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Conservatives think they live in a more dangerous world than liberals think they do. That is odd since conservatives are less likely to live in cities, so they are probably actually less likely to actually experience a crime in their home. My guess is that the amount or type of TV watching is the cause of the difference.
Trying to find evidence of my theory I found this, and little else that was relevant
".....Gerbner’s research also showed that heavy TV viewers are likely to believe that crime is on the rise, when in fact, crime has been on the decline since the 1990s. This is perhaps due to the number of crimes shown on the local news, which is the primary news source for 2/3 of Americans, according to “The Mean World Syndrome.” 61% of the news stories on local news, Gerbner’s research shows, are about crime and violence, which Gerbner believes has a lot to do with how people perceive the world—hence the name “The Mean World Syndrome.” Conservative Americans are more likely to be “tough on crime,” as evidenced by Student News Daily’s comparison of liberal and conservative views on the death penalty. For conservatives, the view is that “The death penalty is a punishment that fits the crime of murder; …Executing a murderer is the appropriate punishment for taking an innocent life.” For liberals, “The death penalty should be abolished… Every execution risks killing an innocent person.” Are conservatives tougher on crime because they feel there is more crime than actually exists, due to the Cultivation Theory? Conservatives are often the ones who tout gun ownership, and, according to the movie, the reason cited is most often “protection.” If crime is on the decline, from whom are gun owners protecting themselves?
All of these comparisons seem to point to the conclusion that conservatives watch more television, or perhaps are more influenced by what they see on television. I had a hard time finding any study that supports or denies this hypothesis; internet articles offered clues to the differences between what conservatives and liberals watch on television, but not how much television they watched. That information didn’t tell me a lot. Liberals watch “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report” and “30 Rock”; Conservatives like “Swamp Loggers,” “Top Shot” and “The Bachelor." None of this is particularly surprising. But for this study, news and sports were not taken into account, which might tell a different story.
If there hasn’t been a study on this subject—and there doesn’t seem to have been, from what I can tell from my research—I think there should be one. The answer to the question of “Do conservatives watch more television?” would not only answer it at face value, but it might tell us more about the huge divide in American politics today and what the media is doing to drive that..."
http://kirbywrites.blogspot.com/2013/06/do-conservatives-watch-too-much-tv.html
Trying to find evidence of my theory I found this, and little else that was relevant
".....Gerbner’s research also showed that heavy TV viewers are likely to believe that crime is on the rise, when in fact, crime has been on the decline since the 1990s. This is perhaps due to the number of crimes shown on the local news, which is the primary news source for 2/3 of Americans, according to “The Mean World Syndrome.” 61% of the news stories on local news, Gerbner’s research shows, are about crime and violence, which Gerbner believes has a lot to do with how people perceive the world—hence the name “The Mean World Syndrome.” Conservative Americans are more likely to be “tough on crime,” as evidenced by Student News Daily’s comparison of liberal and conservative views on the death penalty. For conservatives, the view is that “The death penalty is a punishment that fits the crime of murder; …Executing a murderer is the appropriate punishment for taking an innocent life.” For liberals, “The death penalty should be abolished… Every execution risks killing an innocent person.” Are conservatives tougher on crime because they feel there is more crime than actually exists, due to the Cultivation Theory? Conservatives are often the ones who tout gun ownership, and, according to the movie, the reason cited is most often “protection.” If crime is on the decline, from whom are gun owners protecting themselves?
All of these comparisons seem to point to the conclusion that conservatives watch more television, or perhaps are more influenced by what they see on television. I had a hard time finding any study that supports or denies this hypothesis; internet articles offered clues to the differences between what conservatives and liberals watch on television, but not how much television they watched. That information didn’t tell me a lot. Liberals watch “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report” and “30 Rock”; Conservatives like “Swamp Loggers,” “Top Shot” and “The Bachelor." None of this is particularly surprising. But for this study, news and sports were not taken into account, which might tell a different story.
If there hasn’t been a study on this subject—and there doesn’t seem to have been, from what I can tell from my research—I think there should be one. The answer to the question of “Do conservatives watch more television?” would not only answer it at face value, but it might tell us more about the huge divide in American politics today and what the media is doing to drive that..."
http://kirbywrites.blogspot.com/2013/06/do-conservatives-watch-too-much-tv.html
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