They don't agree on anything, especially what to watch (McCain, Hagel, Warner watch mainly CNN)

Fox News Channel is thought to be “fair and balanced” only in Republican offices on Capitol Hill, while CNN is regarded as “the most trusted name in news” where Democrats work, according to an investigation of the television news-viewing habits of Congress.

The Hill conducted a survey of all lawmakers’ personal offices and found that, in a sharply divided Congress, the Republican and Democratic preferences for news programs are mostly split along party lines. The findings suggest that partisanship in Washington has seeped beyond legislation and into the news-watching customs of lawmakers and their staffs.

Out of 78 Senate offices that participated in the unscientific survey, 15 offices mentioned that they watch both CNN and Fox equally. Not one Senate Democratic office said it predominantly turned to Fox for its news, and only six of 41 Republican offices, including those of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and John Warner (Va.), said they primarily turned to CNN.

In the House, of 188 Democratic offices surveyed, only two said Fox is their preferred news channel, while 16 of 220 GOP offices said their televisions are tuned to CNN.

In a follow-up to the survey, the offices of Dels. Donna Christensen (D-V.I.) and Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), which initially indicated that they favor Fox, backtracked from that position.

Asked why Christensen’s office selected Fox, Press Secretary Shanna O’Reilly responded, “Well, I don’t know what they watch in the front, but the senior staff watches CNN.”

Among the 16 House Republicans who watch CNN are Reps. Deborah Pryce (Ohio), Michael Castle (Del.), Christopher Shays (Conn.), Jim Ramstad (Minn.), Tom Osborne (Neb.), Charles Taylor (N.C.) and Michael Burgess (Texas).

Tim Drumm from Taylor’s office said, “CNN seems like a fairly reliable source.” Yet, Drumm indicated that the office tries to watch all news stations. “We try to skip to all of them. We try to get all the perspectives.”

Many staffers noted that they watched C-SPAN while Congress is in session but provided their preference in news channels when pressed. Most congressional offices keep a television on all day to keep up with world events, while others watch television news through the Internet.

Some lawmakers have split screens. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has a bank of four monitors tucked inside a cabinet, next to her desk. Typically, those screens show Fox, CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN.

Matthew Felling, media director at the Center for Media and Public Affairs, said, “The CNN-Fox rivalry is turning Hill TVs into the D.C. version of Crips versus Bloods, except in place of gang colors they have news networks.”

“This doesn’t surprise me,” said Wayne Wanta, a professor at the University of Missouri who specializes in political communication. “I think Fox has really developed a conservative following, not only among the public but also in the political world.”

Citing the sensitivity of the question, some congressional offices provided a preference among news channels only after they were assured that the name of the lawmaker would not be associated with the answer to the question.

Republican staffers were much more outspoken in their preference for Fox than Democrats were when indicating a preference for CNN. Republicans often reacted as if there could only be one possible answer to the question.

Another Republican aide responded, “We watch Fox. What else would we watch?”

CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry said the finding that viewing habits are split along party lines shows a “divide in the country” but added, “We are the network for Democrats, Republicans and independents.”

Wanta agreed with Henry: “Research in our field has suggested that, as far as major news networks, CNN is fair and balanced, Fox is conservative.” He added, “Fox’s selection of the news agenda has been very conservative in nature.”

Republicans had a different take. “Fox News tends to be more equitable in presenting both views, in my opinion,” said Chuck Knapp, press secretary for Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.). “CNN has a much more obvious liberal bias.”

“We watched Fox for fair and balanced news,” echoed Sara Perkins from Rep. David Hobson’s (R-Ohio) office.

Ben Allen in Rep. Jose Serrano’s (D-N.Y.) office said, “Fox is a right-wing propaganda station.” He mentioned, however, that sometimes Serrano’s office does watch Fox. “CNN is more fair and balanced,” he added.

