Survey: Republicans Trust Fox News And Nothing Else; Democrats more diverse

[pampango]

68% of Republicans pick Fox as their most trusted source, with no one else even hitting double digits. Democrats split closely three ways with PBS at 21%, ABC News at 19%, and CNN at 17%. Despite having a reputation for appealing to the left MSNBC actually polls in only 6th place among Democrats at 8%, finishing slightly behind even Fox News' 9%. Independents split almost evenly between Fox News (29%) and PBS (27%).

Democrats and independents both overwhelmingly say Fox is their least trusted news source. Republicans go for MSNBC by a 28-23 margin over CNN, followed by Comedy Central at 18% and ABC News at 10%.

-For the second year in a row PBS easily comes out ahead as the outlet the most people trust, even if it isn't necessarily the one they trust the most.

-Democrats trust everything- except Fox News. NBC does the best with them at +50 (67/17), followed by PBS and CNN at +49 (66/17 and 65/16 respectively), ABC at +38 (57/19), CBS at +35 (58/23), MSNBC at +33 (56/23), and even Comedy Central at +4 (36/32). Fox News comes in at -36 (25/61).

-Republicans meanwhile don't trust anything except Fox News. PBS comes the closest to breaking even among non-Fox outlets, although not very close, at -30 (26/56). It's followed by CNN at -49 (18/67), MSNBC at -51 (18/69), NBC at -52 (17/69), CBS at -54 (17/71), ABC at -56 (14/70), and Comedy Central at -59 (12/71). But Fox News comes in at a stellar 73/17.

Independents are with the Democrats. They trust everything except Fox News. Main takeaway from this poll: tv news has become just as polarizing as the political parties in this country.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/01/3rd-annual-tv-news-trust-poll.html

Every media source other than Fox had a negative rating with republicans, while every source other than Fox had a positive rating (though just barely so in some cases) with Democrats.

[Scuba]

1. Meanwhile, Fox News viewership plummets...

... I love the smell of Republican collapse.

[wtmusic]

3. Republicans could be marginalized enough after this election to make a third party viable.

We're headed for some interesting times.

[hifiguy]

6. The demographics are really ugly for the Repukes

The generations coming up are much less sexist, racist, religous and homophobic than their base of low-information older white evangelicals. They are painting themselves into an ever smaller, crazier and irrelevant corner. Their end can't come soon enough.

[wtmusic]

10. "They are painting themselves into an ever smaller, crazier and irrelevant corner."

Well said.

[zbdent]

2. maybe it's because any time a Democrat says something, they're forced to

back it up with multiple sources, sworn testimony, and practically stuff notarized by both Ronald Reagan AND Jesus Christ himself, and then Republicans, with the "liberally-biased media", sit there and say "it needs more study".

When a Republican says "nuh uh" or "you're wrong" ... the "lbm" pretty much allows them to put that out as "fact", and nobody seems to "mind" that they have no proof of their point.

[matmar]

5. It's akin to the conflict between religion and science

Science relies on facts where religion relies on gullibility, otherwise known as "faith"

[FarLeftFist]

4. As a Liberal I actually feel sorry for those idiots who chose to hand their brains over to FOX news

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

[hifiguy]

8. Most of the Faux cultists

have little to waste in that department. Reason does not exist in their world, nor do facts.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. PBS would be my choice, also. It's not that they are left leaning, it's because they

actually show you both sides of an issue and let you make up your own mind. They also don't sensationalize the news, they just report it.

[lpbk2713]

9. RWingnuts define "willfully ignorant"

This survey could not make the point any more succinctly.

[MisterP]

11. technically, what's described is the total opposite of "polarizing"