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University of Maryland study : Foxnews viewers ignorant about Iraq war

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Troy McClure, Oct 7, 2003.

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  1. Troy McClure

    Troy McClure Member

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    Study hits war views held by Fox fans

    Baltimore Sun - October 4, 2003
    By David Folkenflik Sun Staff

    Heavy viewers of the Fox News Channel are nearly four times as likely to hold demonstrably untrue positions about the war in Iraq as media consumers who rely on National Public Radio or the Public Broadcasting System, according to a study released this week by a research center affiliated with the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs. "When evidence surfaces that a significant portion of the public has just got a hole in the picture ... this is a potential problem in the way democracy functions," says Clay Ramsay, research director for the Washington-based Program on International Policy Attitudes, which studies foreign-policy issues.

    Fox News officials did not return repeated requests yesterday for comment on the study.

    Funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation, the study was conducted from June through September. It surveyed 3,334 Americans who receive their news from a single media source. Each was questioned about whether he held any of the following three beliefs, characterized by the center as "egregious misperceptions":

    * Saddam Hussein has been directly linked with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

    * Weapons of mass destruction have already been found in Iraq.

    * World opinion favored the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

    To date, as measured by government reports and accepted public surveys, each of those propositions is false, according to the center. The Bush administration has argued that evidence will be found of the weapons in Iraq as will direct links between Saddam and the al-Qaida members who planned the 9/11 attacks. But President Bush has been forced to acknowledge that no such proof has surfaced.

    Sixty percent of all respondents believed in at least one of the statements. But there were clear differences in perceptions among devotees of the various media outlets.

    Twenty-three percent of those who get their news from NPR or PBS believed in at least one of the mistaken claims. In contrast, 80 percent of Fox News viewers held at least one of the three incorrect beliefs.

    Among broadcast network viewers there also were differences. Seventy-one percent of those who relied on CBS for news held a false impression, as did 61 percent of ABC's audience and 55 percent of NBC viewers. Fifty-five percent of CNN viewers and 47 percent of Americans who rely on the print media as their primary source of information also held at least one misperception.

    The three evening network news shows command the largest audiences, together typically reaching between 25 million and 30 million viewers nightly. But Fox News, the top-rated cable-news outlet, has steadily increased its viewership by offering a blend of hard news and opinionated talk that often takes on a patriotic sheen. Its top show draws more than 2 million viewers nightly.

    "Among those who primarily watch Fox, those who pay more attention are more likely to have misperceptions," the report concludes. "Only those who mostly get their news from print media have fewer misperceptions as they pay more attention."

    The PIPA study suggests a strong link between people's understanding of the news and its source. That link held true throughout different demographic segments, such as those based on education level, viewing habits, and partisan leanings, Ramsay said.

    "It proves that what we're doing is great journalism," says NPR spokeswoman Laura Gross. "We're telling the truth and we let our audience decide."

    http://www.sunspot.net/features/lifestyle/bal-to.fox04oct04.story
     
    #1 Troy McClure, Oct 7, 2003
  2. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Member
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    Thinking back to recent BBS debates I wish viewers/readers of the BBC would have been included in the study.
     
    #2 FranchiseBlade, Oct 7, 2003
  3. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    This is dumb. All those questions are biased.

    What if they included the following:
    Was the war unilateral?
    Was Saddam in violation UN resolutions right before the war?
    Was the war for oil?
    Was the planned war to benefit Halliburton?
    Was the war a necon conspiracy?

    I bet you'd get a lot of ignorant answers from fans of Howard Dean.
     
    #3 Mr. Clutch, Oct 7, 2003
  4. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Member
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    Which of the questions was biased? I'm assuming that you are gathering the questions by the mistaken responses listed from FNC viewers. We don't know that those were the only questions, just that those are the ones that viewers of Fox got wrong.

    Maybe I missed something in the original article.
     
    #4 FranchiseBlade, Oct 7, 2003
  5. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    Nah, I think you got everything. My point was just that all the questions are about things that right- wingers tend to have misconceptions about. There are also many things left- wingers tend to have misconceptions about, but I doubt those misconceptions were analyzed by the study.

    For example, a study that asked "Was the war for oil?" would probably get many more yes answers from NPR viewers than FNC viewers.
     
    #5 Mr. Clutch, Oct 7, 2003
  6. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Member
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    I see your point if those were the only questions in the study. The only problem I have with the example of a question you asked is that is still a matter up for debate. It's like asking 'Does Iraq have WMD?' That question hasn't been decided conclusively yet. The other questions that were asked have definite yes or no answers.
     
    #6 FranchiseBlade, Oct 7, 2003
  7. Timing

    Timing Member

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    Exactly. The questions had verifiable answers.
     
