# This country is fucked: Survey says Fox now most trusted name in news. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580 "2010-01-26T22:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/121 "2010-01-28T01:29:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > By a lot, not a little bit. There’s little if any left wing media ( or anything else ) in America. I guess I won’t bother arguing that point. But this brings us back to the OP, which was focused on public perception. Most of America would disagree with you; most people would feel that there are most definitely large parts of the media that skew left… and I suspect that most feel that they insert their agenda into their work. I completely understand that left and right depends on where you are coming from. I think of myself as a moderate, for example… but I have friends that would call me a squishy lefty on some issues, and others who think I’m a knuckledragging mouthbreather on others. Since there is no definite standard, and everything’s relative, I guess public perception is the arbiter. And it seems that that standard has determined that media other than Fox is not to be trusted. One more thought: is it possible that the lack of trust wasn’t due to the political slant but rather some other reason… that the others have been around longer and therefore gotten lazy/fat, and have been taking a knee and running out the clock? Just thinking out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/122 "2010-01-28T03:15:04Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > But this brings us back to the OP, which was focused on public perception. Most of America would disagree with you; most people would feel that there are most definitely large parts of the media that skew left… and I suspect that most feel that they insert their agenda into their work. Well, they are simply wrong. People think that because it is a lie that has been repeated again and again by the Right; not because it has any basis in fact. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Since there is no definite standard, and everything’s relative, I guess public perception is the arbiter. And it seems that that standard has determined that media other than Fox is not to be trusted. > > One more thought: is it possible that the lack of trust wasn’t due to the political slant but rather some other reason… that the others have been around longer and therefore gotten lazy/fat, and have been taking a knee and running out the clock? No, it’s because they are fool and fanatics who want to be told lies. Fox is nothing but a propaganda arm of the Republican party; casual liars. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/123 "2010-01-28T03:53:18Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Yeah, I was afraid most people here would miss the point. > > You’re incorrect of course. **RNATB** was a bit closer. No worries. And thus we see how a FOX news viewer handles being factually incorrect. Fortunately, most here can see past your pathetic obfuscation. You stated that the Canadian medical system caused Mr. Lesnar complications to his disease. It is clear that your statement was incorrect. It was inoperative. It was wrong. You may aknowledge this, or continue to play your little games. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/124 "2010-01-28T04:02:12Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It is clear that your statement was incorrect. It was inoperative. It was wrong. Yeah, but I bet it would be pinin for the fjords if it had to make do with the National Health! ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/125 "2010-01-28T04:04:03Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And thus we see how a FOX news viewer handles being factually incorrect. Fortunately, most here can see past your pathetic obfuscation. > > You stated that the Canadian medical system caused Mr. Lesnar complications to his disease. > > It is clear that your statement was incorrect. It was inoperative. It was wrong. > > You may aknowledge this, or continue to play your little games. Allow me to recycle. It is good for the environment. > [@Lobohan](#): > > Smashy is a stupid, ideological, coward who is unwilling to debate in good faith or admit when he is demonstrably wrong. [Cite](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11876056#post11876056). > > He’s so full of shit he’s about to undergo fusion. ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/126 "2010-01-28T05:40:24Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > What’s objective and up the middle then, from your point of view? Kos? HuffPo? Pravda? IANADT, but IMHO C-Span is the only truly ‘centered’ television news/political channel. CNN leans slightly to the right with a corporate friendly, dumbed down tilt, MSNBC leans slightly to the left with a more populist, intellectual bent\*. FOX’s equivalent would be all the way over on the CC with its single, one hour block of Stewart and Colbert; spiteful vs. satirical, funny :smack: vs. funny :dubious:, context - bye. The networks? Hell I dunno, consider them the cast of Always Sunny in Philadelphia: NBC/Dennis, CBS/Mac, ABC/Dee, FOX/Charlie “Wildcard bitches!”. As for Frank, I guess he would be a mix of, WB/UPN, Discovery Channel and Home Shopping. Some likable quirks to each, but all pretty rotten at the core. \*MSNBC is also, and even some what uniquely, “balanced” internally from the AM and PM with Brzezinski/Scarborough and Olbermann/Maddow. ETA: As always, I feel the need to note that my user name, tds, has nothing to do with with TDS. