Zogby: Entertainment preferences of Conservatives, Liberals, and Moderates

[jpljr77]

Interesting survey of entertainment choices and TV viewing habits of people identifying themselves as conservative, moderate, or liberal: www.learcenter.org/html/projects/?cm=zogby

It covers TV, music, books, sports, video games and other stuff.

One of the more interesting highlights: 70% of conservatives reported watching Fox News daily (no duh), with only 3% of liberals doing the same. Also, 27% of moderates watch the channel daily. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.

And liberals prefer comedy more than the other two groups.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. On the comedy thing: it's because liberals have a sense of humor and the intellect to "get it".

Conservatives don't.

Plus, liberals thinks life is worth living as a thing of fun, enjoyment, and wonder.

Conservatives think the only life worth living is someone else's life, and preferably to make sure that the other person isn't doing anything they enjoy.

And conservative humor is based on idiocy, non sequitors, and hatred - like this:

Conservative comic: "Yeah, you got brown people here in America stealing your jobs and raping your daughters, and liberals are drinking coffee."

Audience: "Bwuhahahahahahahahaha!!!!! That's so true!!! They drink coffee!"

[jpljr77]

3. I think you're right

Especially when you look at the network viewing preferences. NBC is the least-watched network by conservatives and the most-watched by liberals.

And that makes sense. I'd imagine conservatives would be loathe to watch shows like The Office and 30 Rock (with that "commie" Alec Baldwin) mostly because they just don't "get it."

[meegbear]

2. Cool info ...

:party: WELCOME TO DU!! :party:

[jpljr77]

5. Thanks

I've been around for a little while as a lurker and occasional poster, but I figured I might get into the swing of things now since it's getting close to votin' time.

[Warpy]

4. Other than strongly suspecting "classical music"

was interpreted by a lot of boneheads as "classic rock," I found few surprises in this survey.

Conservatives appreciate the unchallenging and familiar. Liberals prefer exploring new things and appreciate the unexpected, especially in music.

Nope, no surprises

[hlthe2b]

9. bwah ha ha ha ha1

"classical music" interpreted by boneheads as "classic rock!" :rofl:

I wish they had asked to name a performer and composer they enjoyed...long silence would likely have ensued...:eyes:


...You are undoubtedly right! LOL

[yardwork]

6. Conservatives are idiots. The data really supports that!

From the link above:

* Compared to all other respondents, conservatives were more likely to watch only two channels out of the 24 highest-rated networks: Fox and Fox News. While no one should be surprised to hear that conservatives like to watch Fox News (70% watch it daily, opposed to 12% of moderates and liberals), many may wonder why the Fox broadcast network is their second favorite channel, with over twice as many conservatives watching it daily, compared to all other respondents. Fox – the home of anti-authority satires like The Simpsons, Family Guy and MADtv – draws daily more than three times as many conservatives as liberals.
* Fox News wins the prize for the most politically divisive TV channel (70% of conservatives watch it daily and only 3% of liberals).

TV & FILM GENRES

* While conservatives are more likely than all other respondents to watch action adventures and business and sports programming, that’s exactly the programming that liberals are less likely to watch.
* While liberals are more likely to be found watching drama, comedy, documentaries, and arts and educational programming, those are the genres that conservatives are more likely to avoid.
* Conservative viewers, who are 57% male, are more likely to watch action-adventure, sports, and business programming than moderates or liberals.
* Out of 15 TV and film genres, “arts” emerged as the one with the highest positive correlation to liberal viewers and the highest negative correlation to conservative viewers. In other words, while 48% of liberals prefer arts programming, only 17% of conservatives do. At the other end of the scale, less than 5% of liberals say they do not like the genre at all, compared to almost 25% of conservatives.
* Cerebral material like documentaries and arts and educational programming all appeal more to liberals, who are 57% female.
* And what shows do liberals skip? If it’s a game show or reality programming, they probably don’t watch it.
* Compared to other respondents, moderates are more likely to watch children’s and daytime programming.

MUSIC

Liberals enjoy a broad range of music, while conservatives dislike most music genres.

* Out of 15 musical genres, conservatives were more likely than the rest of the respondents to listen to only two of them: country and gospel.
* Conservatives are the least likely group to listen to jazz (34% vs. 44% vs. 53%) and reggae (8% vs. 20% vs. 26%).
* Over 90% of conservatives said they never enjoy reggae, electronic music or Latin music. Over 95% said they never enjoy world music and punk music.
* Liberals, on the other hand, are more likely than other respondents to enjoy almost every music genre, including world, punk, Latin, hip-hop and rap, blues, reggae, electronica, R&B and soul, jazz, folk and traditional music. Rock was the most popular genre among liberals (67%).

MOVIES

While conservatives report very few trips to the cineplex, liberals are the most frequent moviegoers.

[jpljr77]

7. For real

Out of 15 musical genres, conservatives were more likely than the rest of the respondents to listen to only two of them: country and gospel.

:rofl: I mean, come on...country and gospel?

[yardwork]

8. In summary, "Liberals enjoy a broad range of music, while conservatives dislike most music genres. "

[BulletproofLandshark]

10. They really go out of their way to be narrow, don't they? n/t

[jpljr77]

11. I think the real takeaway here is in the preferences of moderates

The original link mostly highlights the differences in conservative vs. moderate entertainment consumption habits. But there is a link to the press release Zogby issued on Nov. 12 concerning the study: www.learcenter.org/pdf/PoliticsSurveyRelease.pdf

In that press release, they break out the preferences of the three groups in a more general way. Here is their entry for the moderates, or "Purples" as they call them:

People with “purple” entertainment preferences like all the broadcast networks and a lot of primetime programming, including police procedurals, game shows and reality programming. They watch a lot of Fox News and they like daytime and children’s programming more than other people. Moderates like to read non-fiction, including self-help books and biographies, but they like mysteries and thrillers best. Rock music is their favorite – they don’t like classical or folk music as much as other people. Their favorite video games are Mario, Donkey Kong and Madden NFL. They don’t seek out entertainment with political themes and they are far less likely to read books about politics or current events than other people. They are less likely than other people to think that they can predict a person’s politics based on their entertainment preferences.

This may be a little too far afield, but I think this serves as a great indication of the real menace the "middling" of America presents. People in the middle tend to take a good-enough approach to most things, in my opinion. And this study shows that in their entertainment preferences. They watch a bunch of reality TV and "cop" shows, two things I think are killing TV. They read self-help books. They like "safe" rock music.

Politically, I think they lean similarly. They chose politicians that are middle-of-the-road and "good enough", but not ones that inspire and affect change.

For as much as I disagree with true conservatives and what they stand for, at least they stand for something. Obviously, I feel that liberals are the same, they just stand for stuff I agree with. But that all-important "middle" that politicians seek out so ardently is just crushing American culture and politics with choices that are "good enough."

[yardwork]

12. Very good points! Welcome to DU.

I agree that this "good enough" mentality is destroying the country. What it really is is laziness.