Steve Rendall, a senior analyst for a national media watch group called Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, said, “The survey shows that Republicans like to watch themselves. … People like to consume media that shares their ideology.”

Advertisers closely monitor the ratings of news channels, and Fox attracts more viewers than CNN.

Felling said, “If you are searching for a more conservative audience, Fox is where you place your ads. If you want a more liberal one, you go to CNN.”

He said he was struck by how few Democrats watch Fox: “What [The Hill’s survey] finds is that Fox has galvanized their so-called opponents on the left to such a degree that having it on is a source of shame, while CNN hasn’t angered the right to the same degree.”

He added that the news-watching tendencies of Capitol Hill may not parallel those outside the Washington Beltway.

“I would hesitate to make the leap from congressional offices to American households because most of them don’t have a political party nailed to their door,” he said. “I would not extend this study to American households.”

Lawmakers have accused the media of slanting the news. In a floor speech last Congress, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said, “The media generally present a liberal bias.” One of the few media organizations that does not have a left-leaning slant is Fox, Smith said.

In a 2003 floor speech, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) accused Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp., which owns Fox, of using his network to influence the country’s politics and priorities.

McCain can't buy time now that the MSM has made the switch to Hitlery. They played him like a violin and he is too dumb to know it. Buh bye Johnnie, the only TV time you will be getting now is when you look like an idiot.

In a follow-up to the survey, the offices of Dels. Donna Christensen (D-V.I.) and Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), which initially indicated that they favor Fox, backtracked from that position.

IMO, we have a number of Dems too afraid to admit they watch FOX. We know they do.

We know Republicans watch CNN and others to keep an eye on the enemy. McCain and Hagel to keep kissing up to the Liberal MSM name CNN as their primary.

FOX is not conservative but Republicans do not feel under attack from them, so no surprise it's a favorite for Reps. Even if not all on board with policy, they can relax without looking for the knife in the back.

"McCain can't buy time now that the MSM has made the switch to Hitlery. They played him like a violin and he is too dumb to know it. Buh bye Johnnie, the only TV time you will be getting now is when you look like an idiot."

Actually, they'll still give McVain some time when he slams W. But you're right when it comes to '08--unless the MSM wants to help him get the nomination and then take him out...

I noticed the article said Fox was watched "in Republican offices" and Sen. "you ate my strawberries" McCain watches CNN.

I really wish someone would start a genuinely conservative cable news channel so that Fox would start to look like the balanced network that it actually is.

Notice how little PMSNBC was mentioned in this article (only ONCE, correct? & by none other than Dim Nancy Pelosi!).

W/ the exception of Joe Scarborough & Pat Buchanan, PMSNBC is a joke, IMO.

I couldn't agree w/ you more. There really DOES need to be a conservative-driven news channel.

After all, I get FSTV (Free Speech TV) on my Dish, it lemme tell ya: it is WAY beyond "liberal"! These guys are a bunch of pro-communist leftwing nutcases! Shows like "Democracy Now!" & "Gay USA"; during the Dims nomination battle last summer they had an interview w/ Rep. Dennis Kucinich, asking him if he would normalize relations w/ Cuba when he is elected President.

Conservatives, constitutionists like myself, & libertarians have no place to go that I know of. I like FOX, but that's as close as it comes to give the "Right side of the aisle" much of a fair shake.

Well, it seems to me one can put too much into what others watch on television. It is reasonable to suspect that many of the Republican senators and congressmen watch CNN rather than Fox, simply because CNN has been around a while longer.

I myself, I watch Dan Rather and CBS News, just out of habit, even though Dan Rather is antithetical to everything in which I believe (especially honesty).

I have not once in my adult life taken anything uttered by Dan Rather seriously, but I still watch him--of course, this has been balanced out by the internet news-sources, which provide better "hard news."

First paragraph is true - when I walked through the halls of Congress with a group of people in March 2001 - we noticed that the dems had CNN on and most of the repubs had FOX on. So .. this is nothing new!

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