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/127 "2010-01-28T13:53:13Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And thus we see how a FOX news viewer handles being factually incorrect. Fortunately, most here can see past your pathetic obfuscation. > > You stated that the Canadian medical system caused Mr. Lesnar complications to his disease. > > It is clear that your statement was incorrect. It was inoperative. It was wrong. > > You may aknowledge this, or continue to play your little games. You still don’t get it! Grrrr. OK, let me walk you through it. I never once stated that Brock’s disease was due to Canadian single-payer bungling of the treatment. Some OP in another thread decried that Brock did. I merely pointed out an inconsistency. My point, which evidently I needed to spell out more clearly, was that people have different perceptions of reality based on their politics. In other words, one person used an anecdotal story to score political points (health care horror), while another decried someone (brock) trying to use an anecdotal story (his own) to score political points. They had different opinions on what is a reasonable way to make a political point based on the politics itself. Now map that back to the OP. People look at the news through the prism of where they fall in the political spectrum. Red Shirt Backwards seems to think that \*\*all \*\*of the media is uber right wing. Ok that person is clearly insane so we’ll forget him/her. But that illustrates the point I was making (evidently not clear enough, perhaps I overestimate the ability of this audience to connect the dots): that while many (most?) of the people on the SDMB cannot fathom why Fox is the most trusted network, to many people in the real world, it’s obvious. Name a scandal that happened on Fox (sorry, this is the SDMB… “Faux”) News or the Fox network itself that rises to the level of the ones I’ve already pointed out in this thread. You can’t. And that’s why they are the most trusted. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/128 "2010-01-28T14:12:53Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > And that’s why they are the most trusted. And yet, not. The [poll](http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_National_126.pdf) found that more people trusted Fox News among the survey respondents than distrusted it. However, conservatives were overrepresented in the survey’s sample: > [@](#): > > Q7 Would you describe yourself as a liberal, > moderate, or conservative? If liberal, press 1. If > moderate, press 2. If conservative, press 3. > Liberal … 14% > Moderate… 47% > Conservative… 39% The numbers of self-described moderates who trusted each outlet (culled from the link above): > [@](#): > > Fox News: 33% > NBC News: 44% > CBS News: 41% > CNN News: 47% > ABC News: 39% So what the poll _actually_ found is that CNN is, as it bills itself, the most trusted name in news. It also found that conservatives overwhelmingly trust Fox News. Well, color me surprised. Of course, the survey failed to include Jon Stewart, which, [it turns out, might be a glaring omission](http://www.timepolls.com/hppolls/archive/poll_results_417.html). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/129 "2010-01-28T15:13:34Z")
> [@Cort](#): > > Not true. In the 2000 election, press coverage was significantly biased in favour of [Republican](http://www.journalism.org/node/309) G. W. Bush. Did you happen to read your cite? We were talking overall coverage, your cite cherry-picked a few weeks of the closing of the campaign. > [@](#): > > [After six weeks, Lichter’s group finds that Gore’s coverage is 39% positive and 61% negative; Bush’s coverage is 33% positive and 67% negative.](http://www.brookings.edu/GS/Projects/HessReport/week7.htm) Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/130 "2010-01-28T15:16:36Z")
> [@tacolopco](#): > > Oh right. McCain being a complete fuckup of a candidate with a horribly run campaign had nothing to do with it, right? This is an excellent indication of what we are talking about - thanks. For this to be true, every Republican candidate of the last thirty years would have to have been a complete fuck-up who ran a horrible campaign - including the ones who won. That is not a fact, it is a highly biased and partisan opinion. The MSM shares it, which is much of what slants their coverage. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/131 "2010-01-28T15:21:42Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is an excellent indication of what we are talking about - thanks. > > For this to be true, every Republican candidate of the last thirty years would have to have been a complete fuck-up who ran a horrible campaign - including the ones who won. > > That is not a fact, it is a highly biased and partisan opinion. The MSM shares it, which is much of what slants their coverage. > > Regards, > Shodan This post has been gibberished by the gibberishist. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/132 "2010-01-28T15:32:40Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > YBut that illustrates the point I was making (evidently not clear enough, perhaps I overestimate the ability of this audience to connect the dots): that while many (most?) of the people on the SDMB cannot fathom why Fox is the most trusted network, to many people in the real world, it’s obvious. This just confirms my view that Americans are largely stupid and uninformed when it comes to politics. They’ll go with whatever seems to fit whatever their views are regardless of how well grounded or factual they are. People thinking ANY media outlet can be “most trusted” is a sad commentary on the intellectual capacity of 'muricans. Oh, nice dig, Smashy. The right wingers don’t have some sort of lock on living in the “real world”. > [@](#): > > And that’s why they are the most trusted. Most trusted by a largely clueless populace isn’t much of a selling point. