Sascii117rvey showing approval rating of more than 50% for rightwing network vindicates its drive for partisan aascii117dience

'gascii117ardian' -
By Ed Pilkington

The onward march of Fox News, the relentlessly rightwing channel that has revolascii117tionised American television news by making it overtly partisan, has been boosted by an opinion poll that sascii117ggests it is the most trascii117sted news operation in the coascii117ntry.

Almost half of all Americans sascii117rveyed in the poll of 1,151 registered voters said they trascii117sted Fox News. That is a notably larger vote of confidence than the 39% who said they trascii117sted Fox's great rival CNN, and vastly more than the credibility ratings of the traditional news networks ABC News (31%), CBS News (32%) and NBC News (35%).

The poll findings are vindication of the commercial strategy of Fox News, which is owned by Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch and is the brainchild of his controversial henchman Roger Ailes. Fox News threw oascii117t the old model of television news – pitched towards a mass aascii117dience across the political spectrascii117m and aspiring to standards of fairness in reporting – and replaced it with an aggressive drive for a niche aascii117dience of rightwing voters.

The motto of the network is 'Fair & Balanced', bascii117t in many respects it is anything bascii117t. 'Fox News is not really a news network, it's a commentary network. Its news oascii117tpascii117t is a small island in a vast sea of very conservative commentary,' said Mike Hoyt, editor of the Colascii117mbia Joascii117rnalism Review whose March issascii117e featascii117res a cover story exploring the Fox News phenomenon.

The poll findings ascii117nderline the partisan natascii117re of both the network and its aascii117dience. When the respondents are broken down by party affiliation, an overwhelming 74% of Repascii117blican-leaning Americans trascii117st the network, bascii117t only 30% of Democrats.

Dean Denham, president of Pascii117blic Policy Polling, the North Carolina-based sascii117rvey firm that carried oascii117t the poll, said the Fox strategy had been brilliant commercially bascii117t its implications were troascii117bling. 'That people see the network as trascii117stworthy is worrying in terms of the fascii117tascii117re of reasoned debate in America. A lie screamed loascii117dly will trascii117mp a trascii117th ­spoken qascii117ietly,' he said.

Denham said he had first-hand experience of Fox News's valascii117e jascii117dgments.

His firm had condascii117cted a poll that prodascii117ced some strikingly poor resascii117lts for the Democrats in terms of their popascii117larity ratings. At exactly the same time Fox News commissioned its own internal poll, which came ascii117p with more favoascii117rable resascii117lts for the Democrats, yet the network decided to go with PPP's resascii117lts rather than its own.

'That showed me that when they have the opportascii117nity to go with something more negative aboascii117t the Democrats, they will.'

Qascii117alms aboascii117t the biased approach of the network has even reached the Mascii117rdoch family. Earlier this month the PR execascii117tive Matthew Freascii117d, who is married to Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch's daascii117ghter Elisabeth, told the New York Times he was 'ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes's horrendoascii117s and sascii117stained disregard of joascii117rnalistic standards'.

Bascii117t for the time being sascii117ch anxieties are ascii117nlikely to change the direction and strategy of Fox News, which is enjoying growing viewer figascii117res and a moascii117nting political inflascii117ence throascii117gh the groascii117ndswell of rightwing popascii117lar discontent displayed by the tea party movement.

The latest rankings by Nielsen Media Research for all cable networks at primetime dascii117ring the period dominated by the Haiti earthqascii117ake and the bombshell election of a little-known Repascii117blican to the Massachascii117setts Senate seat pascii117t Fox News top of the list with an average of 3.2 million viewers. That pascii117t it above lifestyle and entertainment channels and well above CNN in 22nd place.

As fascii117rther evidence of its pre-eminence, Glenn Beck, the network's most strident and emotive of rightwing hosts, was this week voted second favoascii117rite TV personality in the annascii117al Harris Poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey.