The Daily Show Effect

[Alcon]

Interesting that their party split was 41-30 Republican.  That seems a rather odd sample for this age group.

I don't dispute the results' validity.  There is a clear correlation between simplicity with which information is presented (ranging from The O'Reilly Factor's "how could anyone possibly disagree?" to whatever TV tabloids are).  I wish they would have also included information about campaign ads, though, or campaign speeches.  Both of these presented slanted, overly simplified versions of the issues and probably increase voter self-perspection more than they should.  Additionally, unlike The Daily Show, their intent is only to provide a sense of education, not entertain.

The "Fox News effect" is much more interesting because it presents a source that claims to be educational; The Daily Show, on the other hand, just shows a human tendency toward infotainment.  Unfortunate as it may be, it is not the fault of The Daily Show - they have never purported to be unbiased or educational; if the "Fox News effect" does exist, on the other hand, that is bias.

[Alcon]

I think it may be possible that this is a case of mistaken causation.  Perhaps the daily show tends to attract those  who have a  somewhat negative view of  poiliticians and like this form of satire - just as those  who want unabashed conservative bias in their programs are more likely to be attracted to fox news.

I don't think the programs cause the attitudes.  I think people's attitudes determine what sort of programming attracts their attention.

I don't believe the participants were necessarily regular viewers of either The Daily Show or the news.