SKF Query: Average People - Where Do They Get Their News?

Sadly, I believe that most average voters get their information from the television news shows. Maybe once a day, and probably less than that. Otherwise, I would say the radio newscasts, or maybe a quick scan of a newspaper.

As a political operative who has other interests and activities, I straddle both worlds. The political junkies are full of information but they're not representative of -- despite what they think -- the majority of the electorate. In my other travels at cafes, the cigar lounge, business luncheons and the like, I find a trend: First, people tune out politics. It is like the avid fan of a particular sport thinks the world revolves around it only to find that outside of the arena, few people are paying attention. Just as attention picks up around the playoffs, voters tend to increase awareness the closer it gets to election day. Second, there is no central source of news. Otherwise intelligent people, can cherry-pick what they read or hear. They have a mental remote control which can mute or tune out.

I also find a disconnect between their perceptions of their own local elected official and the bigger issues. I've heard people decry a specific act of the legislature but when I ask, they have no idea how their own Representative or Senator voted on the issue! This explains why the public could vote to veto, for instance, the gay marriage bill but re-elect a specific legislator who supported it because of the disconnect between the individual vote and the broader act. Many people tell me they voted to veto the tax law (June's Question 1) yet, even if they know the name of their incumbent legislator, they couldn't tell me how their own legislator voted on the original LD 1495 because they just didn't pay attention to it at that time. I'm also finding the casual political observer seems to blur distinction between the two parties and complains about "the politicians" in a general sense rather than one party or the other. Nuance is lost. I've heard more than one person at a non-political function, for instance, complain in conversation bitterly about Obama and then say, "But it wouldn't have been any different if McCain had won."

That is why I am a strong believer at the local level of heavy door-to-door campaigning to develop name I.D., personal rapport and trust which can convert to voter decisions. And a campaign needs strong non-threatening, non-preachy grassroots which can influence those ballot decisions by enthusiastic, affable word-of-mouth either in regular personal contact or through their use of social media. This isn't a new phenomenon of personal endorsement by transferring one's trust in a person to the candidate that person supports. In 1928, aviator Charles Lindburgh was the American idol. He endorsed Herbert Hoover and the campaign song lyric was, "If he's good enough for Lindy, then he's good enough for me!"

So the word-of-mouth from a trusted non-political friend who supports a candidate can be most effective! The political class thinks endorsements are all VIP's, elected officials etc. which make news releases and discussions on forums like AMG, but voters are seeking validation from people just like themselves. In the last election, Rep. Andre Cushing used that approach well with a postcard mailing that had lots of thumbnail pictures of average folks from Hampden, Newburgh and Dixmont rather than of politicians with the simple line, "They all agree one one thing -- Cushing for Representative." I'll bet a lot of folks didn't immediately toss it but scanned it for faces of people they knew.

I also detect an 11th-hour attitude toward politics. The person who knocks on enough doors, puts up enough colorful signs and buys enough media will attract the interest of the voter in the last four weeks of the campaign.

Demographics probably pay a great role in how you get your political news. Old farts like me read two newspapers a day in print and parts of three or four others on the Web.

Young people who are more tuned in to social media could care less about politics. Probably half of the average high school seniors in Maine couldn't name their own state representatives or state senators, but could rattle off the individual names of Bon Jovi or Mettalica in a heartbeat.

How about other people in our lives? Do we know for sure where friends, relatives, coworkers get their news?

Thank you.
skf

Scott: I know fewer and fewer people who actually buy a hard copy of the paper. And, when I've been with them when they did pick it up, I watch them do a quick scan of the front page and then turn to sports, obits or specialty pages. (I sat in a waiting room one day while my car was being serviced and watch three different people pick up the Bangor Daily News. Not one dwelled on the first section. They glanced through it and then spent their time reading the sports section.) TV news is white noise. It is difficult to report a political story so, unless it has strong visual graphics, they don't get much information from that. I've also talked to people about their radio listening habits and more mention listening to music, all sports or Imus than tell me they listen to WVOM, which limited as it is would be the only place they would hear anything topical. So, those pre-recorded three minute news inserts in the other kinds of programming are all they'd hear, which tends to be quick headlines or the first sentence of a story. As to campaign mailings, stand in a post office and watch people who get their mail at a P.O. box. Most sort through and throw away the political stuff in the lobby trash can which makes me wonder how effective that is to homes. I'd say the question isn't where they get their poltical news but how to reach them with a political message in a format to which they will pay attention. And that brings it back to the personal one-to-one level.

