Trust Me: More Americans “Trust” Fox News Than Any Other Network

by Steve Krakauer | 9:12 am, January 27th, 2010

» 11 comments

According to conventional wisdom, liberals trust CNN and the broadcast networks more and conservatives trust Fox News more. And the results of the newest Public Policy Polling survey bears those results out.

But even more specifically, more people overall trust FNC than any other network – and the breakdown shows some surprising results.

From the survey:

These numbers suggest quite a shift in what Americans want from their news. A generation ago Walter Cronkite was the most trusted man in the country because of his neutrality. Now people trust Fox the most precisely because of its lack of neutrality. It says a lot about where journalism is headed.

The ‘do you trust’ percentages are (yes/no): FNC – 49/37, CNN – 39/41, NBC – 35/44, CBS – 32/46, ABC – 31/46.

With the specific crosstab breakdown, here are a couple other notable results:

• The liberal/conservative divide is what you’d expect, in that more conservatives trust FNC and more liberals trust the others (specifically NBC News). But a higher percentage of liberals trust FNC than conservatives trust any other network. CNN is the most trusted network for moderates, while FNC is the least trusted.

• The most trusted network for the 18-29 demographic is NBC News (likely including MSNBC), with 76% answering in that group answering yes. Coming in 2nd in that category is Fox News. For 30-45, CNN is the most trusted by far, and for 45-65 and 65+, FNC is the runaway winner.

What do these results tell us? Well, this is just one survey – but we’ve seen Fox News win “most trusted” surveys before. The fact is, with Fox News so dominant in their viewership, and a viewership that includes conservatives, moderates and yes, liberals, they are bound to have more individuals who trust them. It’s the reason so many watch. Now what will that mean for the Obama administration distrust? We’ll see better in November 2010 – and November 2012.

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The Real Royal King

I actually trust Shep. I trust most of the midday and afternoon people at FOX. I trust others at FOX, as well. I don’t trust the Douchey, the Gretch, Beck, Hannity, Geraldo or Van Susteren. I have no trust, in fact, the exact opposite of Jenkins and his manufactured stories. I am neutral as to O’Reilly. But, I don’t trust Scarborough or Olbermann, either. I don’t have great confidence in Maddow. I generally trust CNN, and I have great confidence in the CNN International people. So, cable news is a mixed bag for me. I have great confidence in PBS, NPR, BBC World and the BBC.
The Real Royal King

I forgot to mention Cavuto. What a tool.
http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

I trust Shep to give me the news as it is without the spin. That alone makes them a first choice. They have some of the best in TV journalism such as Patti Ann Browne and Major Garrett.

Like the others, they also have some of the worst, but NBC and the rest do not have a reliable honest reporter left.

CNN is awful except for huge stories like Haiti. MSNBC is just sad and the broadcast networks are lost in the lost world.
The Real Royal King

I disagree with you about CNN. It is still the recognized standard. I say that with full realization of all their many personnel problems.

I agree with you about Major Garrett.

I’m not that familiar with Ms. Browne, but will look for her work.

FOX presents a difficult problem in categorizing. On the whole, a remarkably small portion of the day is devoted to news. Most is commentary. That is not a problem, even when I tend to take exception to the commentary. The problem is the use of “cable news”. It isn’t really descriptive of FOX, is it? It isn’t descriptive of MSNBC, either, is it?
ImNotBlue

The Real Royal King says:
January 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm

It is as descriptive of cable news, as “Newspaper” describes the “editorials.”
libra blue

I have always trusted Shep, Brett Baier, Major Garrett, and Charles Krauthammer on FNC. There are a few jounalists like John King, that I trust on CNN, but the rest are mostly out in the field. I don’t trust anyone on MSNBC.

@Keeva,

“CNN is awful except for huge stories like Haiti.”

For the most part I would have to agree with you about that.
The Real Royal King

Brett Baier is an interesting inclusion. I once enjoyed him, but for reasons I can’t fully articulate, I have gone cold on him. He has become more than a bit arrogant, his sense of humor is sometimes unsettling, and when he probes through follow-up, he seems far too uneven and ideological.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Hadi-Sheikhnia/633698868 Hadi Sheikhnia

More people trust Fox news is because its the news/commentary that they want to hear. But CNN is more credible as it is devoted more towards the news.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Yt-Truly/100000414616536 Yt Truly

Liberals don’t trust CNN — or any corporate news source. The controlling interests behind these huge media conglomerates also have a stake in all the huge industries they “cover.” Liberals don’t trust NBC; they trust Rachel Maddow to tell the truth. That’s one hour per day. They trust Jon Stewart on Comedy Central and Bill Moyers on PBS–that’s 1/2 hour each. But that’s about it on TV. Virtually every progressive and middling Democrat I know is disgusted with the mainstream corporate media. Most of them get their news from the BBC, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph (all UK-based) or hard news sites like Truthout or Raw Story.

So, I’m not surprised people trust Fox more. I trust them too … to lie. Most sane people know that Fox is naked right wing/corporate propaganda, but at least it’s consistent and you know exactly what to expect. To watch it is to buy into the science fiction it’s slinging. The other news outlets pretend to carry actual news and objective reporting, when that couldn’t be farther from what they’re actually serving up. In between non-stories like Balloon Boy, they’re all in a mad dash to try to imitate Fox to try to peel off a slice of its ratings, which couldn’t be more pathetic.

The only answer to the utter irrelevance and corporate propaganda of the mainstream media is to bring back the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and break up these huge multinational corporations. Maybe if five companies didn’t own virtually all nationwide news outlets, we get some, you know, actual news.
orionantares

I trust FNC more than any other network to stick to their talking points.

Shep is really the only one I’ve seen been iffy though. Sometimes I’ve seen him challenge what the other hosts run for talking points but sometimes I’ve seen him do the same as the other hosts of trying to plant the normal FNC spin but usually more subtly.
ImNotBlue

Yt Truly says:
January 27, 2010 at 2:09 pm

Yes, a lot of liberals trust places like the BBC.

Of course, even the BBC admits they’re biased… but you know, it’s “overseas media” so it makes them feel smarter for listening to it. Kinda like how they list to NPR… even though every study (and comments by ombudsman) say they’re biased.

I suppose it’s all in how you look at things… and how they make you “feel.” That is, unless you’re familiar with reality. Then things look different… but you know how to cope.

orionantares says:
January 27, 2010 at 6:43 pm

10 bucks says you’ve never watched more than 5 minutes on FOX… and the majority of your info about them comes from Comedy Central, MSNBC, or other hate-FOX outlets. Am I right?