Seven Surveys Make A Trend For Fox And Viewers
November 22, 2011 1:35 pm ET by Eric Boehlert
The release yesterday of yet another survey indicating the more you watch Fox News the less they know, has once again shone a spotlight on one of the unique features that defines Rupert Murdoch's cable news outlet - it is very, very good at misinforming people. And it's very bad at reporting the news.
In other words: Propaganda? Yes. News? Not so much.
It's true that the most recent survey, conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University, only polled adults in New Jersey and doesn't represent national indictment against Fox. Nonetheless, the findings created a media stir because they reinforce what pollsters and academics previously discovered; that one of the country's all-news channels consistently leaves viewers less informed.
What's stunning is how many different areas of the news and public policy Fox viewers are misinformed about. For instance, the Fairleigh Dickinson survey asked viewers about recent grassroots uprisings in Arab nations [emphasis added]:
For example, people who watch Fox News, the most popular of the 24-hour cable news networks, are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government than those who watch no news at all..... Fox News watchers are also 6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government than those who watch no news.
That just means we can add the Arab Spring to the laundry list of issues Fox fans are less knowledgeable about. Here are some previously documented examples.
--2003, the Iraq War. the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) study found widespread public misperceptions about the Iraq war, but some media consumers were more misinformed than others:
Those who primarily watch Fox News are significantly more likely than average to have misperceptions.
--2009, health care reform. A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Fox fans were overwhelmingly misinformed about the proposed health care reform:
In our poll, 72% of self-identified FOX News viewers believe the health-care plan will give coverage to illegal immigrants, 79% of them say it will lead to a government takeover, 69% think that it will use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and 75% believe that it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing care for the elderly.
--2010, global warming. Stanford University, in conjunction with the National Science Foundation, released a report titled "Frequent Viewers of Fox News Are Less Like to Accept Scientists' Views of Global Warming."
It concluded:
More exposure to Fox News was associated with more rejection of many mainstream scientists' claims about global warming, with less trust in scientists, and with more belief that ameliorating global warming would hurt the U.S. economy.
--2010, the proposed New York City mosque. Two Ohio State University researchers released their study, "Fox News Contributes to Spread of Rumors About Proposed NYC Mosque."
The take-away:
In this study, the results are very clear: the more people use Fox News, the more rumors they have heard and the more they believe.
--2010, mid-term elections. A "Misinformation and the 2010 Election" survey conducted by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, and showed that regular Fox News viewers "were significantly more likely" to hold misinformed views.
--2011, health care reform. The Kaiser Foundation released the findings of its health care reform "pop quiz." It asked respondents ten questions about the topic and graded the responses. The Foundation found loyal Fox News viewers knew less about health care reform than did CNN and MSBNC viewers.
If nothing else, the team at Fox News is thorough when it comes to misinforming viewers.
Not only does Faux missinform. They also turn much of our electorate away from the discussion of where we are, and where we're going.
Fear of BillO calling you a pinhead trumps being informed I guess.
I have a hard time accepting a "just live with it" mentality on this issue. I'm thinking even beyond FOXPAC's transgressions. A corporate entity with deep pockets should not have unfettered ability to use false propaganda 24/7 over public airwaves to promote a narrow political agenda while it hides behind a false label. I fail to see how FOXPAC's mangling of the term "news network" is so much different than some scam artist hocking some exotic berry as being a cure for cancer.
Firstly, the determination was by by a Florida court and, as far as I can work out, the precedent only applies in the Second District Court of Florida and is merely persuasive in other jurisdictions. It has not been settled law at superior appellate court level i.e. Florida Supreme Court or, more appropriately, U.S. Supreme Court.
There is are important elements of law at stake here regarding the free speech issue. Defamation is a civil tort against an individual (importantly it may be committed by a corporation but, it cannot be committed against an unincorporated group of persons (as for post Citizens United I don't know about incorporated groups). Ability to take action against defamers of a class of people is severely restricted.
Then there is the matter or the right of the public not to be wilfully misinformed and the concomitant obligation of those who purport to be informing the public as to news and public affairs to not deliberately misinform.
These are important matters of national public policy - particularly with the 24hr news cycle that now exists and the temptation to rush to publish without checking stories.
These matters are far too important to be determined by a district court of a state in a matter, as far as I can remember, largely concerning wrongful dismissal. I suspect the areas to contest the matter would revolve around Broadcasting Law (use of wireless and cable transmission) and Trades Practices Law (trades descriptions and consumer protection).
But I'm not a Mirkin so what would I know?
Yes, they showed him as a democrat. Look, let's just say for a second it was an honest mistake, the average person watching this broadcast might be fooled into believing that Walker is a Democrat.
Even my formerly smart brother has been watching faux too long and now argues against things he used to be for.
He has always been a research first, form opinions later, but in the last 6 years or so he has just stopped thinking any more.
It is so sad and pathetic that he actually went off on a rant on my niece who is a union person where she works and she has done lots of great things. He didn't shut up until I told her (loudly) how much I support her and unions for all they do to help. (He became sheepish when I started talking about how unions raise ALL working conditions etc.) It is sad, he is only 60!
The drug of Faux news can be worse than any prescription meds, I realize. A diet of Faux is injurious to health and sanity.
We have friends who watched Glenn Beck and believed the tripe he was spewing even though they claimed they were objective. And, they're retired and one is on disability, the other claiming normal pension & social security.