A new report from the folks at The Pew Research Project says
that the 2004 presidential campaign in the United States is notable for the
way voters/consumers are getting their information about that race and the
issues:
Television news remains dominant, but there has been further
erosion in the audience for broadcast TV news. The Internet, a relatively
minor source for campaign news in 2000, is now on par with such traditional
outlets as public television broadcasts, Sunday morning news programs and
the weekly news magazines. And young people, by far the hardest to reach
segment of the political news audience, are abandoning mainstream sources of
election news and increasingly citing alternative outlets, including comedy
shows such as the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live, as their
source for election news.
But that's just one of several remarkable insights in this comprehensive
survey that looks at the phenomenon of Howard Dean and the Internet;
differences between Democrat and Republican media use and preferences;
perceived bias in political reporting; and much more.
Here's the chunk on bias, much of which is just begging for some followup:
A solid majority of Americans say they see a great deal (30%) or
a fair amount (35%) of political bias in news coverage generally. In
contrast with the growing perception of biased campaign coverage, this
measure has not changed markedly since January 2000 when 67% saw at least a
fair amount of political bias.
Conservative Republicans are significantly more likely to perceive the press
as biased in its news coverage than are moderate and liberal Republicans,
Democrats, and independents. This ideological difference is mirrored in the
disparate opinions among audiences of different news sources.
People who get most of their news from the Fox News are much more likely to
say the press shows a great deal of bias than are viewers of CNN, Network
news, and local TV news. People who cite radio or the Internet as their main
source of campaign news are also more likely to see widespread bias in the
media.
Interestingly, younger generations express somewhat less concern about press
bias than their elders. Barely one- in-five Americans under age 30 say they
see a great deal of media bias in general news coverage, compared with
roughly a third of those age 30 and over. More – well educated Americans
also perceive the press to be more biased than those who never attended
college.
The report says that local television news, network television news, and
newspapers are being hit hardest in this “fractionalized media environment”.
This study surveys the American media and political landscape, of course. I
wish there were some Canadian groups taking a look at this trend. I'm sure
there are, but I just don't know of them. If you can help, send me some e-mail or drop a line
into the comment box below.
Also of some note, considering the nasty war between CNN and Fox (we don't
get Fox News up here in Canada, by the way), is that the Pew Report finds
CNN is turned to more than Fox by American viewers for political news:
While cable news and the Internet have become more important in
informing Americans about the election, television as a whole remains the
public¹s main source of campaign news. When individual TV outlets are
tested, 22% say they get most of their news from CNN, 20% cite Fox, and
somewhat fewer cite local news or one of the network news broadcasts.
Mind you, the difference between Fox and CNN in this Pew poll is close
enough, it might as well be considered a tie. Pew says its survey could miss
by as much as 4 per cent points.