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/133 "2010-01-28T15:47:55Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > Oh, nice dig, Smashy. The right wingers don’t have some sort of lock on living in the “real world”. > > Most trusted by a largely clueless populace isn’t much of a selling point. Dig completely unintended. I meant real world vs virtual (ie online) world, not liberal coasts vs conservative flyover country, or whatever you thought I meant. As for the largely clueless populace… watch it, you’re getting awfully close to the dumbfuckistan\<—\> elite stereotype many ascribe to those from your side of the aisle. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/134 "2010-01-28T15:48:25Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > You still don’t get it! Grrrr. OK, let me walk you through it. Anecdotal stories are certainly no substitute for factual analysis during a debate. However, they can be useful in putting a human face on a controversy, AS LONG AS THEY ARE TRUTHFUL. People certainly do have different perceptions. There is only one reality, however, and when someone veers so far away from that reality, don’t be surprised when it is pointed out. You contrasted an anecdote about a couple who had hospital bills that their insurance then decided not to cover,with an anecdote from a celebrity who came to Canada after being misdiagnised in the US, and then did not get a test in Canada that he desired (against medical advice). > [@](#): > > someone posted that they hate Brock Lesnar because his experience with the socialized Canadian medical system was bad, causing complications to his diverticulitis The problem is, you did not report the second anecdote accurately. Nobody actually said this in the thread. People were not pitting Mr. Lesnar because he had a bad experience. He was being pitted because he was full of shit, and because the hospital in Canada actually diagnosed him **correctly** , it just would not give him extraneous tests. Lets’ recap: You tried to compare anecdotes. You misrepresented what actually happened. Your misrepresentation happens to paint the 'socialist" Canadian medial system as bad. You refuse to acknowledge your error. Conclusion: You sir, are the embodiment of FOX news! This is what is wrong with them. You have just demonstrated how they operate, with their own unique “perception of reality” that is at odd with the actual facts. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/135 "2010-01-28T15:50:57Z")
**RNATB** , the numbers may seem very skewed > [@](#): > > Q7 Would you describe yourself as a liberal, > moderate, or conservative? If liberal, press 1. If > moderate, press 2. If conservative, press 3. > Liberal … 14% > Moderate… 47% > Conservative… 39% But maybe [not as much](http://www.gallup.com/poll/120857/conservatives-single-largest-ideological-group.aspx)as you think. > [@](#): > > Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/136 "2010-01-28T15:51:26Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > As for the largely clueless populace… watch it, you’re getting awfully close to the dumbfuckistan\<—\> elite stereotype many ascribe to those from your side of the aisle. He didn’t say that this failing was limited to those on the right. I think most of us would agree that most media outlets display a mild leftward bias simply based on the fact that they and their employees are generally New Yorkers or Californians. However, Fox News displays a _strong_ rightward bias and doesn’t even pretend otherwise, except in its tagline. ETA: **Smashy** , that’s true - it would have been more accurate to say that liberals are heavily underrepresented. I think you’d have to agree that the numbers make the poll suspect at the very least, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/137 "2010-01-28T15:53:10Z")
OK **EP** , I give up, I don’t think you’ll ever understand. You win I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/138 "2010-01-28T15:58:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I think you’d have to agree that the numbers make the poll suspect at the very least, though. I would agree with that. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/139 "2010-01-28T15:59:47Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > As for the largely clueless populace… watch it, you’re getting awfully close to the dumbfuckistan\<—\> elite stereotype many ascribe to those from your side of the aisle. If my view is considered elitist, that sucks, but it is what it is. I don’t think my fellow Americans are stupid. I just think that they are, largely, uninvolved and uninterested in understanding issues. So people tend to just go along with those things that seem to agree with their particular ideas. And it isn’t the exclusive domain of conservatives. Not by a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/140 "2010-01-28T16:06:50Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > If my view is considered elitist, that sucks, but it is what it is. I don’t think my fellow Americans are stupid. I just think that they are, largely, uninvolved and uninterested in understanding issues. So people tend to just go along with those things that seem to agree with their particular ideas. > > And it isn’t the exclusive domain of conservatives. Not by a long shot. I agree. But any reasonable and objective person (and I count myself in that number) would know that most of the derogatory comments aimed at the great unwashed are more often made by what their opponents would call effete, elitist liberals, and targeted at the mouthbreathing blue-collar types. In fact, wasn’t there some dust-up about Obama doing that on the campaign, something about Pennsylvania clinging to God and guns? (I may have the state wrong there, I’m sure someone will correct me). Maybe you don’t think this, and I certainly hope not. But that stereotype, which I see promulgated from everyone from Jon Stewart to Al Gore, has allowed Rush and Sean and Company to dine out on that for years; stirring up the proletariat and urging them to line the chardonnay-drinking, elbow-patch jacket wearing Upper West Siders against a wall. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580.md?page=8)