At the college I attended recently, it seems that Jon Steward and Steve Colbert were the primary sources of news.

God help us.

SKF...you pose an interesting question as your thinking 'average' people want to know or care about politics. Much like Vic, I straddle both worlds and frankly, I think it is bleaker than even he sees. I believe many get their political news from political ads, talk at work, and really believe those sound bites are fact enough to form an opinion and vote in an election. Scary ain't it....That said,,,,I am also seeing more 'average' folks taking some interest which I believe is due to job loss and the economic state.

I guess the old saying is true -- sometimes, things have to get really, really bad before they have a chance of getting better.

In the next couple of days I'm going to ask people I see where they get their news. Will let you know what I hear.

skf

If thinking paid ads in the midst of their own programming choice is the way to reach voters, don't forget the costs. Advertisers know from research that it takes 17 separate airings to form one impression of a brand name ID in a consumer's mind. When you start to remember an ad, imagine how many exposures to it you have had. Now consider a political ad. Except for folks reading this (AMG is part of The Political Class), most average folks will mentally tune it out on the first few hearings. It is a costly buy before the name sinks into their minds. I've worked statewide campaigns where we found the best exposure to voters was to pay premium pricing to place ads where the target audience was watching (rather than the less expensive random Run-of-Station rotation) because past market research determined that we got bigger bang for the buck exposure adjacent to NFL games, Oprah and popular network high rated sit-coms and dramas. Closer to election day, when voters start to pay more attention, buys adjacent to the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. local newscasts were added.

That is why political campaigns are expensive. And, for a gubernatorial candidate, referendum or a 2nd CD candidate it requires buys in three separate TV markets to reach the electorate: Portland, Bangor and Presque Isle.

I used to listen to Hannity until I just couldn't take the punishment anymore. But one thing he did was more telling than he realized. He would send staffers down to the street to show photos to "average" pedestrians, to see if they could identify them. Photos of such obscure people as the VP of the US, Sec of State, etc.

The results were pathetic for the age group 18 to 26, maybe even higher. They would giggle and sound dumb and say "I don't care about politics" and "I don't vote", and seemed proud of such self-centered apathy.

A lot more people than you think get no news at all.

I personally get my news from AM radio and the Internet. I have learned that TV news is mostly slanted and biased. We do subscribe to the PPH but mostly for the local, obit and comics. They too are biased and not trustworthy as they should be. It is my opinion that many people have tuned out to the media and have lost faith in its objectivity. They are especially disgusted at our Congress as noted by the recent 11% approval rating. If they never came back from their summer time off the nation would sigh in relief.

Gaffer, I assume you're in southern Maine where you can get AM local news over WGAN? You won't get anything like that in the Bangor market where they basically rip-read gthe AP wire and read the first sentence of a few Bangor Daily News stories - has BDN ever raised copyright issues when their original enterprise stories are read uncredited? (And a particular station group owned by an eerie author reads leftwing activist groups' press releases as if they were real news and sometimes tapes audio clips of them.) And after morning drive time, there is no live local news and the AM and FM stations simply pre-record a three minute newscast and drop it into programming all day long. And because of multi-format ownerships, the same newscast appears on many stations. So there isn't variety or competition. So original AM or FM radio news isn't an option in the Bangor-market and the majority of the audience don't listen to political talk radio -- music formats do well and there are two all sports stations which seem to survive the competition. Bangor-market doesn't even get live local election night radio coverage which, in a market-driven econony, indicates that research shows interest isn't high enough to cover the expense of staffing!

Here are the most listened to stations by audience 12+ in average quarter hour:

BANGOR

1. WQCB Country (Cumulus Broadcasting)

2. WKIT Classic Rock (The Zone Corp.)

3. WVOM Talk (Blueberry Broadcasting)

4. WBFB Country (Blueberry Broadcasting)

5. WTOS Adult Middle-of-the Road (Blueberry Broadcasting)

PORTLAND

1. WGAN News/Talk (Saga Communications)

2. WPOR Country (Saga Communications)

3. WTHT Country (Nassau Broadcasting)

4. WFNK Classic Hits (Nassau Broadcasting)

5. WJBQ Classic Hits (Citadel Broadcasting)

The public education system has dumbed down the public so much, that even those who want to be involved in the political process are often turning to loved ones and friends they feel are educated on the topic. They call and email the day before or the day of the election asking who they should vote for... That's basically the true independents. Other than that, about 70% are hard core R's and D's and they don't venture off the reservation.

