PPP Second Annual TV News Trust Poll (Fox News Most Distrusted by a plurality !?)

Public Policy Polling ^ | 01/20/2011

[SeekAndFind]

PPP's annual look at the public's trust in various TV news outlets finds that Fox News' credibility is on the decline, that the traditional networks are seeing an up tick in their numbers, and that PBS is at the top of the heap.

Here's how they stack up from highest net trust to worst:

Outlet	Trust/Distrust	Net	2010 Numbers	Shift from 2010
PBS	50/30	+20	Not Included	Not Applicable
NBC	41/41	0	35/44 (-9)	+9
CNN	40/43	-3	39/41 (-2)	-1
Fox News	42/46	-4	49/37 (+12)	-16
CBS	36/43	-7	32/46 (-14)	+7
ABC	35/43	-8	31/46 (-15)	+7

-A year ago a plurality of Americans said they trusted Fox News. Now a plurality of them don't. Conservatives haven't moved all that much- 75% said they trusted it last year and 72% still do this time around. But moderates and liberals have both had a strong increase in their level of distrust for the network- a 12 point gain from 48% to 60% for moderates and a 16 point gain from 66% to 82% for liberals. Voters between left and center tend to be more trusting of the media across the board, which is why a fair number of them were still rating Fox favorably even a year ago at this time. But it looks like with a lot of those folks it has finally crossed the line to being too political to trust.

-All three of the traditional major networks- NBC, CBS, and ABC- have seen an increase in their trust levels over the last year. NBC continues to be the most trusted of the trio, breaking even this year at 41% who trust it and 41% who don't. It may be MSNBC's liberal tilt that vaults its parent network to the top overall. Conservatives distrust all three of the networks at pretty similar levels- 66% for ABC and NBC, 67% for CBS. But liberals range from 52% who trust ABC to 61% who trust CBS all the way up to 67% who trust NBC. It's interesting to see that faith in these long standing organizations is on the rise but it may be that in a new media world where there's so much more information available than there's ever been before folks are looking to places with a proven track record of getting it right.

-Democrats trust everything but Fox. Republicans don't trust anything but Fox. And independents don't trust much of anything. For Democrats 73% trust PBS, 64% NBC, 61% CBS, 60% CNN, 56% ABC, and 22% Fox. For Republicans 67% trust Fox, 29% PBS, 22% CNN, 21% NBC, 17% ABC, and 15% CBS. For independents 44% trust PBS, 36% Fox, 34% CNN, 33% NBC, 27% CBS, and 26% ABC.

I'm sure there's a lot of other interesting stuff digging into these numbers that I haven't even touched on- full results here

[La Lydia]

Public Policy Polling (PPP) is an American Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. PPP was founded in 2001 by businessman and Democratic pollster Dean Debnam, the firm's current president and chief executive officer...

[Dead Corpse]

And yet Fox News is rating 3-4 times the viewership of the other news networks.

Liars figure and figures lie.

[Qbert]

How can people know if they trust PBS and the big three networks if nobody’s actually watching them??

[SeekAndFind]

RE: And yet Fox News is rating 3-4 times the viewership of the other news networks

---

NOTE THIS sentence : But moderates and liberals have both had a strong increase in their level of distrust for the network.

Conservative viewership of Fox has not changed that much.

Also, Conservatives outnumber liberals in America by a 2-1 margin.

Forty percent of Americans describe their political views as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 20% as liberal.

See here :

http://www.gallup.com/poll/123854/conservatives-maintain-edge-top-ideological-group.aspx

So, the distrust level comes from a huge drop in those who call themselves moderate or liberal.

This ought not to bother Fox News at all as their viewer base has always been conservatives.

[Sprite518]

NBC who would not be in business if their parent company G.E. was bailed out. NBC/MSNBC viewer numbers are extremely low at all times, but some how they are the most trusted network?

Who was polled is what I want to know. I smell a rat... Just saying...

[meangene]

Typical biased Dem pollster trying to hide behind a non-partisan sounding org name. Come on libs you can do better than this!

[Lazlo in PA]

This follows the string of wacky polls showing Obummer at 50% in the approvals without anything happening. The Libs are in full spin to keep their base energized after the mid term rout.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Who was polled is what I want to know.

---

PPP gives some sort of an answer to that question here:

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_National_0119930.pdf

[Dead Corpse]

Also, Conservatives outnumber liberals in America by a 2-1 margin.

And the Fox viewership ratings have them at a 4:1 margin. That means a lot of people might disagree with some of the Fox hosts stances, but they are tuning in to watch.

I don't agree with O'Reilly on a whole host of issues, but I'd still rather get my news from Fox than any other network.

[puppypusher]

Yea!Foxnews is the most distrusted news source out on the Boob tube,Right.

That’s why CNN,MSnbc,Abc,NBC,can’t get viewers if they bribed them.

What a load of BS.

[jmaroneps37]

This is PPP sucking up to the Left because they did a few honest polls last cycle. The tip off that they talked to morons is how high PBS did. But of course we're not smart enough to notice this, so it's okay.

[chris_bdba]

ROFLOL! This poll surely had to be done amoung College professors rigth? With ratings higher than anyone else that by itself tells me who people trust.Silly little peer polls like this just keeps the idiots who trust MSM watching because everyone else laughs.

[SeekAndFind]

There seems to be a disconnect in this poll and reality as I see it.

If viewers distrust Fox News, why are they the HIGHEST ( yes, the HIGHEST) rated Cable News channel in the USA ?

The second highest rated news channel is not even close.

You could add the total PRIMETIME viewers of Fox rivals, CNN and MSNBC and CNBC and their totals would be LESS than FOX’s viewership.

That’s how dominant FOX is when it comes to the US Cable News business.

See here for the latest ratings:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/01/20/cable-news-ratings-for-tuesday-january-18-2011-piers-morgan-night-2/79415

SO, the objective numbers tell us that FOX has the most viewers ( and by all indicators, I don’t see their viewership dropping at all ), if we are to believe this PPP poll, that would mean that viewers still watch the news channel they distrust the most ?

[SeekAndFind]

Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for January 18, 2011

		P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
Total Day
FNC		1,173	281	550
CNN		397	124	181
MSNBC		487	111	231
CNBC		223	57	111
HLN		274	127	158
Primetime		P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC		2,264	511	1,051
CNN		755	266	371
MSNBC		967	233	438
CNBC		330	110	144
HLN		508	156	248
Net	Morning programs (6-9 AM)	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	FOX & Friends	844	285	544
CNN	American Morning	208	88	107
MSNBC	Morning Joe	528	111	282
CNBC	Squawk Box	178	56	113
HLN	Morning Express w/ Meade	370	243	265
Net	5PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	GLENN BECK	1,968	398	842
CNN	SITUATION ROOM	547	134	242
MSNBC	HARDBALL WITH C. MATTHEWS	750	111	239
CNBC	FAST MONEY	259	69	155
HLN	SHOWBIZ TONIGHT	203	68	96
Net	6PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	SPECIAL RPT W/BRET BAIER	2,093	384	818
CNN	SITUATION ROOM	422	108	192
MSNBC	ED SHOW	892	147	372
CNBC	MAD MONEY	263	103	153
HLN	PRIME NEWS	198	78	107
Net	7PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	THE FOX REPORT W/S.SMITH	1,882	424	860
CNN	JOHN KING USA	377	60	152
MSNBC	HARDBALL WITH C. MATTHEWS	736	185	364
CNBC	KUDLOW REPORT	194	69	100
HLN	ISSUES	309	109	213
Net	8PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	THE OREILLY FACTOR	2,978	681	1,355
CNN	PARKER SPITZER	469	72	171
MSNBC	COUNTDOWN W/ K. OLBERMANN	1,055	260	489
CNBC	COCA-COLA: THE REAL STORY	213	82	92
HLN	NANCY GRACE	720	231	375
Net	9PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	HANNITY	2,183	506	1,009
CNN	Piers Morgan Tonight	1,273	551	711
MSNBC	RACHEL MADDOW SHOW	1,126	265	519
CNBC	60 Minutes ON CNBC	403	134	166
HLN	NANCY GRACE-MISSING	480	152	228
Net	10PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	ON THE RECORD W/GRETA	1,629	345	788
CNN	ANDERSON COOPER 360	521	175	231
MSNBC	LAST WORD W/ L. ODONNELL	714	175	306
CNBC	60 Minutes ON CNBC	365	114	175
HLN	JOY BEHAR	354	101	159
Net	11PM	P2+ (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FNC	THE OREILLY FACTOR	1,207	384	711
CNN	ANDERSON COOPER 360	292	87	126
MSNBC	COUNTDOWN W/ K. OLBERMANN	416	138	209
CNBC	MAD MONEY	68	33	40
HLN	SHOWBIZ TONIGHT	256	92	130

-

For other days cable news ratings click here.

P2+ = viewers over the age of 2

(25-54) = Adults 25-54 viewing

(35-64) = Adults 35-64 viewing

Prime Time = 8-11pm

LIVE+SD: The number that watched a program either while it was broadcast OR watched via DVR on the same day [through 3AM the next day] the program was broadcast. For more information see Numbers 101.

Scratch = when a show’s audience fails to meet minimum Nielsen reporting levels. For more information go here.