Mainstream media coverage of Bitcoin and crypto in the second quarter was polarized and lacking in volume despite the cryptocurrency reaching an all-time high, says market intelligence firm Perception.

There were a total of 1,116 articles published by 18 mass media outlets in the second quarter, which revealed a “deeply polarized narrative landscape” in media coverage of digital assets, according to the firm’s report released on Tuesday. 

The report didn’t draw direct comparisons to previous quarters, but said the overall sentiment toward Bitcoin (BTC) saw a “dramatic divergence between outlets,” with 31% publishing positive articles, 41% giving neutral coverage, and 28% publishing negative articles.

The report claimed a stark dearth of news coverage from “elite financial publications” such as News Corp’s The Wall Street Journal, which published just two articles on Bitcoin in Q2, while the Financial Times and The New York Times published 11 articles on Bitcoin over the period.

These three outlets accounted for just 2% of all of the mass media Bitcoin and crypto coverage for the second quarter. 

Mass media has 3 reporting narratives on Bitcoin

Perception said it identified three distinct narratives on how a major outlet covers Bitcoin, which largely depended on the level of what they claimed was “editorial blindness from agenda-setting outlets.”

The three narratives were “enthusiastic adoption” from the likes of Forbes and CNBC, “willful blindness” from the likes of the Journal and the Financial Times, and “persistent skepticism” from traditional media.

High-volume financial media such as Forbes, CNBC and News Corp’s Barron’s filled the vacuum left by the top financial publications with extensive coverage, while traditional news outlets concentrated on crime and controversy, Perception said. 

Crypto topic distribution varies among news media

The research also found significant variation in topics regarding the crypto industry. 

Forbes focused on retail adoption, Bitcoin mining, and institutional adoption as major topics, while CNBC had a heavy focus on banking and finance, market analysis, and investment vehicles.

Related: ‘Bad breach of ethics’ — Musk echoes crypto execs in backlash against WSJ

Meanwhile, Fortune had significant coverage of mining, banking, finance, and market analysis, while Fox News emphasized crime, legal, and cybersecurity topics. 

Information asymmetry means readers “underinformed”

The report concluded that this disparity creates significant “information asymmetry.” 

Investors relying on elite financial media for market intelligence are “systematically underinformed” about an emerging transformative asset class, it claimed. 

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