Jon Stewart Slams Fox Viewers as Most Misinformed, But He's the Ignorant One
In his June 19 appearance on Fox News Sunday, Comedy Central's Daily Show host Jon Stewart fiercely denounced the Fox News Channel as uniquely biased, and slammed those who watch Fox News as "the most consistently misinformed media viewers....Consistently -- every poll."
Unfortunately for Stewart, he was relying on a methodologically-flawed survey from the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) that in December trumpeted how "those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to believe...." and then listed a series of supposedly false statements.
But many of the study's supposedly false statements of fact were actually opinions that liberals don't share.
For example, Fox News viewers were most likely to believe that "most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit" and that "the economy is getting worse." Agreeing with those statements got you branded as "misinformed" based on the authority of a) the Congressional Budget Office on ObamaCare's impact on the deficit, and b) the Bureau of Economic Analysis declaring that the recession officially ended in June 2009.
As anyone who closely followed the health care debate understood, the nonpartisan CBO was required to accept the budgetary assumptions of the partisan Democrats who crafted the ObamaCare bill, so it's hardly a sign of ignorance to believe the bill will drain the Treasury like every other big entitlement program in the past 75 years.
As for feeling that the economy is still getting worse, public confidence is usually one of the last indicators to turn positive after a recession. After the 1990 recession officially ended, huge majorities of the public in late 1991 and in 1992 still told pollsters that they felt the U.S. was in either a "recession" or a "depression" -- "misinformation" that must have been spread without the Fox News Channel, which was not established until 1996.
As for Stewart's "every poll" claim, that's not true, either -- other surveys have used less prejudiced questions to try to test the public's knowledge, and rate Fox News viewers as among the most informed. In 2008, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press asked respondents to identify which party held the majority in the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister of Britain, and the current Secretary of State. Unlike the PIPA study, these were genuinely fact-based questions without ideological baggage.
Just under a fifth of those polled (18%) could answer all three questions, while a third (33%) couldn't answer any of them. But among those who exceeded the national average were viewers of FNC's Hannity & Colmes and The O'Reilly Factor -- as well as viewers of Stewart's The Daily Show and Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.
At the bottom of the list: regular consumers of CBS News, Access Hollywood, and the National Enquirer.
- Rich Noyes's blog
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Comments
Gotta agree with him about bias
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 4:09pm.
I'll agree with Stewart that FNC is biased. Biased in not toeing the line of the LSM, which is why more people watch FNC than any other channel for news. That means the viewers are biased too.
So yeah, I prefer to watch FNC, I'm biased against watching the others.
-Jon
Stewart is lost....
Submitted by PrairieSky on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 4:27pm.
He is lost in the same way as the rest of his libnut brethren are lost. His (and their) ideologies are so backward and distorted that they color how he views virtually everything, and they render him completely unable to see anything logically and objectively. It is shame too, because I think that Stewart is a genuinely funny guy, but I just can't tolerate him because of his twisted, liberal views.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
Stewart is a "Comedian"...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 4:45pm.
He is at his funniest when he wants to be taken seriously, better luck tomorrow Jonny Cat.
The whole
Submitted by Bob K on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 4:55pm.
segment with him was denial after denial. Funny, is a self-delusional sort of way.
Zydokomuno
Submitted by Xpat48 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 5:05pm.
Jon Stewart is a Zydokomuno.
I have always thought Jon
Submitted by marpel on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 5:26pm.
I have always thought Jon Stewart was funny, but it was so plain to see he was biased. When I heard him say this yesterday, it made me sad. I really thought he was smarter than this. He's the misinformed one. He needs to watch Fox News Network more often.
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
Lots of problems with this
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 5:48pm.
Stewart's claim does not, as you imply, rely only on that PIPA survey, and the "correct" answers in the PIPA survey are not, as you would have it, opinions.
You single out and challenge two of the points, in that 2010 PIPA survey, on which Fox News viewers were judged to be misinformed and challenge the basis of that conclusion in both cases as a means of suggesting the larger survey has the same problem. Even if one concedes those two points, though, it simply doesn't. Most of the items about which Fox viewers were misinformed were undisputed facts. They thought most congressional Republicans voted against TARP, the auto bailout was initiated under the Obama administration, the stimulus legislation contained no tax cuts, and so on. The survey showed the Fox viewers were overwhelmingly wrong on a broad spectrum of such issues.
Its disingenuous to reference the 2008 Pew survey that asked only three basic questions while ignoring the much larger 2007 Pew survey that asked 23, and found that viewers of Fox News were in a statistical tie with "network morning shows" for dead last--the least knowledgeable news consumers. This result turns up again and again, over years of time, just as Stewart suggested (that's absolutely no basis for the headline claim that he's the one who is "ignorant" on this point). In 2009, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey examined misinformation about health care reform, and found it to be depressingly widespread in the general population, regardless of preferred news source, but, once again, Fox News viewers were the ones who were, by far, the most misinformed--while 30-41% of viewers of the networks, CNN, and MSNBC believed at least some of the myths about health care, 69-79% of Fox viewers believed a wide range of myths. PIPA had conducted a survey about knowledge of the Iraq war and war on terror in 2003; they, likewise, found that a lot of people were misinformed, but that Fox News viewers were particularly badly misinformed.