The media landscape is fractured. There is no one answer to Scott's question. Fewer people every year read the newspaper or watch local TV news. Campaigns need to use all the available tools to reach voters because none are as efficient as they used to be.

I agree with Vic's point about retail campaigning. In legislative and local races that is the key. Except for a few well read weekly papers and, in some places cable TV, no media outlets are very useful in legislative campaigns.

Best use of campaign ad dollars is a tough assignment nowadays. Obviously AMG makes great sense for political ads. There are other other clear choices. But I think the days of a campaign setting dollar amounts for print, radio, tv ads are over. Where to advertise in those media has become tricky.

skf

AMG, Fox News, and certain talk stations make sense for primaries and to drive web traffic for fundraising. I don't understand GOP candidates who advetise on Rush or Fox News for the general election. If you don't have those folks already, you are in big trouble.

I suggest you study the concept of "rational ignorance." I read about it some years back. It certainly applies here.

On another note, we had a friend in Colorado Springs who passed away recently. I told his daughter that I kept looking for an obit in the C. Springs Gazette for personal history and where to send a memorial gift.

She said "we decided not to put one in the paper, because none of our friends get it anymore."

Wow.

Do we still have state laws that mandate publishing notices in newspapers? You know, something like bank ABC will sell foreclosed property XYZ at auction on such-and-such date. It gave a last minute chance to someone with an interest in the property to make a deal. I guess the reasoning was that anyone who was any kind of responsible citizen would read that junk every day. If no one reads newspapers anymore, where should the notices get posted?

FOX News is huge among people I know. They rely on it more and more.
The weekly newspapers are another big source. Unfortunately, that oftens consistes of press releases or columns by our elected officials.............not real "news". But people still read it.
I think the local TV news in Maine is another huge source. They air local stuff, but also many national pieces that they get from the networks.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't watch and love Fox News Channel."

Weekly paper The Forecaster does a better job on local news than our daily does.

TPTSNBN and networks are useless (largely) for local news (non-Portland).

From comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show? At least, that's what I saw on a tube report on this subject a couple of years ago. It applied especially to the younger demographics. Wouldn't surprise me if comedian Bill Maher was also included.

It is a very complex question. My oldest son will be 40 years old in March and he lives in Traverse City, MI. Since he graduated from college he has been employed as a School Psychologist in Michigan. He won't admit it, but he is a Progressive. I guess there has to be one in every family. His news sources are the BBC, NBC (and their surrogates), and the Daley Show!

I have the FAIR postings on my FB account and we got into a little back and forth about the issue and he posted a video link to some idiotic thing Daley had posted blasting the AZ law. I finally was compelled to ask my first born if he had ever read the law. SILENCE! I think many (on both sides of the political spectrum) gravitate to a news source that best represents their own personal philosophy. I admit to that myself, but I did read the AZ law!

Maine is not a major media market and in my 10 tenure in the state you would be hard pressed at times to know a campaign was actually taking place. There is I'm sure a lot of "word of mouth" news that is passed on that is probably mostly inaccurate. I think many people rely on the familiarity they have with their local Representatives and Senators and have no idea what the voting records are for those people.

I think our education system probably does a big disservice to our younger voters by not promoting civic responsibility and interest. When the older generations leave the scene I'm afraid we will be left with zombies who are incapable of making a well informed decision at the polling place. I'm also certain that is what the Progressives want.

White House press spokesman Robert Gibbs somewhat answered Editor's question yesterday when he was asked why President Obama would put the dignity of the presidency onto a soft TV program like The View. His terse response was, "You go where the audience is."

It's not much different from Richard Nixon rehabilitating his image between his losing efforts and his successful run for presidency by sticking his head through the window on Laugh-in and uttering, "Sock it to me!" or Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton letting America know he was a presidential candidate by playing the sax on Arsenio Hall's show.

Heck, I was a Youth for Goldwater foot soldier backstage at the 1964 Republican convention and remember TV star Ronald Reagan walking by me to hop onto a horse-drawn stage coach which took him up the center aisle of the Cow Palace among the delegates while the theme of Death Valley Days was played by the band. He dismounted, went up on stage and gave a rip-roaring pep talk which led to the nominating speeches for Sen. Barry Goldwater. He's remembered after-the-fact for his conservative statements and actions in office but I can attest that he moved into the California governorship first by appealing on the star level with imagry like the stage coach ride.

