General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: FOX has done to our parents what our parents thought video games would do to us. [View all]Caliman73
(11,666 posts)It had been planned for decades before the actual launch. They had basis in history with Father Coughlin. Though Coughlin would have been considered from the opposite side of the political side than Republicans, he is an example of how mass media could be effective in gathering large audiences.
I don't think that people necessarily "fell for it" but rather, it fit with their preconceived ideas and so they just kept listening. There certainly are people who were more moderate or even left of center who through repeated exposure, probably changed. The documentary "The Brainwashing of My Dad" by Jen Senko illustrated nicely/scarily how her father went from an inclusive moderate Democrat to a hardcore conservative. Even though Fox's viewership is not incredibly large, they are pretty insulated. There was a study that showed that while Democrats typically received their information from an average of 6 sources, something like 77% of Republicans received their information from one source ... Fox News. It is a problem of both source and audience.
I imagine that conservatives felt pretty "under attack" by reality prior to the emergence of Fox News because news was typically reported factually and in a way that had a minimum of bias, however information is information and typically reports on change and progress, which is anathema to conservatives, especially if it means the empowerment of women and minorities. They needed a safe space and Fox gave it to them. It gave them a space from which to say, "See, everything else is liberal and against us, against truth". Democrats live in a complex world which we navigate by consuming as much information as we can. Conservatives want to, and thanks to Fox, can live in a world of black and white, yes or no, right and wrong; which is tailored to their held beliefs.