Fox News 'The Five': Viewers Tune In For More Talk, Less News

In Cable, Viewers Tune In For Talk, Not News

The New York Times' Brian Stelter wrote about the rise of Fox News' 5:00 p.m. show, "The Five" on Sunday.

Stelter recounted how the program, which was a temporary placeholder after Glenn Beck departed the network in June, has become a permanent part of Fox News' daytime programming. The show has also lured advertisers, once alienated by Beck's show, back to the network time slot.

Stelter also wrote that the installment of "The Five" was an example of "a continued shift on cable to talk about the news and away from actual news reports." Stelter's point was confirmed when he interviewed Fox News' vice president for eastern ad sales, Roger Domal. Domal said that, according to him, viewers do not come to "cable news for news anymore." He added that viewers already "know what the news is" when they tune in. According to Domal, viewers come to cable news to have their opinions validated or to find out opposing views on a given issue.

According to a poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University that was released in November 2011, Fox News viewers were less informed than people who don't watch any news. The study polled New Jersey residents about the uprisings in Egypt and the Middle East. The study found that "people who watch Fox News are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government" and "6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government" compared to those who watch no news.

View a slideshow of Fox News' lineup below:

Fox & Friends First, 5am

Fox News Lineup

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