• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Why FOX News Has Higher Ratings

The OP title brings to mind a couple of things:

1) Tabloidism sells...regardless of the political label. Some tabloids are more skilled at providing tabloid content...thus they are more successful.

2) A hell of a lot of people are hooked on "Opinion and Commentary Programs". But the problem with that is that a lot of those people can't distinguish the difference between "FACT and TRUTH" and "OPINION and COMMENTARY". Opinion and commentary program providers are hip this situation. It makes these providers a hell of a lot of money. So consequently a lot of people gather vast amounts of information that they construe as fact...but in reality is nothing more than opinion...and some are willing to bet their lives on the factual validity of what is actually opinion and commentary.

Anyway...life goes on.
 
Fox News has high ratings for he same reasons that tabloids like The National Enquirer and Star sells more magazines then Science or The Economist.

Cheap tabloid news geared towards an 8th grade education was the plan of the creator Rupert Murdoch. Fox news was styled and funded from the London tabloid The Sun.

It appeals to the bottom feeders ...just like the trash magazines outsell.
 
I did not sleep very well last night, and while I was laying there thinking I got to wondering about something. Way back Rush followers used to call themselves ditto heads. After a while he started discoraging it. Then Fox News comes along. Now just as with Rush, when I see or hear something on Rush or Fox I see or hear it on consvative forums and my conservative freinds are start saying it almost immediately. In fact, many things I hear the right talk about Libs saying, thinking or doing I only hear about from them. I dont know even why I htink that might apply to this theard, but I do think there is more of a tendency of the right to repeat what they are told. I watch and listen to left wing sites too, and just dont see it as much.
 
cnredd said:
Stuff like this makes Liberals sleep better at night, but in actually, LIBERALS are the reason FOX has higher ratings...:yes:

This is from Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts"...

Libs like to BELIEVE that conservatives sit around all day listening to FOX and getting their talking points, but in reality, it's LIBERALS that sit around all day waiting to pounce on anything said on the channel...

Obviously, this is not to say Liberals are the overwhelming reason they have high ratings...But it's the reason they have high-ER ratings...

If 1000 Conservatives want to get the Liberal viewpoint, they can go to ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, or CNN...Spread evenly, that's 200 Conservative viewers on EACH Liberal news outlet...

But if 1000 Liberals want to get the Conservative viewpoint, they have ONE news outlet to go to...and that's it...FOX News gets all 1000...
Click to expand...

:lamo:lamo

Now that's funny. I don't care who you are.
 
MaggieD said:
I've been accused any number of times of getting my talking points from Limbaugh or Fox. I rarely listen to either. What I perceive as common sense, liberals dismiss as "talking points." One can tell the difference between a poster who's knowledgeable about a subject and one that's just meming what he/she's heard on biased news. At least I think so...
Click to expand...

That dismissiveness works both ways. I don't listen to any of the talking head political entertainers, but I'm often told I'm spouting their talking points.

And for the record, there is nothing common about good sense. So many people believe such easily shown falsehoods that it is hard to argue facts or truth mean much.
 
When you live in a bubble like the left does, anyone who has a different idea must be a racist, bigot, homophobe, etc.
 
Dusty Rhodes said:
When you live in a bubble like the left does, anyone who has a different idea must be a racist, bigot, homophobe, etc.
Click to expand...

You can find people in a bubble on both sides. Largely if you're taking any of the political entertainers seriously, including those on Fox, you're likely in a BUBBLE.

Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdock ruled once upon a time. Just had to get that in. :peace
 
cnredd said:
Stuff like this makes Liberals sleep better at night, but in actually, LIBERALS are the reason FOX has higher ratings...:yes:

This is from Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts"...

Libs like to BELIEVE that conservatives sit around all day listening to FOX and getting their talking points, but in reality, it's LIBERALS that sit around all day waiting to pounce on anything said on the channel...

Obviously, this is not to say Liberals are the overwhelming reason they have high ratings...But it's the reason they have high-ER ratings...

If 1000 Conservatives want to get the Liberal viewpoint, they can go to ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, or CNN...Spread evenly, that's 200 Conservative viewers on EACH Liberal news outlet...

But if 1000 Liberals want to get the Conservative viewpoint, they have ONE news outlet to go to...and that's it...FOX News gets all 1000...
Click to expand...