    #7 Timing, Oct 7, 2003
  8. twhy77

    twhy77 Member

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    But Mr. Clutch's point still stands
     
    #8 twhy77, Oct 8, 2003
  9. TheFreak

    TheFreak Member

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    What a stupid study.
     
    #9 TheFreak, Oct 8, 2003
  10. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    Fox News viewers are ignorant???

    Say it ain't so, Joe!!!:D :D
     
    #10 RocketMan Tex, Oct 8, 2003
  11. Timing

    Timing Member

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    He had no point. The questions he posed had subjective answers.
     
    #11 Timing, Oct 8, 2003
  12. twhy77

    twhy77 Member

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    What questions were you reading, they had objective answers.
     
    #12 twhy77, Oct 8, 2003
  13. twhy77

    twhy77 Member

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    No edit. At least the first two did...
     
    #13 twhy77, Oct 8, 2003
  14. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Member

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    Wonder what would happen if they did a "study" with CNN viewers. That is, if they could find any.
     
    #14 ima_drummer2k, Oct 8, 2003
  15. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    I watch CNN...

    ...as it is flashing by on my way to 206 (ESPN). :D
     
    #15 GladiatoRowdy, Oct 8, 2003
  16. Troy McClure

    Troy McClure Member

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    It wasnt a study about just Fox news(wink, wink) viewers. Did you even read the report?
     
    #16 Troy McClure, Oct 8, 2003
  17. Batman Jones

    Batman Jones Member

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    This is such a paper tiger. First, I'm a fan of Howard Dean. Here are my answers to your questions:

    Was the war unilateral? Virtually.
    Was Saddam in violation of resolutions? Absolutely.
    Was the war for oil? No, but it didn't hurt.
    Was the war to benefit Halliburton? Not at all, but it didn't hurt and Halliburton's involvement has significantly damaged the image of the US as a benign do-gooder here.
    Was the war a neocon conspiracy? The short answer is no, but conversations of record on the Iraq issue between key neocons going back more than ten years are deeply troubling.

    Now, my answers may or may not indicate bias. That's fine. But that's not what the study sought to prove. It sought to prove that people were misinformed on the major issues that led up to the war.

    They were not asked whether Saddam had WMD's, whether he lied about it or even whether he was a threat. They were asked if we had already found WMD's. It's not a matter of opinion or bias. We have not.

    They were not asked whether they believed there was a link between Saddam and Al Qaeda or 9/11. They were asked whether such a link had been proven. Not a matter of opinion or bias. A link has NOT been proven and Bush and Powell have even said so.

    They were not asked whether the world should back the effort or whether some key allies did. They were asked whether world opinion backed the invasion. Agree or disagree with world opinion on this, but world opinion did not back the invasion -- by any standard.

    If I, as an opponent of the war, sincerely believed the answers to these three questions to be yes, I would have supported the war. It is not just Fox News that is guilty here, but the administration that they parrot. It is no wonder that a majority of Americans supported this bogus war, when they believed the bogus talking points that sold it. But it is deeply troubling that most supporters of the war were, by their own accounts, radically misinformed as the major tenets that made the case.
     
    #17 Batman Jones, Oct 8, 2003
  18. Murdock

    Murdock Member

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    Most Americans still consider the media "too Liberal"

    POLL ANALYSES
    October 8, 2003


    Are the News Media Too Liberal?
    Forty-five percent of Americans say yes


    by Frank Newport and Joseph Carroll
    GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

    PRINCETON, NJ -- Forty-five percent of Americans believe the news media in this country are too liberal, while only 14% say the news media are too conservative. These perceptions of liberal inclination have not changed over the last three years. A majority of Americans who describe their political views as conservative perceive liberal leanings in the media, while only about a third of self-described liberals perceive conservative leanings.

    More generally, the Sept. 8-10 Gallup Poll finds that a little more than half of Americans have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the news media when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly. Trust in the news media has not changed significantly over the last six years. Conservatives have a slightly lower level of trust in the media than either moderates or liberals do.

    News Media Too Liberal?

    Gallup has asked Americans four times in recent years if they perceive the news media as too liberal, too conservative, or about right, with the following results:

    more at the url:

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr031008.asp
     
    #18 Murdock, Oct 8, 2003
  19. MacBeth

    MacBeth Member

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    Batman...Huzzah! Almost word for word what i was going to say...



    Murdock:


    A) That is opinion.
    B) You need to work on your definition of 'most'...
     
    #19 MacBeth, Oct 8, 2003
  20. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    Exactly what I was thinking.
     
    #20 Rocketman95, Oct 8, 2003
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