click the graphic for a link to PEW Research
(this graphic was added and is not part of the press release - BUT it is composed of data from Pew...)
Posted on 06/27/2005 6:01:16 PM PDT by rface
The study found radio listeners were the most polarized news consumers, due in part to ... Rush Limbaugh. Conservative listeners have their ideals reinforced ... which ultimately lead to even more extreme views. Newspaper readers were the least polarized news consumers...readers are less likely to adopt extreme attitudes about certain issues.
"Overall, our findings point to radio as a reason for the increasing polarization of the U.S. public"
click the graphic for a link to PEW Research
(this graphic was added and is not part of the press release - BUT it is composed of data from Pew...)
Newswise — Recent studies indicate that Americans are becoming increasingly extreme in their political, ideological and cultural views. From issues such as stem cell research to the environment, Americans are clinging to viewpoints that are increasingly opposed to one another, a phenomenon that some researchers attribute to the highly contested 2000 presidential election. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism have completed a study suggesting that it is the type of media a person consumes, not necessarily the message, that determines how polarized people are on a certain issue.
Journalism professors Wayne Wanta and Stephanie Craft and journalism doctoral student Mugur Geana used data from a telephone survey administered nationally to 2,528 adults in the United States. Survey respondents answered a series of questions on the government, religion and a combination of those areas, and then their polarization scores were calculated. The researchers then compared variables such as income level, main news source and interaction time with the media to the polarization scores.
The study found radio listeners were the most polarized news consumers, due in part to shows hosted by conservative political commentators such as Rush Limbaugh. Conservative listeners have their ideals reinforced by the shows, which ultimately lead to even more extreme views, Wanta said. Newspaper readers were the least polarized news consumers. Since newspapers do not have the same space and time constraints as television or radio, newspapers are able to provide readers with more information on both sides of an issue. As a result, Wanta said, readers are less likely to adopt extreme attitudes about certain issues.
"Overall, our findings point to radio being a possible reason for the increasing polarization of the U.S. public," Wanta said. "This apparent polarization effect of radio is probably not caused by the amount of information radio listeners receive. If respondents had been using media content as an information source to crystallize their own opinions, we would likely see the same—if not stronger—effect with newspapers or the Internet—media that have information that is more in-depth than the content on radio."
Internet news consumers were also some of the least polarized citizens, which the researchers say is surprising since the Internet users could have easily received their news from outlets that matched their existing views.
"By narrowly concentrating their information consumption on content that reinforces their views, Internet users potentially could experience the same reinforcing process that could be taking place with conservative radio listeners," Wanta said, noting that Internet users are actually become less polarized in their views. "One plausible explanation is that Internet users are seeking breadth as well as depth in the information they get from the Internet. This breadth of information shows both sides of political issues, leading to a wider acceptance of differing political views."
The study was conducted by Princeton Research Associations and sponsored by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. It was presented to the Political Communication Division at the International Communication Association annual convention in New York City in May.
This is the Dean speech by the MSM. People that don't buy our papers are just a bunch of White-Christian,Conservatives, that have never made an honest living.
That ought to boost circulation....NOT.
How did they do this study and ignore Air American and NPR?
Precisely. Only conservative radio listeners were singled out in the study as "extremists," not NPR or Air America listeners, of course. This phony piece of crap from leftist shill Andy Kohut's Pew Center is a push poll, plain and simple.
Conclusion #2:Internet users could also become extremists, if no constraints are present.
Of course, this lamebrain garbage doesn't bother to address the fact that most newspaper content is recycled crap coming from the same few (lying) sources...
Yup. Guess I just haveta chuck my radio out the winder to get rid of my "extremism."
Meanwhile, Bill Moyers is still on the People's Broadcasting System, spewing hate and lies...
No Mention that Rush Limbaugh is right 98% of the time(documented)and when he is wrong he corrects it...The print media follows NYT, and we know about the NYTs' reliablity.How do we know about it?Right,Rush Limbaugh,Drudge..etc..this is really an attack on the alternative media........nobody is going to buy it.
I'm basing this on the fact that you have to call repeatedly, wait, pass a screener, and then get a few minutes with the host, vs. buying a paper, reading a column, and then, maybe, writing a letter to the editor.
-PJ
ONE QUESTION????????? Who are the Sheep then??? The Newspapers or the Radio Listeners?
Who got to define "extreme views" for this silly study?
First of all Rush is not a journalist. He is a commentator. He doesn't editorialize the news like the MSM does. There is a difference between what opinions he has about a particular subject and what the NYSlime has to say about the same story. Talk radio is exploding and paper circulations are down. There is a reason to all this. It's quite simple actually. People are not buying what the MSM is selling. The average Joe looks around and come to the conclusion that his/her world isn't representative in the newsrooms of america. Before the MSM is liberal, it is elitist and their presumption and contempt for the average Joe is beyond the pale. I love the 1000 channel unevise it makes them more amd more irrelevant.
Good riddance
People who listen to the Radio usually MULTI-TASK, which means they can listen and DO something at the same time.....Newspaper readers on the other hand....can only READ what's in front of them, one word at a time, as written by the LIBERAL MAINSTREAM PRESS......HOW'S That for a CONCLUSION???? ANYTHING the PEW proposes....needs a SMELL test.....PEUWWWWWW.
What a load of crap.....................
Yes indeed, we radio listeners are just a bunch of dim-witted anti-intellectuals who do not see the "broad picture" that you cowardly "intellectuals" have convinced your selves that you do.
You are nothing more than an aberration of nature, who arise in the absence of conflict (yes, war) and who will lead us to our (and your's) final demise, due to your resentment of authority and unwillingness to love those around you, and defend same.
You are all that honorable men and women should not break bread with.
I do LOVE that chart, however.......looks like the NEWSIES really ARE in trouble!!!! BBAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Almost everyone I know who listens to radio does it either on the way to work in their car, or sometimes at work.
Basic difference is that radio listeners are much more likely to have a job than anyone else.
Newspapers are limited to word length. Whereby the same article/written read over a 2-3 minute period? About 1/3 of what can be communicated by spoken word. Like, duh.. It took Pew Research to turn this into a propoganda piece.
Pew Research Center is a bunch of commie rats.
We have not heard much about that lately, have we?
I have been wondering, listening to the "Big Head Ed" show - he keeps crowing about his growing number of stations - there is a tweak from time to time about this.
Today, Sen (D) Schmuck - forget his name - addressed this very issue.
No, they have not forgotten about it.
I can see it now.....if Rush gets 3 hours, then those stations have to carry 3 hours of Al Franken...etc.
They have bitched forever about Stars and Stripes carrying only the "Conservative" voice.
Gee, maybe that is by choice you nitwits.
Yep, use the court system to get your crap heard.
Typical.
LVM
That's because all they can do is look at the pretty pictures. The smart consumers have switched to radio.
Horrors ! They forgot the other part of the survey - you know, the questions that point out that watching too much Today Show and ABC/NBC/CBS evening news and other MSM sources makes you a more extreme liberal...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.