Fox News Ad Targets CNN's Heavily Democratic Audience

The Fox News Channel has taken out an ad in Monday's Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and trade publication Multichannel News highlighting recent findings from a study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which found that Fox News' audience is more balanced along party lines than either CNN's or MSNBC's.

The ad, exclusively obtained by the Huffington Post, targets CNN specifically, inserting the word "partisan" into CNN's "CNN = Politics" logo to read, "CNN = Partisan Politics" and declaring Fox News "The Only Fair & Balanced News Network." This may prove to be a particularly damaging charge, as CNN has sought to define itself as the independent alternative to partisan programming on its competitors (which, in addition to the fact that MSNBC trails both Fox and CNN in the ratings by wide margins, is presumably, why the ad targets CNN with no mention of MSNBC).

The study found that 51% of CNN's regular viewers are Democrats, compared to 18% Republicans. Fox News' audience leans Republican but is more balanced overall, with 39% of regular viewers declaring themselves Republicans compared to 33% declaring themselves Democrats. MSNBC's regular audience is 45% Democrat and 18% Republican.

See the ad below:

Excerpt from Pew study below (download the entire report here):

The general public has become more Democratic since 2006, and this is reflected in the audiences for leading TV news outlets. The audiences for CNN and MSNBC, which were heavily Democratic two years ago, have become even more so: fully 51% of CNN's regular viewers are Democrats while only 18% are Republicans. MSNBC's audience makeup is similar - 45% of regular viewers of MSNBC are Democrats, 18% are Republicans.

The regular audience for nightly network news also is now about two-to-one Democratic (45% vs. 22% Republican). In 2006, 40% of the regular viewers of nightly network news were Democrats compared with 28% who were Republicans.

The regular audience for the Fox News Channel continues to include more Republicans than Democrats. Currently, 39% of regular Fox News viewers are Republicans while 33% are Democrats; in 2006, the margin was 38% to 31%.

Comments

[colleen2]

Fox news must believe that most people are as stupid as their regular viewing audience.

[dillydawg]

It's an upside down world. Unbelievable what FoxNews has been able to get away with over the years. The truth is that CNN has not been fair and balance for sometime now, they have been increasingly leaning right. At times it is hard to tell if your not watching FoxNews, when your looking at CNN, especially when Wolf (I own CNN and you must repeat after me) Blitzer is on. Wolf was great in selling the American people on the war. Now his task is to sell them on McCain for POTUS. Over the next few weeks, watch him work. Sheep to slaughter.

[livesimply]

This is too funny! What do the stats mean? Heck, maybe more dems watch television news.

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

Hannity and O'Reilly can not even attend the Democaratic Convention because of fear that they will be attached.

[plainsman]

Yes. Yes. Is it some kind of tumor-like umbilical cord stretching all the way to Mother Rupert?

[cariintexas]

Are you nuts. all I've heard this morning is how Hannity showed his rear last night at the Dem convention, along with Michael Steele. YES Hannity is there.

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

FOX is hated by millions of people in this country, hated with a capital H. That can not be said about CNN or MSNBC

[UnbiasView]

Then why is Fox #1?I hate MSNBC BTW.

[MargaretO]

When Fox gets rid of Hannity and O'Reilly and Dobbs and actually gets fair and balanced, I might take a look at their network once again.

Fair and balanced, my hind end!

[UnbiasView]

Dobbs is on CNN you goof,.

[BlackWidowPilot]

No, Dobbs is a goof on CNN. Head goof in charge, in fact...

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[jayburd]

Have you seen the dimwitted goofballs they have in the morning on that channel? Why would anyone with half a brain watch Fox News or Fox anything on television for that matter. As whoring networks go they are the worst...

[wyntka]

Probably most Dems who watch FoxNoise do it for the same reason that you can't resist smelling that sour jug of milk before you pour it out...

[RubyRed482]

That made me laugh...so true! I usually just read/watch Fox if I'm in the mood to get riled up and mad at somebody!!!!!!!!

[livesimply]

I really doubt the veracity of the data. I really can't imagine that very many dems watch all those fools on fox bloviate much.

[soithoni]

People are so stunningly stupid to believe this manure.

