PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT NEWS COVERAGE AND PRESIDENT OBAMA´S POPULARITY
Gary Ater
September 15, 2009
...Latest Polls on the Dems vs the GOP
For those of us that follow the news on a regular basis, (and those cable media channels that mistakenly call it "news"), it was no surprise when the latest PEW RESEARCH CENTER survey poll stated that the public respect for US news accuracy had plunged to only 29% of all Americans saying that the so called national news organizations get their facts straight.
To summarize the survey results, the public gave a resounding statement of "no confidence". And long-term, this could become a serious problem for a democratic republic that needs accurate information in order to make the appropriate voting decisions.
The 29% number is the lowest percentage in two decades. And only 26% of those polled say that news outlets are being careful to report the news without showing a political bias. They also felt that 70% of the news organizations, particularly FOX News, tries to cover up their mistakes.
ACCURATE AND FAIR NEWS AND ITS SOURCES:
In addition, the overall partisan view also seriously shows a difference in who thinks they are getting the best and most accurate news and from where. Here´s how the survey says that the cable and network news is viewed by both the Republicans and the Democrats:
DEMOCRATS:
81% have a positive view of network news, 75% for CNN, 60% for MSNBC and 43% for Fox News.
REPUBLICANS:
72% have a favorable view of Fox News, 55% are positive for all network news, 44% for CNN and 34% for MSNBC.
(No surprises for either party here.)
What´s so new about the PEW results is that for years the news reporting business had previously been viewed as being mostly favorable to "liberal or progressive" views. Today, most of those polled felt that the news information is either inaccurate or is shaded toward the "conservatives". That is shown by the latest increase of that view from 43% to 59%.
On the other hand, politics is usually viewed through each party´s individual level of "tunnel vision". Here are the examples from the PEW survey:
REPUBLICANS:
73% of Republicans say the media is being fair to President Obama´s administration, while only 25% of Republicans said it was fair about the Bush administration four years ago.
DEMOCRATS:
68% of Democrats said the coverage of the Bush administration coverage was fair in 2005, while 54% of Democrats today say the coverage is being fair with President Obama.
With regard to the "most read" national newspaper, The New York Times; 39% of Democrats think the Times is favorable with its Democrat and President Obama coverage, while only 16% of the Republicans think the Times is favorable to Republicans.
PRESIDENT OBAMA´S FAVORABILITY:
Yes, as with other presidents, President Obama´s favorability has slipped. But, to be correct, President Obama´s favorability is at the same level as that of President Ronald Reagan at this point in President Reagan´s first term.
During Obama´s first 100 days, his approval was at 59%. Today, with all the on-going discussion about health care reform, the president´s approval is at 43%. (Actually, since his latest speach on health care, his ratings have risen about 4-6 points.) And as the newspapers say; "The "candidate of hope" has run smack into "Washington reality".
Under the umbrella of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, researchers for George Mason University and California's Chapman University examined the nightly newscasts; the New York Times; and the Time and Newsweek weekly news magazines.
The president's policies drew the toughest scrutiny; 42% positive coverage, while in personal and other evaluations, the assessments were 68% positive. The administration fared least well on terrorism and Guantanamo Bay (26% positive) and best on the Financial Stimulus (47% positive).
The most favorable evaluations appeared in front-page New York Times stories (61% positive), while ABC's "World News" was the most positive newscast (53% positive) and "NBC Nightly News" the least (45% positive).
As expected, the study found that Obama's coverage was just 23% positive on the news segments of "Special Report," Fox News" Washington Bureau newscast.
I guess it´s all just "different strokes for different folks".
Copyright G.Ater 2009
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