Humans: CNN and FOX News are Channels Most Often Turned to For Political News

Naturally we get elder and everyone think about it.  

Many older adults, though certainly not all, also report being less satisfied from living, nature, environment, politics, regimes … It’s time to bring some contents.

Over six in 10 U.S. adults agree that there is bias in the reporting of news, though there is less  agreement as to whether there is a liberal or conservative bias.

Furthermore, viewers of talk shows say that the hosts of these shows are equally critical of Republicans and Democrats. Greater numbers of adults say they turn to CNN and FOX News most often when seeking news or information about public affairs or politics.

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,179 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive(R).

Specific results from this poll include:

      * Almost four in 10 U.S. adults (37%) listen to talk shows on the radio at least once a week and about three in 10 (29%) watch political or public affairs TV shows at least once a week.

     * CNN (20%) and FOX News (18%) are the television channels adults most often turn to when they want news or information related to politics or public affairs. These are followed by the networks, including ABC (9%), NBC (8%) and CBS (7%). Other channels include MSNBC (5%), C-SPAN (3%), PBS (3%) and CNBC (1%)

     * When comparing those who are "heavy" users of the media (including talk radio and television) to "light" users, a slightly different profile emerges. Among "heavy" media users, FOX News is the leading channel at 39 percent, followed by CNN at 22 percent. Among "light" media users, CNN is at the top (21%) followed by ABC (13%), NBC (11%), CBS (9%) and FOX News (8%).

     * When looking at the profile of viewers of TV channels that are watched most often for news about politics or public affairs, preferences emerge based on political affiliation and political philosophy. CNN's viewers are more likely to be Democrats (42%) or Independents (29%) than Republicans (19%), whereas FOX News viewers are more likely to be Republicans (63%) as compared to Democrats (12%) or Independents (20%).Similarly, FOX News viewers are more likely to say they are Conservative (61%) than Moderate (35%) or Liberal (4%). CNN viewers are more likely to say they are Moderate (61%) than Liberal (27%) or Conservative (12%).

The potential biases associated with the media's reporting have been discussed a great deal. This Harris Poll explores whether the public thinks that talk show hosts are more critical of Democrats or Republicans. Among those who watch talk shows at least once a month, 22 percent think that talk show hosts are more critical of Democrats and 25 percent say that hosts are more critical of Republicans. The remaining 52 percent say that the hosts are equally critical of both parties.

     *However, over six in 10 (63%) of Republicans agree that there is bias in the news reporting, with the remaining 36 percent saying they are not sure (31%) or think there is no bias (5%). Interestingly, the adult public overall thinks that there is more of a liberal bias (38%) than a conservative bias (25%). While this may not be altogether surprising, the fact that the findings don't show an even greater liberal bias is noteworthy.

     * Furthermore, among those who are "heavy" users of the media, a majority (54%) say that there is a liberal bias in news reporting, compared to 24 percent who say there is a conservative bias. Among "light" media users there is less of a difference, with similar numbers saying that there is a liberal bias (31%) or conservative bias (25%).

      * CNN viewers are split on this issue, with a third (33%) saying that there is a liberal bias and another third (32%) saying there is conservative bias.

      * FOX News viewers, however, strongly feel that there is a liberal bias (69%) as compared to 12 percent who say there is a conservative bias.

Among adults who say that there is bias in the media, television is perceived as having the "greatest bias in the reporting of news" (41%). Seventeen percent say that print media and seven percent say that radio is biased in their reporting. Three in 10 (31%) say that the media overall are equally biased.