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A protest sign from a few years ago.
March 25, 2004:
We’ve continued our daily vigil on the Quad at our university for over a year. Yesterday I was joined by other activists, one by one, until by the end of our vigil our host numbered six. My colleague, the fourth to join us, noted as he approached, “Boy, you really notice it when there are three of you standing out here.” And we were noticed. You could see the people walking in the distance slow perceptibly as the passed, some squinting to read our signs.
I handed out signs to those who joined us. The usual question from me is “Which one do you want?” Some signs are more aggressive than others – the recipient choosing that with which they are most comfortable.
After I passed out signs I took up the “Faux News Channel, fascist groupies” sign. And yes, it is aggressive. At that time an individual slowed in the distance and called out “Does that make me a fascist?” It was an interesting reaction to observe – taking the content of a sign directed at a corporate entity as a personal affront. We had all been engaged in conversation. Upon hearing his question we all looked up. My colleague called back, “It just means you’re misinformed. Is that where you get all your information?” He replied, “Fox on the right, CNN on the left.” Several of us started laughing. Others in our group asked for a repetition of what he had said and upon hearing it, added to the laughter. It is symptomatic of this skewed world view that not being Fox News and actually being center right equates with a conveniently packaged leftist label. That standard would make Attila the Hun a moderate. And infinitely more compassionate.
He continued walking away in the distance as the sounds of our laughter followed him.
That was then, this is now:
Methinks Faux News doth protest too much.
Misperceptions, The Media and The Iraq War PIPA[pdf]
…The extent of Americans’ misperceptions vary significantly depending on their source of news. Those who receive most of their news from Fox News are more likely than average to have misperceptions. Those who receive most of their news from NPR or PBS are less likely to have misperceptions. These variations cannot simply be explained as a result of differences in the demographic characteristics of each audience, because these variations can also be found when comparing the demographic subgroups of each audience…
Heh. Fairly imbalanced.