Pew: FNC’s Credibility Increases Among Republicans, Decreases Among Democrats

> Also: “Republicans are still much more likely than Democrats to say they regularly watch the Fox News Channel (34% for Republicans, 20% for Democrats), while Democrats are more apt to turn to CNN (28% vs. 19% for Republicans).” Or to say it another way: “Democrats are still much more likely than Republicans to say they regularly watch CNN…”

Fox News was the only major news organization NOT to lose overall credibility with viewers since 2004, the latest Pew survey of news consumption shows. In 2004, 25 percent of FNC’s viewers believed all or most of what the network said, and the figure remained unchanged in 2006.

CNN dropped from 32 percent in 2004 to 28 percent in 2006, and MSNBC dropped one point from 22 percent in 2004 to 21 percent in 2006.

The study notes that FNC’s stability “belies the increasingly polarized views of the cable channel. An increasing number of Republicans give Fox News Channel the highest rating for believability, while there has been a comparable decline in ratings among Democrats — doubling the partisan gap in views of the network’s credibility between 2004 and 2006.”