Thursday, January 28, 2010

Is Fox News Really The Most Trusted News Source?

According to a poll done by Public Policy Polling, Fox News is the most trusted news source in a tough competition between CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC, with CNN in second place. I had read this report on Tuesday, but today, I came across an article on Big Journalism echoing the report as proof that the right-wing media outlet, is well, right.

Looking at the poll, it is not that Fox News is the most trusted media source, but that of people who prefer Fox, most trust the news they receive from the channel, while those same people, mostly conservative, dislike all other media outlets, which does not come as a big surprise since Fox News brands itself as "fair and balanced" when compared to the MSM, or main stream media. I am sure that if you add the total responses of those who trust the alternatives to Fox, they would surely outnumber Fox's most loyal viewers. While 31% of respondents trust ABC, 32% trust CBS, 39% trust CNN, 35% trust NBC, and 49% trust Fox, it is equally important to look at the makeup of viewers to get an accurate portrayal of responses.

Voters who voted for John McCain in 2008 had a higher chance of not trusting other news outlets other then Fox then compared to people who voted for Obama. 70% of McCain supporters trust Fox, but when you look at their opinions of other networks, 67%, 67%, 62%, and 64% of McCain supporters view ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC, respectively, negatively.

Ideologically, conservatives overwhelmingly distrust other news networks while an astounding 75% trust Fox News. Comparatively, Liberals and moderates distrust Fox News. Liberals and moderates tend to trust the other media outlets more, meaning conservatives preference and reliance on only one news source has skewed data in an independent poll. While many may trust Fox News, it appears that a majority of people, mostly liberal and moderate ideologies, prefer to get their news elsewhere, at more fair and balanced sources.

1 comment:

  1. Fox is a trusted news source only if you're completely stupid, white and over the age of 60.

    ReplyDelete

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