| Desroko said: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/16/daily-show-fox-knowledge/ When your viewers are less informed than those of a comedy program, you're not a news organization. You're a televised pacifier. |
In the most recent version of the Poll (ie 2 years after the one you linked to) Republicans have a knowledge advantage over dems. So would you then theorize that Reps watch the Daily show and Dems watch FNC?
In reality the poll is kinda worthless as a statistical indicator of which viewer group is smarter. What you're actually doing is polling how engaged in the political process someone is. For example I used to play the Settler's board game a lot and I could poll people on the street with some very easy questions about the game that they would almost certainly get wrong if they had not played before. Not knowing doesn't make them stupid, it makes them uninterested in the game. I'm making this point to make it perfectly clear from the go, I do realize you used the word "informed" (and so did the poll) which is what my next point addresses.
But the real problem comes from the fact that you are failing to examine the viewer retention variable at all. The crux of the argument attempting to be made is that a program should inform its viewers over time which of course requires regular viewership. Looking at specific shows like O'Rielly's and Rush Limbaugh's you see this in effect as their shows score very well despite the FNC (in O'Reilly's case) as a whole scoring at the nationwide average. And it shouldn't shock anyone that the network that garners the largest nationwide cable news audience is very representative of the nationwide numbers. In effect you're finding that the channel with the most viewers is the most representative of the nation...not a surprising find by any stretch considering that this is exactly what a poll is. But by focusing on a single show you tap into some of the viewer retention info and find that shows that have viewer retention do educate their viewers. To properly test and put forward the hypothesis you are trying to advance there needs to be a much more thorough study then a simple poll, particularly given the simplicity of the questions which focus on surface knowledge and lack any indication of depth of knowledge focusing exclusively on breadth of knowledge.
This and other far more informed objections are why they haven't actually revisited this news program breakdown in their 5 (iirc its 5) polls on the subject since the one you linked to. This is because it isn't a statistically valid argument given the info available.
PS - I took the quiz on their site and aced it, it's pretty damn easy stuff sadly. It would help if it was more than 12 questions now and closer to the 23 it used to be.
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| To Each Man, Responsibility |
