Post by K-Box on Oct 21, 2008 17:35:15 GMT -8
NielsenWire: Do Dem & GOP Viewers Respond To TV Shows Differently?
Do politics play a role in TV viewing?
Yes and no, according to Nielsen IAG, which recently released data showing which cable programs are most “engaging” among self-identified Democrats and Republicans.
“Engagement” refers to the amount of attention paid to a television program by the average viewer. Nielsen measures TV engagement by questioning a representative panel of viewers about their recall of specific telecasts’ content.
Nielsen’s analysis found that the cable programs that received the highest overall engagement scores — meaning viewers were most engaged in the shows’ content — also received the most bipartisan support, drawing high engagement scores from viewers of both parties, as well as from viewers who identify as political “Independents.”
As might be expected, however, several programs had clear partisan bents. On Comedy Central, for example, Democratic viewers paid the most attention to “The Colbert Report,” while “South Park” was the network’s most engaging show among Republicans.
As a liberal Whovian, here's my theory:
In many ways, the Doctor is what a guy like George W. Bush wishes he could be, because in NuWho more than ever (although it was still an element of the original series), the Doctor is pretty much The Ultimate Unilateralist - if he visits some culture and decides that he doesn't like what he sees, then FUCK any notions of "Prime Directive" (unless it's part of Important History, which is another story), because he will lay the smack down like the Hand of God (Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant both share Tom Baker's tendency to start Shouting Like Zeus when they get pissed enough - see also: Baker in Full Circle, bellowing, "WRONG ANSWER, DECIDERS!!!").
I think that a lot of liberals, like me, look at the Doctor and see him as the grandest anarchist in the cosmos, but I suspect that's because we see things from the Doctor's perspective, as the outcast rebel of an oppressively static and hierarchical (and now gone) people, but from the perspective of those whom he deals with, the Doctor must seem on occasion like Judge Dredd laying down The Law.
Do politics play a role in TV viewing?
Yes and no, according to Nielsen IAG, which recently released data showing which cable programs are most “engaging” among self-identified Democrats and Republicans.
“Engagement” refers to the amount of attention paid to a television program by the average viewer. Nielsen measures TV engagement by questioning a representative panel of viewers about their recall of specific telecasts’ content.
Nielsen’s analysis found that the cable programs that received the highest overall engagement scores — meaning viewers were most engaged in the shows’ content — also received the most bipartisan support, drawing high engagement scores from viewers of both parties, as well as from viewers who identify as political “Independents.”
As might be expected, however, several programs had clear partisan bents. On Comedy Central, for example, Democratic viewers paid the most attention to “The Colbert Report,” while “South Park” was the network’s most engaging show among Republicans.
As a liberal Whovian, here's my theory:
In many ways, the Doctor is what a guy like George W. Bush wishes he could be, because in NuWho more than ever (although it was still an element of the original series), the Doctor is pretty much The Ultimate Unilateralist - if he visits some culture and decides that he doesn't like what he sees, then FUCK any notions of "Prime Directive" (unless it's part of Important History, which is another story), because he will lay the smack down like the Hand of God (Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant both share Tom Baker's tendency to start Shouting Like Zeus when they get pissed enough - see also: Baker in Full Circle, bellowing, "WRONG ANSWER, DECIDERS!!!").
I think that a lot of liberals, like me, look at the Doctor and see him as the grandest anarchist in the cosmos, but I suspect that's because we see things from the Doctor's perspective, as the outcast rebel of an oppressively static and hierarchical (and now gone) people, but from the perspective of those whom he deals with, the Doctor must seem on occasion like Judge Dredd laying down The Law.
