PelicanGuy 117 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=27442 Top News Anchors Rated Less Positively by Republicans Than Democrats Public rates Charles Gibson, Brian Williams more positively than Katie Couric by Frank Newport and Joseph Carroll GALLUP NEWS SERVICE PRINCETON, NJ -- The three broadcast network news anchors -- Charles Gibson of ABC News, Katie Couric of CBS News, and Brian Williams of NBC News -- are known well enough to be evaluated by over three-quarters of Americans. Of the three, Couric has the most negative ratings. All three anchors are evaluated more negatively by Republicans than Democrats, apparently reflecting conservatives' complaints with the so-called mainstream media. Couric has no particular advantage among women. Background The three traditional evening network newscasts on ABC, CBS, and NBC now exist in a world in which their primacy as Americans' top source for news has diminished significantly. Americans can turn to cable news channels and the Internet for news 24 hours a day, reducing the need or interest in watching the 30-minute news summaries each night. But the network newscasts are not yet extinct. Gallup's December update on news shows that 35% of Americans say they watch the nightly network news programs "every day" while another 16% say they watch several times each week. Only 19% say they never watch the evening news. And there continues to be an apparent fascination with the newscasters chosen by each network to anchor the newscasts. Within the last several years, there has been a total turnover in these anchors, with considerable news coverage of the transitions. At ABC, the late Peter Jennings was replaced by the team of Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas. After Woodruff was severely injured while covering the war in Iraq, he and Vargas were replaced by the venerable Charles Gibson. At CBS, Dan Rather was replaced temporarily by Bob Schieffer who in turn, with much fanfare, was replaced by the first solo female anchor in the history of the evening newscasts, the former Today Show co-host Katie Couric. And at NBC, perhaps the smoothest transition was effected when Tom Brokaw retired and was replaced by heir apparent Brian Williams. Name Recognition The April 23-26, 2007 Gallup Panel poll asked Americans about each of the current evening news anchors. The results show that Couric is slightly better known than the other two. Familiarity With Nightly News Anchors, April 23-26, 2007 Give either a positive or negative opinion of anchor (%) * Katie Couric 84% * Charles Gibson 78% * Brian Williams 77% Do not know enough about the anchor to give an opinion (%) * Katie Couric 16% * Charles Gibson 23% * Charles Gibson 24% Eighty-four percent of Americans know enough about Couric to be able to rate her, compared with 78% and 77% for Gibson and Williams, respectively. Not surprisingly, Americans who report watching the nightly network news on television frequently or occasionally are much more likely to be familiar with each of the three anchors than those who rarely or never watch the evening news. Still, Couric remains more familiar among those who do not regularly watch the nightly news than those who watch it frequently or occasionally. Familiarity of Nightly News Anchors by Frequency of Evening News Viewing, April 23-26, 2007 Katie Couric Watch Frequently * Familiar With 87% * Not Familiar 13% Watch Occassionally * Familiar With 93% * Not Familiar 7% Rarely/Never Watch * Familiar With 70% * Not Familiar 30% Charles Gibson Watch Frequently * Familiar With 81% * Not Familiar 19% Watch Occassionally * Familiar With 85% * Not Familiar 15% Rarely/Never Watch * Familiar With 63% * Not Familiar 38% Brian Williams Watch Frequently * Familiar With 85% * Not Familiar 15% Watch Occassionally * Familiar With 81% * Not Familiar 19% Rarely/Never Watch * Familiar With 56% * Not Familiar 44% Americans Rate Network News Anchors Americans are generally more positive than negative about all three of these news anchors, but the data make it clear that Couric is the most controversial of the three. * Sixty-two percent of Americans have a very or somewhat positive opinion of Gibson, while 16% have a negative opinion of the ABC anchor. * Williams' ratings are similar to Gibson's, with 59% of Americans rating the NBC anchor positively and 18% negatively. * Couric's ratings are somewhat lower than both of her competitors -- 51% positively rate the CBS anchor, while her 33% negative rating is easily the highest. The Political Dimension Conservatives and Republicans have in recent years increased their attacks on the so-called "mainstream media," which they often decry as too liberal. A Gallup poll in September 2006 found, for example, that three in four Republicans said that the news media were too liberal. This may help explain why Republicans have more negative opinions about all three of these news anchors than do independents or Democrats. This partisan gap is significant. There is a 29-percentage-point difference in the positive rating given Couric between Republicans and Democrats, a 15-point gap for Gibson, and a 28-point gap for Williams. I'm not gonna post any more, for this is a very long article. Click the link above for the entire article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigermichal 0 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 intresting read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbs2idiots 21 Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Bad 'News' for Couric, Williams http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/05/09/2007-05-09_bad_news_for_couric_williams.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYNews 54 Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Very interesting read indeed. I'm personally a Nightly News wacther. Anyone here switch from either NBC and CBS to ABC? If so, what do you find appealing about Gibson/World News? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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