Bill -
In the header, you now claim that the Pew chart we've been discussing shows that "conservatives seem to be more broadly interested in news events and more informed than liberals".
I checked with a friend who understands statistical analysis better than I do. This friend looked at the data and pointed out that you have to look at the audience percentages of liberals, moderates, and conservatives for each outlet in comparison to their percentages within the general population to understand what the data are saying.
In the case of the NPR, for example, 31% of the audience is conservative,33% moderate, and 30% liberal. So by your method of comparison, you conclude that conservatives are slightly more likely to be interested in NPR than liberals. (By the way, the margin for error in the poll was 2%.) But that is incorrect. Because conservatives make up 36% of the general population in the sample, but only 31% of the audience for NPR, in reality, the average conservative is less likely to be interested in that show than the average liberal. Liberals, at only 18% of the G.P. sample, make up 30% of NPR listeners. The tilt, statistically, is to the left.
Probably the most informationally dense TV program on the whole list is The News Hour. There, considering percentages of audience leanings vs. the leanings of the population at large, there is a large tilt to the left.
Don't take my word for it, though. I'm sure you can find someone you trust who studied statistics in college.
Applying this better understanding of statistical analysis to the whole table, I'm afraid it doesn't actually support your conclusion. Sorry. But please do leave it there in the header, complete with comments. I'm sure liberal statisticians will enjoy the irony, especially with relation to the title of the thread.
A side note: The News Hour was recently taken to task by a media watchdog group for devoting a disproportionate amount of air time to the opinions of white male Republicans as opposed to any other group. The program's producers responded that since the Republicans currently control both Houses of Congress and the White House, they are more likely to be interviewed about current events.
- Allen |
