CNN and FOX - Trust wars
Reported by Chrish - May 3, 2006
In a poll cited by Reuters' reporter Jeffrey Goldfarb, FOX News was chosen as the most trusted news source by 11% of 1,000 respondents. In the same poll, the BBC and CNN were cited as the most trusted globally.
The article states:
Asked to name the news source they most trusted, without any prompting, 59 percent of Egyptians said Al Jazeera, 52 percent of Brazilians said Rede Globo, 32 percent of Britons said the BBC, 22 percent of Germans said ARD and 11 percent of Americans said Fox News, each leading their respective nations.The most trusted news brands globally were the BBC, Britain's publicly funded broadcaster, and CNN, which is owned by the world's biggest media conglomerate, Time Warner Inc..
The article also states that "19 percent of those aged 18 to 24 named the Internet as their most important source of news compared with 9 percent overall." Another finding is that "although trust in media has grown in most countries over the past four years, the survey found, 28 percent of people across the 10 countries either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement: 'In the past year I have stopped using a specific media source because it lost my trust.'"
Comment: This has been an ongoing project for the radical right, an undermining of public confidence in the major media outlets and a promotion of their own brand, FOX, as the only "fair and balanced" source. By using that slogan (which is all it is) and the constant framing of anything else as "the liberal media" they have succeeded to some degree in convincing the willing that the radically biased network is moderate which automatically places anything to the left of it "off the charts."
I have to console myself that FOX got only 11% but it is still sad that that is a larger percentage than any other single network or news source. Chalk it up to brand loyalty - it's easier than constant research and analysis. On the other hand, that means 89% trust other sources more. Phew. I wonder how this polls' respondents tie in with the 32% who still approve of the job Bush is doing.
It is not surprising that globally people trust CNN more than FOX, as their presentation is much more professional, their on-air talent does not flaunt rabid jingoistic pro-American superiority attitudes, and they have a lesser tendency to overlook the glaring faults in this administation.
