Changing Media Players

Poll asks Americans
"Who is a journalist?"

Last Updated Tue, 14 Jun 2005 18:07:44 EDT
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

A new U.S. poll reveals that 40 per cent of Americans think Fox News Channel personality Bill O'Reilly is a journalist, compared to 30 per cent who think Bob Woodward is a journalist....

Using a list of 10 names, the poll asked respondents to say if they think the person in question is a journalist... Woodward was on par with Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk-radio host who was rated by 27 per cent of people to be a journalist...

Limbaugh told the Associated Press he is "not really surprised" with the findings."...[T]his is just more evidence that the old media's monopoly-like dominance is finished," he said.

The study was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center from March 7 to May 2.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the centre's director, said ... the results provide "disturbing evidence that the public defines the word very differently from the way that most journalists do."


Hat tip: Curmudgeonly and Skeptical