Padawanbater2
Well-Known Member
So you hear it time and time again "Fox News is better, they have more ratings than all the other news networks combined!"... (forgetting most of them have openly admitted Fox "news" isn't a valid source of "news" to begin with, and "they don't claim to be news!").. So what do these conservatives mean when they say "better"? Are these stations more entertaining? Are they more informative? More honest? I think it's an important distinction, because what do ratings really mean? Ratings mean how many people tuned into the program. That doesn't really tell you how many people approved of it, agreed with it, or believed it.. Fortunately for us, we have actual numbers that do tell us these things..
So what do we see when we turn to cable news?
Pretty clear, FNC is dominant...
Why is that?
"Authoritarian people have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like Fox, where they can find affirmation and escape factual challenges to their beliefs." -Alternet
To address the cable news network issue, the Brookings Institute stated;
"In other words, the Republican Party is extremely polarized among its news choices while the Democratic Party is scattered among a number of networks."
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118066/brookings-survey-fox-news-home-most-conservative-republicans
http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Final-Immigration-Survey.pdf
So to conclude, the situation is very clear; Older Americans obtain their information primarily from old media, traditional cable news networks on TV and newspapers. Younger Americans obtain their information primarily from new media provided by the internet. Old media relies on ad revenue to survive, new media doesn't. Old media has to pander to their audience in order to sell the ads, new media doesn't. Old media is therefore reliant on said ad revenue to survive, selectively determining the stories with the highest chance to sell the most ads, not the most important/most relevant or pertinent to individual American interests.
In other words, young people don't watch cable news, they use the internet. Old people do watch cable news, and they don't use the internet. To say therefore the cable news numbers, specifically Fox News, represent "the best" source of "news" available, is an outright and demonstrable LIE. Fox is the best when discounting the internet. The internet is the best while considering the FNC in all outlets.
This is why Net Neutrality is such an important issue, and why both organized religion and GOP membership is on the rapid decline in America, especially among the youth.
All thoughts welcome
So what do we see when we turn to cable news?
Pretty clear, FNC is dominant...
Why is that?
"Authoritarian people have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like Fox, where they can find affirmation and escape factual challenges to their beliefs." -Alternet
To address the cable news network issue, the Brookings Institute stated;
"In other words, the Republican Party is extremely polarized among its news choices while the Democratic Party is scattered among a number of networks."
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118066/brookings-survey-fox-news-home-most-conservative-republicans
http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Final-Immigration-Survey.pdf
So to conclude, the situation is very clear; Older Americans obtain their information primarily from old media, traditional cable news networks on TV and newspapers. Younger Americans obtain their information primarily from new media provided by the internet. Old media relies on ad revenue to survive, new media doesn't. Old media has to pander to their audience in order to sell the ads, new media doesn't. Old media is therefore reliant on said ad revenue to survive, selectively determining the stories with the highest chance to sell the most ads, not the most important/most relevant or pertinent to individual American interests.
In other words, young people don't watch cable news, they use the internet. Old people do watch cable news, and they don't use the internet. To say therefore the cable news numbers, specifically Fox News, represent "the best" source of "news" available, is an outright and demonstrable LIE. Fox is the best when discounting the internet. The internet is the best while considering the FNC in all outlets.
This is why Net Neutrality is such an important issue, and why both organized religion and GOP membership is on the rapid decline in America, especially among the youth.
All thoughts welcome
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