Your analysis is fatally flawed. First, the world is not a coin with two distinct sides. Putting Fox on one side against everyone else is, to start with, an inaccurate model. There are more than two viewpoints, so while the political process tends to distill multiple points of view into two rounded policy platforms, that's not a process that then translates to everything else.

Basically, you've painted a picture where two sides balance one another and have equal weight or legitimacy. The reality is that there aren't two sides and there isn't one fulcrum. Media are not engaged in a big balancing act, but comprise myriad outlets with distinct operational procedures, motives, ethical guidelines, etc. It's a common rhetorical conceit on the right that its Fox vs. everyone else. But that duality is forced -- designed to homogenize viewers, build brand loyalty and legitimize editorial leanings.

Nor does viewership split cleanly along partisan lines. It's tempting to say conservatives seek out conservative viewpoints and liberals seek out liberal viewpoints, but most TV viewers' political affiliations are vague and contradictory. They aren't invested enough to really choose an outlet based on adherence to their political viewpoints, as their political beliefs aren't really that well-developed in many cases.
 
GhostlyJoe said:
Your analysis is fatally flawed. First, the world is not a coin with two distinct sides. Putting Fox on one side against everyone else is, to start with, an inaccurate model. There are more than two viewpoints, so while the political process tends to distill multiple points of view into two rounded policy platforms, that's not a process that then translates to everything else.

Basically, you've painted a picture where two sides balance one another and have equal weight or legitimacy. The reality is that there aren't two sides and there isn't one fulcrum. Media are not engaged in a big balancing act, but comprise myriad outlets with distinct operational procedures, motives, ethical guidelines, etc. It's a common rhetorical conceit on the right that its Fox vs. everyone else. But that duality is forced -- designed to homogenize viewers, build brand loyalty and legitimize editorial leanings.

Nor does viewership split cleanly along partisan lines. It's tempting to say conservatives seek out conservative viewpoints and liberals seek out liberal viewpoints, but most TV viewers' political affiliations are vague and contradictory. They aren't invested enough to really choose an outlet based on adherence to their political viewpoints, as their political beliefs aren't really that well-developed in many cases.
Click to expand...

It is likely true among those who are liberal and conservative that they do seek out affirmation in their news shows. It is also true most are not either or neither, however Fox also plays to thinks like tradition and patriotism, which brings in a number. if you remember, they put the war to music.
 
If you're basing your comment on entertainment, I'd agree. However, if we're speaking of hard news, I'd strongly disagree. I personally believe Fox News' right wing label is derived on entertainment programming, fair or unfair. I'll concede that Hannity is pro-conservative, while the O'Reilly Factor and On the Record I'd question. O'Reilly is an Independent, who has gone against traditional conservative ideology on multiple occasions, and Greta Van Susteren is a liberal herself. FNC's hard news airs from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm, and their hard news programming showcases liberals as their lead anchors. Shepard Smith? Bret Baier?
 
Breitbart4Life said:
If you're basing your comment on entertainment, I'd agree. However, if we're speaking of hard news, I'd strongly disagree. I personally believe Fox News' right wing label is derived on entertainment programming, fair or unfair. I'll concede that Hannity is pro-conservative, while the O'Reilly Factor and On the Record I'd question. O'Reilly is an Independent, who has gone against traditional conservative ideology on multiple occasions, and Greta Van Susteren is a liberal herself. FNC's hard news airs from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm, and their hard news programming showcases liberals as their lead anchors. Shepard Smith? Bret Baier?
Click to expand...


That is correct. The bias on all the networks rests with their political entertainers. Largely all the networks present the same hard news. The entertainers twist and distort that news, some out right lying.

I will say however your analysis of Fox is questionable. Fox has made an art form out using only liberals in their entertainment that are either weak or suspect from the actual liberal Point of view.
 
MaggieD said:
I've been accused any number of times of getting my talking points from Limbaugh or Fox. I rarely listen to either. What I perceive as common sense, liberals dismiss as "talking points." One can tell the difference between a poster who's knowledgeable about a subject and one that's just meming what he/she's heard on biased news. At least I think so...
Click to expand...

The question is why don't you listen to Rush or watch FOX? It is a pleasant break to hear people in the media I agree with for a change, they help me keep what remains of my sanity.
 
cnredd said:
Stuff like this makes Liberals sleep better at night, but in actually, LIBERALS are the reason FOX has higher ratings...:yes:

This is from Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts"...

