As Roger Macdonald points out, mentions of "socialism" are at record highs on television news, despite it being 8 years since it was Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. The timeline below shows the percentage of airtime on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and Fox Business mentioning "socialist OR socialism" over the past decade, with Fox focusing the most on the terms, devoting more than 1.5% of its total airtime thus far this month as Sanders has surged to the forefront. In the 2016 election Fox Business emphasized the term the most, with both focusing on it early last year and Fox News leading the way this month as Sanders has become the Democratic frontrunner.
Capitalism received a slight bump in early 2012, but it is socialism that has captivated the public. The timeline below shows the percentage of the combined airtime of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News mentioning "socialist OR socialism" (in blue) versus "capitalist OR capitalism" in black.