If your side is so well
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 6:33pm.
If your side is so well informed then how did Obama become the President?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
Black Panthers...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 11:11pm.
Got Soetoro elected, with nightsticks and threats at the polling places. Your Ag would not prosecute "his people" for voter intimidation.
Rest assured, he will NOT be reelected and he knows it.
Black Panthers...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 11:11pm.
Got Soetoro elected, with nightsticks and threats at the polling places. Your Ag would not prosecute "his people" for voter intimidation.
Rest assured, he will NOT be reelected and he knows it.
Black Panthers...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 11:12pm.
Got Soetoro elected, with nightsticks and threats at the polling places. Your Ag would not prosecute "his people" for voter intimidation.
Rest assured, he will NOT be reelected and he knows it.
Got any links...
Submitted by almostacowboy on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 6:40pm.
to those polls you cited?
classic libnut, I have a problem with..................
Submitted by old cro on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 6:49pm.
the limp wrist-ed, leftist leaning, socialist sponsors of PIPA. Go back to your "progressive" fustercluck and espouse there.
Perspective
Submitted by speedy on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:55pm.
Your entire entry is composed of (your) polls, which really have no bearing on fact, and underlying preconceptions about what the truth is. I know, you can not be blamed; you have been programmed since childhood in government schools to believe as you do. Let me tell you this: polls are not facts. They are in fact almost meaningless, since they represent aggregation of opinion (not facts) and change day to day.
I will give you some truth. The classic test to ask in the third year of a presidential term is, "Are you better off now than you were a few years ago?" This has been true my entire life, until now.
The relevant question this election is not that question, the answer is so evident that the question no longer has to be asked. The question of this election is, "Will my children have a better life than I had?" And the answer is "No,", because someone has to pay the bill you guys have inflicted my children with in this ejaculatory spew of spending future dollars.
We have to cut your credit cards to rescue our children from economic servitude their entire lives. I will dedicate the remaining part of my life to that goal. So remind me, against that backdrop, why do I care what Jon says?
I'm a business writer, and if
Submitted by marpel on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 2:40pm.
I'm a business writer, and if you were one of my reports, I'd send you to a writing seminar. Classicliberal2, your comment was unreadable.
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
Fox News Viewers are Birthers
Submitted by usaciaintel on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 6:39pm.
The study showed Fox Viewers ARE the most misinformed
How do you explain those? This might explain Fox's Birther epidemic
The study, that will never be
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 11:02pm.
The study, that will never be commissioned for obvious reasons, showed that Jon Stewart viewers:
Those were a joke, but basically are reality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm1KOBMg1Y8
Zogby Poll:
http://www.howobamagotelected.com/research-zogby.asp
Wilson Poll:
http://www.howobamagotelected.com/research-wilson.asp
It's insulting that your side would even try to entertain the idea that you are more informed because it is so fantastically absurd. What exactly is it that gives you that impression?
Is it because you are so well-versed on 20th century history and human psychology that you, uh-ho, somehow support socialism anyway?
Is it because you are so well-versed on science that you, uh-uh-uh, blindly support Global Warming?
Is it because you know so much about the important things like who won the Oscar for best actor and what song is currently #1 on the Billboard charts?
Is it because Jon Stewart told you to think that because we icky conservatives let talk radio hosts tell us what to think?
Is it because Obama turned out to be as amazing as all that creepy cult worship in 2008 said he would be?
Is that because you have all those union goons, celebrities, and lazy teachers on your side?
Give it a rest! You lefties are the pop-culture obsessed superficial fluff of this country. You jump from fashionable cause to fashionable cause the way most people jump between sets of socks. You are the noise that gets in the way of progress!
You are a joke.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
How Obama Won
Submitted by usaciaintel on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 1:28pm.
How Obama got elected
Christopher Buckley
Steve Schimidt
If Mcain didn't choose palin, Obama still would have won but would've had less votes
I highly recommend Republicans For Obama
Our country is in deep trouble. We cannot afford to play politics. We have to be serious.
Cmon everyone, let's all sign up at 'Republicans For Obama'
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 7:25pm.
And this guy is serious. LOL.
"I highly recommend Republicans for Obama"...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 9:42pm.
Hmmmm...Well. And for you, I highly recommend therapy.
But thanks for the advice.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
If McCain had picked an equally spineless RINO, as you commies
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 9:56pm.
...were hoping he would, he would have been clobbered even worse than he was.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Oh look, everybody! Another Soros buttbot troll has slithered in
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 11:25pm.
Yep, a six week wonder manages their third post.
Welcome to Newsbusters, troll.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
You seem to have a problem with those who dare question O's BC
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 9:53pm.
Funny, as there are a whole lot of people far more knowledgeable than me who are still questioning the Comrade Chairman's BC as well.
If you didn't have your head shoved so far up Obama's ass, maybe your brain might cool down and restore at least a semblance of healthy curiosity, as well as good ol' Amurrican skepticism.