Libs like to BELIEVE that conservatives sit around all day listening to FOX and getting their talking points, but in reality, it's LIBERALS that sit around all day waiting to pounce on anything said on the channel...

Obviously, this is not to say Liberals are the overwhelming reason they have high ratings...But it's the reason they have high-ER ratings...

If 1000 Conservatives want to get the Liberal viewpoint, they can go to ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, or CNN...Spread evenly, that's 200 Conservative viewers on EACH Liberal news outlet...

But if 1000 Liberals want to get the Conservative viewpoint, they have ONE news outlet to go to...and that's it...FOX News gets all 1000...
Click to expand...

Completely not true. I watch fox news every night for about 20 seconds - in the montages on John Stewart's show that shows them talking in circles or doing a great job a hypocrite.
 
Megan Kelly is hot. She is teasing a story for the UN monitoring Texas election. Gotta watch this one before I get in the shower after raking leaves and going to the Y.
 
Boo Radley said:
That is correct. The bias on all the networks rests with their political entertainers. Largely all the networks present the same hard news. The entertainers twist and distort that news, some out right lying.

I will say however your analysis of Fox is questionable. Fox has made an art form out using only liberals in their entertainment that are either weak or suspect from the actual liberal Point of view.
Click to expand...

Although you believe you're agreeing with me, I have to disagree with your reply. Hard news is not all the same. Don't believe me? Look at the agenda of the MSM. Fast and Furious? According to the MSM, yaaaaaawwwwwwwwwn. Abu Ghraib on the other hand? Front page stories on the New York Times well past its expiration date. What's this have to do with cable news? It's the same concept.
 
Breitbart4Life said:
That I pay attention to what's going on? :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...

When did Breibart do that? He doctored and edited video in a dishonest way to fit his partisan views. He was free to do that, of course, but it doesn't mean I look at him as a reputable source.
 
Breitbart4Life said:
Although you believe you're agreeing with me, I have to disagree with your reply. Hard news is not all the same. Don't believe me? Look at the agenda of the MSM. Fast and Furious? According to the MSM, yaaaaaawwwwwwwwwn. Abu Ghraib on the other hand? Front page stories on the New York Times well past its expiration date. What's this have to do with cable news? It's the same concept.
Click to expand...

Like Fox, they have very little hard news. Like Fox, there 10-15 minutes covered it and covered almost identically.
 
Boo Radley said:
Like Fox, they have very little hard news. Like Fox, there 10-15 minutes covered it and covered almost identically.
Click to expand...

5:00 am to 8:00 pm is little hard news? Ok? And the networks don't cover news identically. The Fast and Furious scandal was basically swept under the rug by the MSM, and let that lunatic, Biden, get away with comments like, "They're gonna put ya'll back in chains" without any consequences. If a Republican had the record Obama has, and constantly committed the gaffes Biden has, the media would have a field day with it. Just look at how they turned the majority of people against Bush. And the thing of it is, things weren't even as bad under W. as they are under Obama. A real head scratcher, heh?
 
Breitbart4Life said:
5:00 am to 8:00 pm is little hard news? Ok? And the networks don't cover news identically. The Fast and Furious scandal was basically swept under the rug by the MSM, and let that lunatic, Biden, get away with comments like, "They're gonna put ya'll back in chains" without any consequences. If a Republican had the record Obama has, and constantly committed the gaffes Biden has, the media would have a field day with it. Just look at how they turned the majority of people against Bush. And the thing of it is, things weren't even as bad under W. as they are under Obama. A real head scratcher, heh?
Click to expand...

And the Conservative Persecution Complex. Of course....
 
mak2 said:
Megan Kelly is hot. She is teasing a story for the UN monitoring Texas election. Gotta watch this one before I get in the shower after raking leaves and going to the Y.
Click to expand...

She's really hot, until she opens her mouth. It's cool if i'm watching on mute though.

 
Breitbart4Life said:
If a Republican had the record Obama has, and constantly committed the gaffes Biden has, the media would have a field day with it. Just look at how they turned the majority of people against Bush. And the thing of it is, things weren't even as bad under W. as they are under Obama. A real head scratcher, heh?
Click to expand...

Yep. I remember how Dan Quayle was treated for misspelling "potato." But Obama gets a pass on "corpse-man" and "57 states" and Biden gets a pass on his really stupid gaffes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom