An Informed Electorate: from Walter Conkrite to Stephen Colbert
The New York Times reports that the best-informed Americans are those that watch fake news, from "The Daily Show" to "The O'Reilly Factor."
According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, despite the fact that because of cable and the internet there are many more news outlets today than two decades ago, Americans know less about current events now than they did then.
But, the Times says, there's one big change: "the survey respondents who seemed to know the most about what’s going on — who were able to identify major public figures, for example — were likely to be viewers of fake news programs like Jon Stewart’s 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report;' those who knew the least watched network morning news programs, Fox News or local television news."
On many specifics, Americans are in the dark. Only 69% can identify Dick Cheney, despite his important and controversial role in this administration, compared to the 74% who knew who the hapless Dan Quayle was in 1989. Fewer now can name the governor of their state (66% compared with 74% in 1989) and fewer can name the president of Russia (36% now compared with 47% then). In 1989, 81% of respondents knew that the US had a trade deficit; today, only 68% know.
The survey found that “despite the fact that education levels have risen dramatically over the past 20 years, public knowledge has not increased accordingly.” About 27% of Americans are college graduates.
The six news sources cited most often by people who knew the most about current events were: “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” (counted as one), tied with websites of major newspapers; next came “News Hour With Jim Lehrer;” then “The O’Reilly Factor,” tied with NPR; and Rush Limbaugh’s radio program.
It's not surprising that the best-informed Americans are listening to comedy news. A lot of the riffs by Stewart, Colbert, O'Reilly and Limbaugh would be meaningless without their audiences' familiarity with the topics being lampooned. It's hard to be mad at the attorney general if you don't know who he is.
The rest of the story: The New York Times.
What Americans Know: 1989-2007 (Pew Research Center)
According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, despite the fact that because of cable and the internet there are many more news outlets today than two decades ago, Americans know less about current events now than they did then.
But, the Times says, there's one big change: "the survey respondents who seemed to know the most about what’s going on — who were able to identify major public figures, for example — were likely to be viewers of fake news programs like Jon Stewart’s 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report;' those who knew the least watched network morning news programs, Fox News or local television news."
On many specifics, Americans are in the dark. Only 69% can identify Dick Cheney, despite his important and controversial role in this administration, compared to the 74% who knew who the hapless Dan Quayle was in 1989. Fewer now can name the governor of their state (66% compared with 74% in 1989) and fewer can name the president of Russia (36% now compared with 47% then). In 1989, 81% of respondents knew that the US had a trade deficit; today, only 68% know.
The survey found that “despite the fact that education levels have risen dramatically over the past 20 years, public knowledge has not increased accordingly.” About 27% of Americans are college graduates.
The six news sources cited most often by people who knew the most about current events were: “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” (counted as one), tied with websites of major newspapers; next came “News Hour With Jim Lehrer;” then “The O’Reilly Factor,” tied with NPR; and Rush Limbaugh’s radio program.
It's not surprising that the best-informed Americans are listening to comedy news. A lot of the riffs by Stewart, Colbert, O'Reilly and Limbaugh would be meaningless without their audiences' familiarity with the topics being lampooned. It's hard to be mad at the attorney general if you don't know who he is.
The rest of the story: The New York Times.
What Americans Know: 1989-2007 (Pew Research Center)
posted by John Gabree at 5:58 PM
1 Comments:
Wy am I not surprised that Fox viewers are among the least informed? Maybe they get their internet info from conservopedia.
--Ron
Post a Comment
<< Home