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Glen Back and Bill O’Reilly have not done as much to damage the credibility of Fox News, a part of News Corp (NWS) which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, as some analysts suspect.

A new study from Public Policy Polling shows that 49% of those surveyed say that they trust Fox News. Thirty-seven percent said they did not.

Only 39% of those asked said that they trusted Time Warner’s (TWX) CNN News. Forty-one percent disagreed.

The major TV networks did much worse. Thirty-two percent of those polled trust CBS (CBS), but 46% do not. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed trust NBC, but 44% do not. Thirty-one percent of respondents trust ABC and 46% don’t. The survey was conducted among 1,151 registered voters between on January 18th and 19th.

Once political inclination is factored into the results, the preferences for network news changed a great deal. Among those who describe themselves as liberal, only 26% trust Fox and 66% do not. Liberals trust CNN among 63% of those polled and distrusted the network among only 21% of the respondents.

The results of the survey, even if they are only moderately accurate ,show the expect to which news coverage has been polarized, probably by the large amount of commentary that each network runs. The public does not have the good judgement or desire to discern between the views of Glen Beck and the “objectivity” of a newscaster, if such a thing exists.

The poll is also an endorsement of the programming efforts of news organization chiefs such as Roger Ailes of Fox, He admits to choosing star commentators  whose programs run during most of prime time. Almost all of this talent is highly conservative politically.

The news is not the news it was when Eric Sevareid and Chet Huntley reported the TV news.

Douglas A. McIntyre