Month: January 2014
Fox News ‘Most Trusted’ By a Third and ‘Least Trusted’ By a Third
35% & 33%
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds 35% of Americans say they trust Fox News more than any other TV news channel, followed by 14% for PBS, 11% for ABC, 10% for CNN, 9% for CBS, 6% each for Comedy Central and MSNBC, and 3% for NBC. Meanwhile, Fox News also leads the “least trusted” list with 33% followed by 19% for MSNBC, 14% for Comedy Central, 11% for CNN, 5% for ABC, 4% for CBS, and 2% each for NBC and PBS.
SOTU Draws Lowest Audience in 14 Years
33.3 million
Number of TV viewers who watched the President’s fifth State of the Union address across 13 networks, down from 33.5 million viewers last year. It was the lowest audience for the State of the Union since Bill Clinton delivered the address in 2000, TV Newser reported.
Jeb Bush Defers Decision on Prez Run Until Late 2014
I’m deferring the decision to the right time which is later this year and the decision will be based on, can I do it joyfully, because I think we need to have candidates lift our spirits. It’s a pretty pessimistic country right now; and, is it right for my family? So I don’t even want to think about that till it’s the right time and that’s later on.
— Jeb Bush, telling CBS Miami he’s not ready to decide on a 2016 presidential bid. Said Bush: “I’m going to think about it later. I don’t wake up each day saying, ‘What am I going to do today to make this decision?'”
Crist Holds Lead Over Scott in Florida Governor Race
46% to 38%
Margin by which Charlie Crist (D) is leading Gov. Rick Scott (R) in the governor’s race, according to a new Quinnipiac poll in Florida. Pollster Peter Brown: “The best number in this poll for Crist — and the biggest problem for Scott — is that a majority of Florida voters say the current governor does not deserve a second term in Tallahassee. Voters also give Crist a higher job approval for when he ran the state than any approval rating Scott has received in his three years on the job.”
In the South, the Immigration Reform Debate Comes Down to Racism
Part of it, I think — and I hate to say this, because these are my people — but I hate to say it, but it’s racial. If you go to town halls people say things like, ‘These people have different cultural customs than we do.’ And that’s code for race.
— A Southern Republican congressman, speaking to BuzzFeed, on immigration reform.
SOTU Analysis in Tweets
The Washington Post performs an act of service journalism by rounding up a mess of tweets about the State of the Union address by reporters from across the political spectrum.