More Americans are watching Fox News over any other television news outlet, according to a new Gallup poll. CNN follows a close second while stations such as ABC and MSNBC fell flat with only one percent of viewership from surveyed Americans .
This poll surveyed 2,048 adults over the age of 18 across all 50 states. Of that total, 55 percent said they get their news from television, and 26 percent of those respondents were unspecific about where are the dial they’re tuning in. While the Internet is known to be a growing source of “fast” news for Americans, it came in second for news, with 22 percent saying they turn to online outlets. Nine percent prefer to read newspapers nowadays, the Gallup poll says.
Of those who prefer television as their primary source of news, about eight percent preferred the right-leaning Fox News, putting the station in first place. Coming in second at about seven percent was CNN — a station that caters to Independents and Democrats. With the help of Anderson Cooper, MN reported, ratings have been increasing at CNN. Piers Morgan’s lackluster ratings, however, may be weighing the network down. In addition to ABC and MSNBC, stations such as NBC, BBC, PBS, and CBS also fell into one percent of the American viewership. MSNBC has “delivered its worst quarterly primetime showing among total viewers and adults 25-to-54 since 2007,” we previously reported.
As expected, the poll determined a whopping 94 percent of Fox News viewers lean towards Republican political views while 63 percent of CNN watchers lean towards a Democratic view. A mere two percent of Fox News supporters approve of President Obama compared with 57 percent of CNN viewers.
The poll also delves into the demographics of both Fox News and CNN viewers. About 66 percent of the Fox News audience is over 50 while less than 30 percent of CNN viewers are of the same age. In terms of marriage, 69 percent of the Fox News viewers have tied the knot while only 37 percent of the CNN audience have done the same.
This survey proves to be important because the absorption of news from either a right- or left-leaning station can affect the political views of the public. One study compared 2,000 towns that either had or didn’t have access to Fox News. Results showed there was an increase of GOP favorability that ranged from 0.4 to 0.7 percentage points in towns that were exposed to Fox News.
“Fox News access provided a demonstrable boost to George W. Bush’s vote totals,” reports The Washington Post. “Effects of that size are politically influential, and larger than the effect of airing 1,000 TV advertisements.”
