Misperceptions, The Media and the War - Disputations Posted by Tom (Thursday October 02 2003 @ 04:46PM EDT)

The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the Univeristy of Maryland has just released an excellent composite study exploring the misperceptions held by the public about: Iraq and Al-qaeda connections WMD Global Attitudes towards the war They analyze whether these 3 misperceptions are held by the same core group or whether a larger chunk of the population is guilty of at least one. They then analyze the media used by the public as well as party and other factors. You can read the full deal here, but a few highlights: 80% of Fox viewers had 1 misperception while only 23% of NPR/PBS viewers did. 45% of Fox viewers had all 3 misperceptions while only 4% of NPR/PBS viewers did On page 3 they take the same critique as I have taken about the widely touted 69% poll in the Washington Post with regard to Hussein and Al-qaeda links.

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By kevin the one-armed boy (Friday October 03 2003 @ 08:11AM EDT)

You're telling us that people who watch an over-advertised flashy MacDonald’s news source tend to be less informed than those who frequent the snooty world of PBS? Shocking. I would never have imagined that those are disparate demographics.

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By Jeff (Friday October 03 2003 @ 08:30AM EDT) It's kind of like the Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune thing. Those shows run back to back but there is a subtle difference between the contestants. Jeopardy: "Our first contestant is a brain surgeon from West Chester, NY. His hobbies include counting out the first 10,000 places in PI and launching the family dog into space." Wheel of Fortune: "Meet Sandy. She's a homemaker from Fresno, California. Her hobbies inclue gluing glitter sprinkles on construction paper and making 'smores." [ reply | parent ]

By Tom (Friday October 03 2003 @ 08:46AM EDT) A good point, but as indicated in the report, the statistical difference between the two audiences exceeded any demographic and economic differences. These attributes are taken into account. It's the content that is effecting misperceptions. The more you watch Fox, the more misperceptions you will have, whether Republican, Democrat, educated, etc. [ reply | parent ]

By kevin the one-armed boy (Friday October 03 2003 @ 08:56AM EDT) OK, so the more you watch, read or listen to just one thing the more you are inclined to believe the ideas touted by that source. Not much more shocking than my original smartass stance. [ reply | parent ]

By Cher (Friday October 03 2003 @ 08:32AM EDT)

I think the relevant point is that they both bill themselves as "news." BTW "McDonald's news source" is the perfect description of Fox--revolving logos, strobe graphics, and happy clowns in the anchor's chairs.

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By Jeff (Friday October 03 2003 @ 01:02PM EDT)

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By kevin the one-armed boy (Friday October 03 2003 @ 01:06PM EDT) Did you supply the graphical representation for fans of USA Today? [ reply | parent ]

By Jeff (Friday October 03 2003 @ 01:20PM EDT) Yes. And soon I'll provide an unsubstantiated rant for fans of the O'Reilly Factor. While that occurs, I will make a point to stress the fact that I am not providing spin. [ reply | parent ]

By doctordoug (Friday October 03 2003 @ 01:26PM EDT)

I would be willing to start on the character flaws of the presenter.

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