Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Trusting Fox News

Here's a bitter dose of what passes for reality -- a poll says Fox News is the most trusted news network in America.
A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network. Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t trust Fox, also the lowest level of distrust that any of the networks recorded.

3 comments:

James Young said...

Or maybe, just MAYBE, you're drinking too much of the moonbat Kool-Aid.

And Americans are smart enough to recognize the rampant biases on the other networks.

Which, of course, is belied by President Barry's vote totals last year.

Stuart said...

Like they say in the article, this has a lot to do with a changing media landscape. America's ability to differentiate hard news from editorializing has been compromised by having so many choices in what infotainment to consume on a 24 hour news cycle. I think the question of "trust" itself is pretty revealing of our tendency to consume the media products that best fit our worldview. Just look at the party line split on who "trusts" FNC. The Republicans "trust" FNC to deliver a right wing worldview, the Democrats do not "trust" them to deliver a centrist worldview.

The question doesn't ask, "Who do you trust to have a camera on the House floor for a debate," what they mean by "trust" is, "Who do you trust to deliver a media product you personally agree with." Did they ask if consumers "trust" C-SPAN more than C-SPAN 2 or 3?

By the way Mr. Rhea I read your feed because I "trust" your content :)

Stuart said...

It would also be interesting to know these people's viewing habits. I imagine that viewers who tune in for 30 minutes of headlines before dinner probably aren't too picky about what network they watch. Conversely, people who watch several hours of political talk shows each day know what network content they can "trust" and are loyal consumers of that brand.