President Trump continues to bypass major pollsters. He has been conducting his own surveys for a while. A news and entertainment guy himself, President Trump has been polling his followers about campaign issues, popular sentiment and media performance since his campaign days in 2015. This week is no exception. Mr. Trump’s campaign issued a new 25-question “Mainstream Media Accountability Survey” on Thursday — and it is specific, indeed. A few sample questions reveal the campaign is still very much in touch with the concerns of Trump voters:

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Do you believe the mainstream media actually cares about working Americans?

Do you trust the mainstream media to tell the truth about the Republican Party’s positions and actions?

Do you believe the media is engaging in a witch hunt to take down President Trump?

Do you believe political correctness has created biased news coverage of both illegal immigration and radical Islamic terrorism?

Do you believe people of faith have been unfairly characterized by the media?

Do you believe the media wrongly attributes gun violence to Second Amendment rights?

Do you agree with President Trump’s media strategy to cut through the media’s noise and deliver our message straight to the people? . . .

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“Americans feel that the news media is not working for them due to the sheer volume of news, news mixed with opinion and their increased perceptions of bias in news,” says the wide-ranging survey from Gallup and the Knight Foundation, which notes that news consumers “often feel overwhelmed and unable to sort out the facts.”

Some respond by digging deeper into the issues, sometimes they disengage from the news entirely, others cultivate skills that help them parse the news.

Some numbers: 62% say it’s harder to be well-informed because they must sort through information to determine what’s true and important. The most frequent cause of this, cited by three fourths of the respondents, is the jumbled mix of news and non-news — followed by the relentless speed of the news cycle and the increase of news organizations now able to deliver news anytime, any place and in multiple formats. Both were cited by 63%.

“In response to feeling overwhelmed by the abundance of news sources in the current media environment, a plurality of Americans (41%) say they only pay attention to one or two trusted sources, while 1 in 3 (31%) try to consult a variety of sources to see where they agree. About 1 in 6 Americans (17%) opt for the most extreme response, saying they stop paying attention to news altogether, while 8% rely on others to help them sort out what they need to know,” the poll analysis said.

GOP CONVENTION: SAFETY FIRST

Not so long ago, 50,000 attendees, 15,000 journalists and 8,000 volunteers were expected to attend the three-day Republican National Convention, which begins Aug. 24. The coronavirus pandemic put a huge damper on that plan. The important part of the big show, however, is still intact for the pared down event in Charlotte, North Carolina. . . .

All must have a COVID-19 test beforehand, there will be symptom tracking, temperature checks, required social distancing and masks, plus on-site health personnel and telemedicine consultations if needed.

The plan, says medical adviser Dr. Jeffry Runge, is based on “evolving scientific evidence” and guidance issued by the Presidential Coronavirus Task Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases. President Trump likely will give a virtual convention acceptance speech from the White House.

ON THE RADAR

A new interest group has arrived: Conservative Clergy of Color is an alternative voice in a pivotal time.

“We started Conservative Clergy of Color because, frankly, we were fed up with Black Lives Matter and the liberal media always controlling the narrative on race,” said chairman Bishop Aubrey Shines in a statement.

“Black Lives Matter is run by self-proclaimed Marxists and wants to openly dismantle our country and its values. We stand for the Judeo-Christian principles and traditions that helped build our country, and we want to highlight those values along with positive black success stories that don’t involve violence,” the pastor said.

“America was built by the likes of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, the Tuskegee Airmen and other African Americans of character and faith. None of them burned anything down to make positive changes in our country, unlike the mobs who have upended America’s cities. Conservative Clergy of Color’s campaign uses the example of these great leaders as the model on which we move our country forward.”. . .

POLL DU JOUR

• 50% of U.S. voters say President Trump is conservative; 64% of Republicans, 45% of independents and 55% of Democrats agree.

• 25% are not sure what ideology Mr. Trump favors; 7% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 24% of Democrats agree.

• 15% say he is moderate; 20% of Republicans, 21% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

• 10% say he is liberal; 9% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 14% of Democrats agree.

Source: A Yahoo/YouGov poll of 1,507 U.S. adults conducted July 28-30.

(Excerpt from The Washington Times. Article by Jennifer Harper. Photo from The White House Flickr.)

What do you think about the results from this media survey? Share your comments and opinions. . .