http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=1535Fox News Viewers: Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered
Filed under: General — Mark @ 8:45 pm
The infatuation Fox News viewers have with their pet network is becoming an evermore heated affair. A new poll reveals the network to have a mesmerizing effect on their disciples.
The poll measured levels of trust in television news viewing. The overall result that is being widely reported is that Fox News is the “most trusted’ of all TV news sources with 49% saying they trust it compared to 37% saying otherwise. But the polls internals tell a more nuanced story.
Republicans have an abiding trust in Fox News: 74% to 15%. The same is true when surveying conservatives: 75% to 13%. Democrats and liberals were not nearly as monolithic in their views. The highest rating any of them gave was only 64% (for NBC). Conversely, Republicans and conservatives were far more negative toward non-Fox news sources where the highest rating was a mere 23% for CNN.
What these numbers tell us is how effectively Fox has programmed their viewers to salivate when the bell rings. For these people, Fox is their remote brain. Consequently they will only respond to Fox and will shun any other source. That is the nature of a disciple/master relationship. It is why Fox commands such loyalty from their viewers. It is not surprising, therefore, that the other networks struggle to compete when their audiences are more independent and intellectually curious. It is that sense of devotion that leads to higher ratings for Fox from an audience that is literally bewitched.
The bothered (irrational anger and Tea Baggery) and bewildered (notably misinformed and deceived) parts are just gravy on Fox’s propaganda train.