What do the Colbert Report, National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal Have in Common?

This week's column at CAIVN takes a look at the recent Pew Research Center survey of American news consumption habits, and unpacks its findings on the news reading, listening and viewing habits of self-described Independents. It turns out that, as a group, Independents are among most critical and skeptical news consumers in the United States. An excerpt from the article:

If you watch The Colbert Report, read the Wall Street Journal, and listen to National Public Radio, odds are that you are probably an Independent. That’s just one of the many noteworthy findings reported in the Pew Research Center survey of news consumption in the United States, which provides a number of insights into the reading, listening and viewing habits of American Independents. . . .

In the report’s audience profiles of print, radio, television and online news sources by party affiliation, Independents accounted for the largest audience shares of the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. . . .

Independents were least likely to prefer news sources that share their own point of view, with only 19% stating that they “prefer political news from my point of view.” This stands in stark contrast with conservative Republicans, who were most likely to prefer political news that mirrors their own point of view at 41%, as well as with liberal Democrats, 33% of whom stated that they prefer political news cast from their own political perspective. . . .

Democrats . . . are much more likely than Republicans or Independents to believe “all or most” of what is said by any given news organization, with one notable exception, namely, Fox News. Republicans are much less credulous, with one notable exception. They are almost twice as likely to believe “all or most” of what is said on Fox News than Democrats and Independents.

Independents are the most consistently skeptical consumers of news. They are less likely than Republicans to believe all or most of what is said by any news organization. For example, though 41% of the Wall Street Journal’s readers are Independents, only 19% of Independents believe all or most of what they read in the publication!

Read the whole thing.