Fox News Viewers Are Stupid?

 

That question will always be up to interpretation according to your own ideological point of view, but Fairleigh Dickinson University tried to scientifically prove this to be true.  And according to their press release they have done just that.  Unequivocally?

It must have been unequivocal, because the news was important enough for the Huffington Post to report it.  

Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News: Study – Huffington Post

Now…who am I to question the bastion of unbiased reporting that is the Huffington Post…There is never EVER any liberal spin on their site.

Gas Station Employee: I'm starting to picking up your sarcasm.
Richard Hayden: Well, I should hope so, because I'm laying it on pretty thick.
       - Tommy Boy (1995)

Let me begin by stating a well known axiom…"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

This is supposed to be a meaningful study?!

I know facts tend to get in the way of personal ideologies, but Let’s get some actual facts here.

The first sentence in the press release from Fairleigh Dickenson states…

According to the latest results from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll,
some news sources make us less likely to know what’s going on in the world.

But, let’s start by reading the first question they ask…

K1:  Americans now have more ways than ever before to get their news about politics and world affairs. I’m going to read you a list of news sources. As I read the list, just say “yes” if you got news from that source any time in the past week.

News Sources	Yes	No
Local Newspaper	74	26
Local TV News Broadcast	67	33
CNN	65	35
Fox News	64	36
National News Broadcast	62	38
MSNBC	51	49
National Newspaper	42	58
Talk Radio	41	59
Political Blog or News Website	30	70
Sunday Morning Political News Show	27	73
NPR	21	79
The Daily Show	18	82

Then they ask a series of 5 questions about Egypt, Syria, Occupy Wall Street, Presidential Candidates. and the European Debt crisis.  So, looking at the table above, Most people get their information from a Local Newspaper (74%)…followed by Local TV (67%), CNN (65%), and Fox News(64%).  The lowest sources of information are (in reverse order from lower to higher) The Daily Show (18%), NPR (21%), and Sunday Morning News (27%).  NOTE: They don’t mention it, but from the way the question was worded, and judging by the numbers, there is most certainly overlap.

Then from the information on their page for questions 2 and 3, 49% and 45% of Fox News viewers answered correctly (the lowest percentage) while 68% and 66% of NPR listeners answered correctly (the highest percentage).  BUT…NPR only has 21% of respondents while Fox News has 64%.

So, let’s back up a little.

What exactly are the parameters of this survey?  As stated in their release, the survey was…

”…conducted by telephone from Oct. 17, 2011, through Oct. 23, 2011, using a randomly selected sample of 612 resident adults statewide.  The margin of error for a sample of 612 randomly selected respondents is +/- 3.5 percentage points.  The margin of error for subgroups is larger and varies by the size of that subgroup.”

This survey involves 612 randomly selected residents in NJ.  They surveyed 612 people in a state with over 8,791,894 (US Census 2010) people…that’s approximately 0.007%, and in a country with 312,657,207 people that percentage is even more microscopically small.

But, for the sake of argument let’s analyze the first 3 questions. 

K1:
Fox New Viewers: 64% of the 612 surveyed is approximately 392.
NPR Listeners: 21% of the 612 is approximately 129

K2:
Fox News Viewers: 49% of 392 is approximately 192 Correct Answers
NPR Listeners: 68% of 129 is approximately 88 Correct Answers

K3:
Fox News Viewers: 45% of 392 is approximately 176 Correct Answers
NPR Listeners: 66% of 129 is approximately 85 Correct Answers

But…hey don’t let facts stand in the way…Never have before. (Hello….I’m speaking to both of you!)

So, what CAN we conclude from this “study”?  That people will believe anything as long as it fits their own ideological beliefs.

But, like I said, who am I to question such awesome institutions as Fairleigh Dickenson and the Huffington Post…right?!

Gas Station Employee: I'm starting to picking up your sarcasm.
Richard Hayden: Well, I should hope so, because I'm laying it on pretty thick.
- Tommy Boy (1995)

HA! Love that movie!

Peace
G