The facts-of-life are that most people (and they're voters!) don't pay attention to the news in depth, don't follow politics on a daily basis and woe to the candidate who is so old school that he or she doesn't go to where they are and relate to them on their own terms. And the winning formula is personality, likeability and trust, not issues preaching. That is all the more vital in the era of short attention spans where people's minds are accustomed to short sound bites, visual image and rapid remote channel turning.

That is not to say that the candidate's values and issues are unimportant; however, if the voters don't see you on their own turf and like you enough to listen to you for more than 30 seconds it doesn't matter. You won't win their votes.

Fox News is my choice for a national news source mainly because you usually get both the liberal and conservative take on an issue, and also because, let’s face it, Fox comes in an attractive, watchable package.

For local news here in the Brunswick/Harpswell area I pick up the Forecaster. Most of the time it confines itself to reporting the news instead of shilling a certain political view in the manner of the Times Record. Unfortunately the Forecaster has an editorial page person who is so angry and offensive that I may drop this paper also.

I used to read the New York Times and the Portland Press Herald/Sunday Telegram because I like to read a newspaper holding it in my hands and turning the pages, but they both became too political and shallow.

I now subscribe to the Wall Street Journal for world and national news as well as in depth reporting on wide ranging and usually interesting subjects. And yes, I agree with the political slant of the editorial page, but also find them pretty scrupulous in keeping their opinions on the editorial pages and although conservative, in not toadying to conservative politicians. I wonder if I would still read it if I didn’t have a need for the investment news - I think so.

The high hopes which I had for the PPH after the recent takeover are now gone; it’s still trash - so sad.

Maybe I'm too rigid. But I try to have standards. And it stinks when I can no longer get my news from an otherwise-good source because they've chosen to associate and spotlight totally disreputable people.
What makes me think of this tonight is seeing that Sean Hannity is STILL willing to have Nicole Wallace on the show. Bizarre, methinks. He must have gotten several thousand emails other than mine saying"sayonara, as long as you have her on". Each email proably represents a hundred lost viewers who didn't bother writing. O'Reilly has lost me as well, with folks like Margaret Hoover. Try as I might, I just can't trust shows like Hannity or O'Reilly anymore. Which is a loss for me. (I know they're both still popular though).

Carl Hiaasen framed the issue well this morning on Imus when he was asked how he got the idea for his outlandish comic sendoff of celebrity culture with his new novel Star Island. He replied, "It came to me as I saw the media no longer doing the job I think they should do by reporting current events but, instead, responding to what the public wants which means people care and know more about the group which appears on Jersey Shore than what's going on in Washington or Afghanistan."

Hannity is not a reporter. Neither is O'Reilly, nor Limbaugh, or Beck. My opinion of FOX changed when I saw its treatment of the Ron Paul campaign. Not fair and balanced, IMO. Still, its news programs are better than the rest. I miss a daily dose of Brit Hume, but at least he remains on the panel.

My first source for news is As Maine Goes.

TV: CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business. No national or local network news. No CNN or affiliates.

Radio: Talk radio, occasionally sports talk and classical, and in the fall local 99.3 to hear the high school football (when I'm not at the game)

Newspaper: Investors Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The SunJournal (online) and The Franklin Journal (local print only twice weekly) As I do not get the 'hardcopies' until about noon (mail delivery only here), I usually go to the online verisons first and then scan the papers later.

Online:

#1 www.asmainegoes.com

All of the sites associated with newspapers above and www.dailybulldog.com for Al Diamon's columns, because I know people who work in Abu Dabi and Saudi Arabia I occasionally check the news sites associated with Bahrain and Abu Dabi and ocassionally Hong Kong, and Australia, and Canada.

Michael Yon writes a great column about Afghanistan. http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

Also Valueline, Credit Suisse, Charles Schwab, Goldman Sachs, Argus, Pimco,

At Nichi Farnham's SD 32 campaign HQ opening yesterday I asked several people, "Where do you get your news? Your daily dose of news?" Here are the answers as written in my notes. Each asterisk is different person.

* Bangor Daily News hard copy, Joe Scarborough
* Bangor Daily News hard copy, Channel 2 noon news, radio during the day
* Online, BBC, Twitter
* Drudge Report, Pine Tree Politics, As Maine Goes
* CNN, BBC, BDN online, 60 Minutes, WLBZ 2, 107.3FM, NPR. This person thinks radio is most effective advertising. TV, she said, you can turn off or skip over ads. Radio stations all air ads about the same time. You can turn off the radio. But will usually listen to radio ads while driving if they're good.
* Bangor Daily News hard copy, New York Times or Wall Street Journal hard copy, Black Berry, not much radio.
* WVOM, NPR