Study: Getting your information from Fox News is worse than not following news at all

[Newsjock]

http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless

According to the latest results from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll, some news sources make us less likely to know what’s going on in the world. In the most recent study, the poll asked New Jerseyans about current events at home and abroad, and from what sources – if any – they get their information. The conclusion: Sunday morning news shows do the most to help people learn about current events, while some outlets, especially Fox News, lead people to be even less informed than those who they don’t watch any news at all.

... For example, people who watch Fox News, the most popular of the 24-hour cable news networks, are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government than those who watch no news at all (after controlling for other news sources, partisanship, education and other demographic factors). Fox News watchers are also 6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government than those who watch no news.

"Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News," said Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson and an analyst for the PublicMind Poll. "Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all."

By contrast, some media sources have a positive effect on political knowledge. For example, people who report reading a national newspaper like The New York Times or USA Today are 12-points more likely to know that Egyptians have overthrown their government than those who have not looked at any news source. And those who listen to the non-profit NPR radio network are 11-points more likely to know the outcome of the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. However, the best informed respondents are those that watched Sunday morning news programs: leading to a 16- point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Egypt and an 8-point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Syria.

[tilsammans]

1. Interesting about the Sunday news shows . . .

. . . which are typically heavy on the GOP/Tea Party usual suspects.

[DCBob]

2. Got that right.

you damage brain cells watching/listening to that trash.

[dtexdem]

3. Getting your info on Faux News IS not following news at all.

And the "worse" comes from following ideological fantasy as presented on Faux News.

[ThoughtCriminal]

4. The mal-informed are worse off than the uninformed

Fox News viewers don't live in a parallel universe. They live in a perpendicular universe.

[Hutzpa]

5. Well Duh! nt

[EC]

6. I don't understand how more MSNBC viewers

could misidentify the OWS as a repub movement? They've been pretty clear in their reporting that it's more a leftest movement and opposite the TPs.

[Initech]

7. Fox will dismiss this study as "punishing success".

:eyes: :popcorn:

[Zorra]

8. Exactly. If Fox News/Limbaugh/etc. forms the foundation of someone's political opinions

and beliefs, that person knows less than zero.

Because the entire foundation of their political knowledge is based on something that is not true.

That's a primary reason why it is virtually impossible to argue with conservatives about politics.

They are, in fact, deluded.

Score a big one for Murdoch and Limbaugh's 1%.