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

CNN and MSNBC need to fight back with an ad of their own.

[rwe]

MSNBC is a non stop ad against FOX. Hell , Hannity and OReilly make nightly appearances on Olbermans Obamagasm

[dRwOOD]

now the "news" organizations are attacking eachother, this is ridiculous - FAUX news is joke!!

[StillweRise]

push polling at its finest....­.

[Freesia2]

39% of regular viewers declaring themselves Republicans compared to 33% declaring themselves Democrats.

I think the trick lies in the word "declaring". People who watch Fox News and admit it (or the ones I'm related to who proclaim it) almost invariably when you argue a point with them will say "Fair and Balanced!" like a mantra. I can't decide if they believe it, or if they just want me to.

People declare what they want to believe is true. And I've no doubt some viewers when asked decide to get real "fair and balanced" by declaring themselves not really Republicans. (Even though they've voted for anybody with an R before their name since Eisenhower­.)

The only Democrats who regularly watch Fox do so to study the enemy, or to laugh. Or because they need somebody to yell at.

[RubyRed482]

If people need someone to yell at, google "Ann Coulter." She makes a GREAT target. The fact that Fox still has her on every now and then is enough proof for me that they are far from fair and balanced. Occansionally there is a good article on their "opinion" site, and every so often, Father Jonathan writes something that isn't too blantantly Republican­...(I mainly like him because I'm Catholic, although that does not mean I always agree with him). However, except for the occasional anomale...­I get my REAL news from the OTHER stations!

[Freesia2]

Poor Ann. I tell you RubyRed482 - I worry for her. I don't know what's going to happen to her as the current (fake) Republicans go out of style and so does she. She's been the Prom Queen for them. I see her sitting home wearing her Moral Majority banner watching her flaxen locks turn grey under her Conservative Crown, wondering what the heck happened. It was such fun being the spokesperson for Republican Bottle Blondes.

In case you didn't guess - I cannot stand Ann Coulter.

[kcmookie]

You mean people still get their news from the telly-vision?

I use this new fangeled thing called "The Inner-net".

This is what I like to call a "Black Pot Kettle Caller" story. Really Fox, not everyone agrees with what you call fair and balanced? Thank goodness some of us can think for ourselves.

[LibDrummer]

THe entire "Fair and balanced" has never been anything but a marketing slogan, designed to support thier biggest weakness that anyone with a thrid grade education can see they are most bias in news.

"Fair amd balanced" is a crock. The word is not fair, the news is not fair, the world is not balanced and events in poltics are not balanced and do not occur in "Balance". To report on the fact as "fair and Balanced" is not even possible.

FOX news biggest problems is not "Fair and balanced". I do not care that Shawn Hannity or Billo the clown are ignorantly blind followers of the republican party, I can see that and reflect accourdingly. Where fox is ttoubled is in honesty. They lie on a regular basis, they report things that they know at the time to be wrong, and the leave out parts of a story to make it appear the opposite of the real situation.

CNN week attempt to be more "fair" by putting complete idiots like Glenn Beck do nothing but pander to his "hate America" rantings. IF you want to be "FAIR" post more Bin laudin videos or give him a show too. He does not say as many awful things about Americans as Glenn Beck does, but he is more likable.

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

This is all about attempting to force CNN and MSNBC to go after the Democrats and Obama.
The other media outlets, FOX, CNN and MSNBC has provided McCain with millions of dollars in free ad time for weeks. It is clear, this is not about ratings this is about strong arming the other media outlet to assist in defeating Obama. The pounced on the media outlets the same way during the other elections. No one by now should pay attention to FOX News. Who could be more bias then that organization.

[UnbiasView]

"This is all about attempting to force CNN and MSNBC to go after the Democrats and Obama"

If there is something to go after him for I would hope they do.

[UnknownSoldier]

UnBiasView is HUGE fan of the Comedian Rush Limbagh, anyone who listens to Rush can't really be taken seriously. An intelligent persone would be insulted if someone called them a Dittohead. Yet Rush's listeners spit out his talking points like robots, and UnBiasView is no different than any other Dittohead.

[castlerider]

You're absolutely right.

They will feak if Obama wins, because they will have to play fair for a change.