In the News

It's about trust: 77% of Fox News fans are conservative

Washington Times
10/29/19

Along with probing public opinion on impeachment, a new Suffolk University/USA Today poll explored some intriguing findings about the nation’s TV watchers, and their political leanings. One of those dimensions was the ideology of the respondents according to which cable news or broadcast network they “trust most.”

Curious?

Among those who trust Fox News the most, 77% described themselves as conservative, 19% were moderates and 6% liberal. Among those who trust CNN the most, 20% are conservative, 43% moderate and 35% liberal. And oh yes, among those who trust MSNBC, 9% are conservative, 32% moderate and 55% liberal.

By the way, among those who trust PBS the most, 9% are conservative, 38% moderate and 50% liberal. Among C-SPAN fans, 26% are conservative, 53% moderate and 23% liberal.

Lets peek at the “Big Three” broadcast networks as well. Among those who trust CBS the most, 14% are conservative, 61% moderate and 15% liberals. Among NBC fans, 4% are conservative, 50% moderate and 30% liberal. And among ABC’s folks, 19% are conservative, 54% moderate and 24% liberal. The survey of 1,000 registered U.S. voters was conducted Oct. 23-26.

Beyond mere curiosity, should we care about all these numbers? Well, yes. There are a lot of moderate viewers. But with over three-quarters of its viewership weighing in as conservative, Fox News has the most pronounced set of fans. At the same time, the network also dominates the entire cable realm. Fox News is now marking 40 consecutive months as the most watched network in the entire cable realm and has also bested cable news rivals CNN and MSNBC for 18 consecutive years. Yes, 18 years. The implications also suggest that conservatives qualify as a much coveted, loyal audience — and they show up. See the Foxified item further down in the column.

IMPEACHMENT, ACT II

High-profile Democrats hope the impeachment “inquiry” against President Trump turns into an impeachment process with all the trimmings — high crimes, misdemeanors, frantic news coverage, melodrama, curtain calls. Yes, uh-huh, they can hope.

“Democrats have been trying to suggest they have the goods on Trump. But fact is, none of the witnesses they have called so far have any firsthand knowledge of presidential wrongdoing. Behind closed doors and with no media allowed, House Democrats have tried to put on the appearance of a legal proceeding. At the end of each session, they leak what they claim happened. The media are all too willing to play along, printing the Democratic pols’ claims as if they were fact,” writes New York Post columnist Betsy McCaughey.

She points out that the clock is ticking; Democrats don’t want the inquiry to drag on or to face a high court.

“Without evidence of grave wrongdoing, the Republican-controlled Senate won’t remove this president from office. But Dems have one goal — to impeach Trump, damaging him sufficiently to tip the 2020 election,” explains Ms. McCaughey.

“Polls show fewer than half of voters supporting impeachment in key swing states like Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan. These are states Trump won in 2016, and Pelosi has been reluctant to put Democratic members from these states on the spot. Trump called her bluff. Now the Democrats will have to put up or shut up,” the columnist says.

Indeed. The House Rules Committee meets at 3 p.m. Wednesday to consider a resolution that formalizes the impeachment inquiry and outlines the process moving forward. C-SPAN will be there. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Suffolk University/USA Today poll reveals that “Americans of all stripes” say the House won’t end up voting to impeach Mr. Trump, by a 56% to 37% margin — while 73% predict he won’t be removed from office.

A RARE QUIET MOMENT

An event of note for Wednesday: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. French Hill, Arkansas Republican, will venture outside to the grounds of the Capitol to plant a white oak tree to honor Theodore Roosevelt.

The trio cite the 26th president’s role in conservation — he created the Forest Service, established 1,500 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, five national parks and designated 200 million acres as national forests. Among other things.

Yay. And a round of applause.

PRAGER’S WARNING ABOUT THE LEFT

Once, parents worried that consumer culture and too much TV would rob young Americans of their childhood. Now comes a more dire warning from columnist and broadcaster Dennis Prager.

“Here are some of the messages the left has been giving America’s young people: Your past is terrible, and your future is terrible. The American past is a story of genocide, slavery, racism, patriarchy and colonialism. You should be ashamed of it. As regards your future, your very existence is in jeopardy. You may well die at a young age unless society completely shifts from fossil fuels to wind and solar power. In fact, your future is so bleak you should probably not consider getting married and having children,” writes Mr. Prager in a Townhall.com op-ed.

He also points out the specifics for boy, girls, patriotic kids and young people of faith.

“Only when one understands that the left — the left, not liberalism — has always and everywhere been a destructive force can one begin to understand what is happening to America. And the left has damaged no group more than America’s youth. Leftists speak about ‘the children’ — but they care about ‘the children’ as much as the communists cared about ‘the workers.’”

FOXIFIED

Fox News remains the most-watched cable network of all for the 40th consecutive month, according to Nielsen Media Research. Incredibly, the network also marked its 214th straight month as the top-ranked cable news network. That means it has bested CNN and MSNBC for almost 18 years.

The numbers: Fox News averaged 2.7 million prime-time viewers during the month of October, compared to MSNBC with 1.9 million and CNN with 1.2 million. For the seventh month in a row, “Hannity” was the most watched program of all with and audience of 3.5 million, followed by “Tucker Carlson Tonight” with 3.2 million.

POLL DU JOUR

• 56% of all U.S. women prefer to have a job outside the home, 39% would prefer a homemaker role.

• 69% of employed women would prefer to work; 27% would prefer to be a homemaker.

• 62% of women with no children under age 18 would prefer to work; 34% would prefer a homemaker role.

• 45% of women with children under 18 would prefer to work, 50% would prefer a homemaker role.

• 45% of unemployed women would prefer to work; 50% would prefer to be a homemaker.

Source: A Gallup poll of 717 U.S. women conducted Aug. 1-14 and released Friday.