News Literacy

News flash.  People who identify Fox News as their primary source of news were less informed about domestic news, things that happen in our country, than people who stated that they had no source of news.  The study conducted at Fairleigh Dickinson University and herein quoted is recent, but their findings merely replicate what has been found in several polls, going back several years. 

It is low hanging fruit to state that of course this is true, because while Fox has "news" in their name, in no way do they convey news.  They convey ideology, and if that means that they have to bend the truth to do so, then so be it.  The problem with that is that not all viewers know that they are being lied to.  Most amusing is that viewers of a comedy show that clearly states that it is not the news, The Daily Show, were far better informed than those who watched more traditional news--a fake news show was found to be more informative, in that people remembered the news that they saw and were able to more accurately answer questions about domestic affairs.

A week ago Glenn Beck stated in an interview with Megyn Kelly (who infamously averred that both Jesus, a Semite from the Middle East, and Santa Claus, an imaginary character, were both white) that mistakes were made.   He used language that I suspect he was coached by lawyers to say--he regretted things that he said, and felt that he had contributed to the rise in acrimonious politics in the United States--although there was the back handed slam that he did not realize just how fragile we were.  Of course he did.  First of all, while he talks like an ignoramus, he is not one, and it doesn't take a political genius, or in fact a 10 year old, to see that there are large rifts that exist in America.  The Civil War was fought here, and while we are technically one country, there are still many differences that separate us, and fanning the flames of hatred has always been good for getting an audience.  The Greeks knew that, politically extreme governments know that (Egypt and Turkey being two contemporary examples), and Beck knew that.  Maybe this is his mea culpa ride back to some kind of relevancy.  Let's hope not--let's not forget that he is the guy who has advocated the murder of specific individuals as well as calling Obama a black supremacist--he should go far far away.