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Fox doesn't have viewers, it has followers. They don't watch to be informed, they watch to be affirmed. Fox is to news what Limbaugh is to journalism. Neither is about information. And the followers have no concern over that. They want their fear and anger fed.
I think this is pretty on the mark with what I was saying about partisanship and delusion. It seems like right wing media has created a whole world where right wingers can go to "learn" what they want to hear. In reality they likely cherrypicking the facts they like and ignoring the rest.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 10-27-2012 at 09:12 AM..
look at where this is coming from? How long did it take you to dig something like this up? It is a bunch of crap by the way....I think hardcroe particans fall on both sides of the aisle..If you don' than you are the one that is uninformed....
Gee, I took a poll the other day and found out 100% of the people were Christians. Of course I took it at church..but it still proves 100% of the people surveyed are Christians...
It is good that you question the source, as sometimes this kind of stuff is hopelessly biased. It was led by Professor Dan Cassino of Farleigh Dickinson University. He does not talk flatteringly about MSNBC either. His thesis is that a diet of partisan media is not edifying. Kind of like eating cheetohs three meals a day. He is not a spin doctor, from what I can gather, but a political scientist.
We all know any survey, study, poll, whatever can be slanted, based on what the group doing the calling wants to accomplish. To even suggest people who watch FOX are more delusionary than others is just plain stupid...And anyone who believes this isn't using thier head.
I think that an addiction to partisan media breeds delusional thinking in general. If you filter your reality through your ideology, it will be biased, and if you only seek information from sources that are known to be ideologically balanced, you double the likelihood of being delusional.
Nate Silver discusses Foxes and Hedgehogs in his book. Foxes are empiricists who gather bits of information and small ideas from many sources and keep refining their ideas. Hedgehogs are the types who prefer ideology and a few big ideas, which they choose to filter and structure their reality. Hedgehogs dominate the punditry, they can respond instantly to any question, and are always on message. They are also usually full of it. As it turns out, Foxes are much better at a making predictions, because the hedgehogs tend to ignore or distort any information that does not support their theses. I would say that hardcore political partisans act like hedgehogs, whereas moderates who look more broadly for tidbits act like Foxes. To be ideological is, by definition, to be less empirical. And that leads to delusion. It is not necessarily a left vs. right thing.
The crazed communists of the early Soviet Union, who outlawed religions, the Genocidal Nazis, the Christians who led the Crusades, the Zionist nutballs in Israel, the KKK, and the Islamist terrorists of Al Queda and the Taliban are all folks who chose ideology over empiricism, and became delusional in the process. There is no doubt that the right wing has become militantly ideological in recent decades. Witness the crazy Ayn Randians parading around this election cycle. They are not burning villages, but they have convinced themselves that removing social safety nets will help the poor. Certainly on the edge.
Ironically, Fox News is full of hedgehogs. It is just about the last place a Fox would hang out.
Sadly, the braying azzes who claim to be experts on anything under the sun, and dominate the news and opinion pages, but are really not nearly as accurate as they seem. The introverted, thoughtful, dispassionate folks are much better. We need fewer people like Jim DeMint and more like Eisenhower. You don't see the latter on the news, but blowhards are everywhere.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 10-27-2012 at 09:53 AM..
I hope Obama brings the FCC down on Faux News after he wins re-election. Lying and deliberately misinforming viewers shouldn't be considered protected free speech.
I read the link below and it has the actual study. Now it says in the study that they spoke to NJ people (of which I am) and it asked them about world events, in this area Fox News viewers were less knowledge but if you go on to read the rest of the study it talks about many different networks.
Example:
Quote:
Viewers of cable news on MSNBC are the most likely to think the protestors are Republicans.Watching the left-leaning MSNBC news channel is associated with a 10-point increase in the likelihood of misidentifying the protester
It goes on to talk about others also those that listen to news verses watch it. This study is not just about Fox News.
I think that an addiction to partisan media breeds delusional thinking in general. If you filter your reality through your ideology, it will be biased, and if you only seek information from sources that are known to be ideologically balanced, you double the likelihood of being delusional.
Nate Silver discusses Foxes and Hedgehogs in his book. Foxes are empiricists who gather bits of information and small ideas from many sources and keep refining their ideas. Hedgehogs are the types who prefer ideology and a few big ideas, which they choose to filter and structure their reality. Hedgehogs dominate the punditry, they can respond instantly to any question, and are always on message. They are also usually full of it. As it turns out, Foxes are much better at a making predictions, because the hedgehogs tend to ignore or distort any information that does not support their theses. I would say that hardcore political partisans act like hedgehogs, whereas moderates who look more broadly for tidbits act like Foxes. To be ideological is, by definition, to be less empirical. And that leads to delusion. It is not necessarily a left vs. right thing.
The crazed communists of the early Soviet Union, who outlawed religions, the Genocidal Nazis, the Christians who led the Crusades, the Zionist nutballs in Israel, the KKK, and the Islamist terrorists of Al Queda and the Taliban are all folks who chose ideology over empiricism, and became delusional in the process. There is no doubt that the right wing has become militantly ideological in recent decades. Witness the crazy Ayn Randians parading around this election cycle. They are not burning villages, but they have convinced themselves that removing social safety nets will help the poor. Certainly on the edge.
Ironically, Fox News is full of hedgehogs. It is just about the last place a Fox would hang out.
Sadly, the braying azzes who claim to be experts on anything under the sun, and dominate the news and opinion pages, but are really not nearly as accurate as they seem. The introverted, thoughtful, dispassionate folks are much better. We need fewer people like Jim DeMint and more like Eisenhower. You don't see the latter on the news, but blowhards are everywhere.
Excellent post. I need to read the book. I disagree that everyone who watches Fox is a hedgehog though. There are people who have no clear ideology and Fox News gives a dumbed down version of events that they can easily process. It makes sense unless you have critical thinking skills, and these people don't. I call them Fox Zombies.
I read the link below and it has the actual study. Now it says in the study that they spoke to NJ people (of which I am) and it asked them about world events, in this area Fox News viewers were less knowledge but if you go on to read the rest of the study it talks about many different networks.
Example:
It goes on to talk about others also those that listen to news verses watch it. This study is not just about Fox News.
Well, I never said Fox News was the only place that breeds delusion. It leads the pack, followed by MSNBC. I hate both. Such partisan hogtroughs are destroying our country from within. The sad truth is we've gone down these ideological roads many times in the past, leading to such fine episodes as the Dark Ages, the Pogroms, Crusades, Manifest Destiny,etc.,etc.,etc. The pursuit of clear-eyed reason led to the Enlightenment, and a high point of the 20th Century, and the rise of science, created our current scientific infrastructure. These advances are under attack or suffering from neglect in the new era of ideology.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 10-27-2012 at 10:43 AM..
Apparently Fox News viewers are less informed than folks who watch/listen to no news at all!
I have a hypothesis about this. People who are hardcore partisans are more concerned about maintaining their delusions about the the world than actually learning. I am observing it in this election. The GOP partisans absolutely refuse to believe that Obama is ahead, because of his electoral vote advantage. They keep cherrypicking polls,etc., because they just cannot admit they could lose. No one is saying it is a slam dunk, but it is clear that Obama did the groundwork, and he has an easier path to 270.
Anyhow, I am not saying that Fox News has no information of value, but that it fosters strong partisanship, which leads to delusional thinking and ultimately to being misinformed and dead wrong.
Color me surprised that libs who listen to NPR think they are smart.
How many threads do we need, with libs trying to tell us how smart they are for being libs?
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