Poll: Most say news media has been either too easy or fair to Sarah Palin

More than half of Americans think the press has been either too easy or else fair in its coverage of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), a new poll said Thursday.

A combined 54 percent of U.S. adults said the press had been too easy or had been fair toward Palin, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Thirty-two percent said the press has been fair, and 22 percent say the press has been too easy on Palin, the potential GOP presidential candidate.

{mosads}Palin’s known for her animosity toward the press corps; she calls it the “lamestream media,” and has taken to her website or Facebook page to dismiss occasionally negative or inaccurate press coverage of her activities.

Republicans and Republican-leaning Americans are more likely to perceive the coverage of Palin as too tough. Fifty-two percent of Republicans said the media are too tough, and 29 percent said the press is fair toward Palin.

Larger numbers of Americans say the coverage of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is fair. Forty-five percent called the coverage of Romney fair, and 37 percent said Bachmann has received fair coverage.

The poll, conducted July 21-24, has a 3.5 percent margin of error.