together more — either physically or virtually — and touched off potentially life-altering arguments about how to meet the moment. The greatest tension comes over what news to watch on TV, particularly in families where the choice is between MSNBC and Fox.