But you are too much of an uncritical Obamabot for that to happen, aren't you?
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Birther Alert
Submitted by usaciaintel on Wed, 06/22/2011 - 3:19pm.
Wow, what are the odds I'd run into a Birther on Newsbusters? Quite high actually
You want some good ol Amurrican skepticism? Alright?
Where's George W. Bush's long form birth certificate? Did he have to release it? Where's the Birth Certificate? Cause i heard Bush was born in Cuba.
I would guess, by your
Submitted by UpNorth on Wed, 06/22/2011 - 3:32pm.
condescending tone, that you skipped over the fact that it's a Politico poll, conducted by a "democratic-leaning" polling firm?
Or, are you going to tell us they're completely reputable, neutral and unbiased?
Republicans are Birthers
Submitted by usaciaintel on Wed, 06/22/2011 - 5:50pm.
Democratic leaning? How?
What reputable, neutral and unbiased or to simply put it... 'Fair and Balanced' poll do you believe?
Rasmussen?
Believe me man, from a Republican leaning polling organization, the Birther results would be MUCH higher! Because.... of course they lean Republican.
I mean why do you think Rasmussen hasn't released a birther poll? Probably because they're embarrassed a that the results will be much higher than what you might refer to as "liberal" polls ironically.
Stewart
Submitted by jessieH on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:21pm.
I got news for Stewart. I watch Fox News, every day. I watch NBC every day. I watch CNN every day. I watch ABC & CBS, every day. The only one that actually tells the news, both sides of the news, is Fox. The others show "fluff".
Meat Puppet
Submitted by speedy on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:37pm.
Jon thinks of himself as very smart, as evidenced by his overwhelming accolades from equally ignorant liberals. In truth, the DNC has a great big hand up his ass, moving his lips, as do most of the lamestream media.
There is very little intellectually honest discourse taking place in this country these days. Politics seems to hinge on who can tell the biggest lies, at the right time. No one in the political establishment can seem to debate the merits of the issues without partisan bias. And this dismissal of Fox as unequal to the other highly liberally biased networks is just transparent, god forbid anyone watches anything other than their "programming", right?
The Founders would despair. If you want to know how true intellectuals disagree while respecting their fellows, without attempting to play to the crowd, read the Federalist Papers.
Stewart's claim rests on flawed interpretations of two key polls
Submitted by Alfred J. Lemire on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:13pm.
Mr. Stewart claimed that "every poll" showed that Fox viewers were misinformed. Actually, interpretations of two polls led to that conclusion, "NBC News Health Care Survey" of August, 2009, conducted by the Hart/McInturff polling organizations, http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/NBC-WSJ_Poll.pdf
Another was published in December, 2010, "Misinformation and the 2010 Election, A Study of the US Electorate." WordPublicOpinion.org, a project of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland and Knowledge Networks conducted the poll, http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/dec10/Misinformation_Dec10_rp...
A third poll, which does not show up in recent citations on leftist-oriented websites, also by PIPA's unit, from October, 2003, also claimed misinformed Fox viewers, http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Iraq/IraqMedia_Oct03/IraqMedia_Oct03_r...
The people in both polling organizations mean well, as does Mr. Stewart, but they are blind to their own prejudices and assumptions that make the judgment on Fox as credit-worthy as a $3 US bill.
It will take some time to produce a paper that tries to demolish the contentions and force Mr. Stewart to rethink his attitudes, or, at least, to demonstrate that he doesn't know diddle about Fox or its viewers. The paper might get two readers, if I’m lucky, Messrs. Wallace and Stewart. I should point out now that Mr. Stewart has no clue what one hears on Fox programs. He surely is unaware of correspondents, the equivalent of print reporters, like James Rosen, Wendell Goler, Amy Kellogg, and dozens of others. They, too, are Fox News Channel.
So if you are able to
Submitted by amyshulk on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 10:33pm.
So if you are able to comprehend past events and see their correlation to current events, you are misinformed? I said that we were heading to a lost decade ala Japan a few years ago, and just recently, the media is making the correlation - so I'm the misinformed one *until* they give the stamp of approval?
Seems to me that's why they hate Beck so much. He can see where things *might* end up if we continue as we have been. Taking info from the present and comparing to past events is logical. It's when people take it upon themselves to impugn motives that I shy away - smacks of projection to me and serves no other purpose than to attempt to shut people down.
Learning from past mistakes {Keynes *created/prolonged* the Great Depression}, recognizing when something has outlived it's usefulness {OSHA/EPA/etc.} is what conservatives do in my experience.
Liberals seem to believe if you have the right person/people running things, that THIS time it WILL work.
Ronald Reagan
The only thing that Stewart
Submitted by Semus on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 12:28am.
The only thing that Stewart convinced me of and I feel should have convinced anyone with at least two brain cells is that he's is a liar, and a full fledged lefty, but with a smiley face.
Well if that's true Mr. Stewart...
Submitted by Bhaal on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 6:18pm.
better misinformed than disingenuous, which is what you are. :)