Via The Upshot: Republicans Who Do Not Regularly Watch Fox Are Less Likely to Back Trump. My initial thought was that this does not surprise me, but I have to wonder if some of it is just correlation rather than causation (i.e., GOP who don’t back Trump are also likely the types to watch less Fox News anyway). Granted, it is also likely a self-reinforcing cycle.
The article notes that the study was a controlled experiment that did demonstrate that changes in news consumption can change views:
In their experiment, they randomly assigned Fox News viewers to watch CNN for a month, comparing their political views after they switched to the network with Fox viewers who did not make the switch. The result? Getting conservative news viewers to watch mainstream news caused many of the participants to shift away from hard-right views on a number of issues like immigration and race relations. And they found changes in how participants evaluated Mr. Trump.
“It was amazing to see that the study participants learned new facts about the world from watching CNN,” Mr. Kalla said. “These are people who don’t trust CNN; they think it’s propaganda and fiction.
“The fact that they find that these people, in particular, learn something new about the world suggests that they’re more open to persuasion and hearing the other side than we might assume.”
Participants did not just move toward moderate views on issues like immigration; they also started to question their trust in Fox News itself. At the end of the study, respondents were less likely to agree with the statement: “If Donald Trump did something bad, Fox News would discuss it.”
On the one hand, this is heartening news, insofar as it demonstrates that human beings are capable of allowing information to change their minds.
On the other, this was a controlled environment.
Experiments like this have little real-world application, but they do reinforce the notion that conservative news viewers see the current political landscape through a different lens.
Further evidence of this phenomenon:
in the recent survey, the gap between the two types of Republicans persists. Republicans who watch mainstream media are over three times as likely to say Mr. Trump acted criminally as those who consume conservative media. And the share of mainstream media Republicans saying this has grown over the last two years, reaching a peak of 43 percent in December. It is now down to 34 percent.
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Ah! I didn’t even bother reading the article because my reaction to the headline was the same as yours: Trump backers are radically more likely to watch Fox News.
This buttresses the point I’ve always made Dr Taylor: There is only one voice speaking to these people and the message is reinforced through their social circles.
It also underscore your point about the weakness of political parties. We’re they actually playing to win, each party would be attempting to penetrate the information circles of the other with messaging that would be hard for voters of average intelligence to resist.
Instead, each party with locked into increasing the volume in their own bubble with, essentially, fight or flight messaging, the increase turnout of their own choirs.
I will admit that non-competative congressional district exacerbates the landscape. But the fundamental root always comes back to turnout vs persuasion theories of the case by GOP/DNC. Trench Warfare vs Blitzkrieg
Jim – I spent most of last week, driving through Trump country, and I posted that I think there is a noticable decline in Trump yard signs, flag, and banners all over Trump Country in Southern Georgia and the Florida panhandle to Jacksonville. I’d love to know your take on my anecdotal evidence. I saw alot of local yard signs for local Sheriffs, local city councils, and local county commissioners. Just not alot of Trump swag anywhere. What say you?
@EddieInCA: I posted the same a few weeks ago. Nothing of note along Hwy 98 & Hwy 20 in the Panhandle or Hwy 19 from Perry down through St Petersburg. The Trump yards still on those routes were there in the Summer of ’21 when I first started commuting through old Florida from Panama City to St Pete. No new signs popping up.
I recently drove from Myrtle Beach, SC to Charlotte, NC, on back roads and I saw NOTHING–save a Trump Store about 50 miles from Charlotte. The store had lots of yard gear displayed outside but not a yard in the vicinity had any swag.
Ah! I didn’t even bother reading the article because my reaction to the headline was the same as yours: Trump backers are radically more likely to watch Fox News.
This buttresses the point I’ve always made Dr Taylor: There is only one voice speaking to these people and the message is reinforced through their social circles.
It also underscore your point about the weakness of political parties. We’re they actually playing to win, each party would be attempting to penetrate the information circles of the other with messaging that would be hard for voters of average intelligence to resist.
Instead, each party with locked into increasing the volume in their own bubble with, essentially, fight or flight messaging, the increase turnout of their own choirs.
I will admit that non-competative congressional district exacerbates the landscape. But the fundamental root always comes back to turnout vs persuasion theories of the case by GOP/DNC. Trench Warfare vs Blitzkrieg
@Jim Brown 32:
Jim – I spent most of last week, driving through Trump country, and I posted that I think there is a noticable decline in Trump yard signs, flag, and banners all over Trump Country in Southern Georgia and the Florida panhandle to Jacksonville. I’d love to know your take on my anecdotal evidence. I saw alot of local yard signs for local Sheriffs, local city councils, and local county commissioners. Just not alot of Trump swag anywhere. What say you?
@EddieInCA: I posted the same a few weeks ago. Nothing of note along Hwy 98 & Hwy 20 in the Panhandle or Hwy 19 from Perry down through St Petersburg. The Trump yards still on those routes were there in the Summer of ’21 when I first started commuting through old Florida from Panama City to St Pete. No new signs popping up.
I recently drove from Myrtle Beach, SC to Charlotte, NC, on back roads and I saw NOTHING–save a Trump Store about 50 miles from Charlotte. The store had lots of yard gear displayed outside but not a yard in the vicinity had any swag.
Frankly, If I were GOP, this would concern me.
@Jim Brown 32:
Yeah. That completely matches my experience. Thanks.
And you’re right. While anecdotes is not evidence, there is definitely less Trump enthusiasm than in the past.