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发帖数: 29846 | 1 posted at 7:31 pm on January 18, 2012 by Tina Korbe
The Fox News Channel is simultaneously America’s most trusted news source
and its least, according to a new poll from Public Policy Polling. Now, if
the very same Americans said they both trusted and distrusted Fox, that
might have suggested the channel is as perfectly fair and balanced as its
executives claim. That is, if conservatives and liberals alike trusted half
the information Fox provided and distrusted the other half, a plausible
explanation would be that Fox provided liberal and conservative commentary
in equal measure. Unfortunately for Fox, that’s not the case here. Instead,
the breakdown is predictable: Republicans overwhelmingly trust Fox, while
Democrats regard the cable news channel with a wary eye.
Fox is the most trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed by
PBS at 17%, CNN at 12%, ABC News at 11%, CBS News at 8%, MSNBC at 5%, and
Comedy Central and NBC each at 4%.
68% of Republicans pick Fox as their most trusted source, with no one
else even hitting double digits. Democrats split closely three ways with PBS
at 21%, ABC News at 19%, and CNN at 17%. Despite having a reputation for
appealing to the left MSNBC actually polls in only 6th place among Democrats
at 8%, finishing slightly behind even Fox News’ 9%. Independents split
almost evenly between Fox News (29%) and PBS (27%).
Fox is also the least trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed
by Comedy Central at 16%, MSNBC at 15%, CNN at 11%, ABC News at 7%, CBS
News at 5%, PBS at 2%, and NBC News at 1%.
Democrats (53-17 over Comedy Central) and independents (44-13 over
Comedy Central) both overwhelmingly say Fox is their least trusted news
source. Republicans go for MSNBC by a 28-23 margin over CNN, followed by
Comedy Central at 18% and ABC News at 10%.
The poll also asked whether folks trusted each individual source. PBS was
the only news source that a majority of those polled said they trust. A
plurality of voters also said they trust CNN, NBC and Fox. The rest of the
sources run an explicit trust deficit; more individuals said they don’t
trust them than said they do.
The sample skewed conservative and Democrat, with a liberal/moderate/
conservative breakdown of 28/27/44 and a Democrat/Independent/Republican
breakdown of 41/24/35.
In general, the directors of PPP say this poll suggests TV news has become
every bit as polarized as the political parties in this country. “
Television news has become just as polarizing as the politicians themselves,
” PPP president Dean Debnam said in a press release. “Democrats trust
everything except Fox News, while Republicans trust nothing except Fox News.”
To me, the poll serves as a timely reminder to check a diversity of sources
to ensure a well-rounded perspective on the world. Realistically, time
constraints and the general demands of life often preclude the casual media
consumer from checking a multiplicity of sources, but that doesn’t mean
consumers can’t switch it up occasionally. |
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