By Wendy Melillo
from AdWeek magazine

WASHINGTON This may alarm people who prefer their news served without an opinion: More people agree that Bill O’Reilly is a better source of political information than ABC News, according to a JWT survey conducted on behalf of Adweek.

And while election 2008 has started earlier than ever with news outlets closely following every twist and turn, it seems to be too early for people to tune in, at least on the Web.

Those are just two of the findings from the random online survey of 1,118 Americans 18 years and older conducted during the week ending June 3, which examined which media people turn to for their political news. Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT, provided the analysis of the survey results.

Despite candidates placing great emphasis on their Internet strategies so far, with several top contenders even announcing their intention to run on their Web sites, there’s a lack of interest in visiting a candidate’s Web site. When respondents were asked if they visited a U.S. presidential candidate’s Web site in the last six months, 85 percent said no.

And for all of the popularity of YouTube, 84 percent of respondents said they don’t find videos posted there by candidates to be credible. When people do log on to the Internet for political intelligence, they are more likely to watch a news segment than a debate or a speech.

It makes sense, then, that the survey also finds television retaining much of its power when it comes to political news. Most people, for instance, prefer to watch political debates on TV rather than the Internet. And despite ongoing media fragmentation, TV remains people’s primary source for political information. Cable dominates thanks to the popularity and perceived credibility of CNN, which is trailed closely behind by Fox News and MSNBC; network TV comes in second.

Stewart, O’Reilly

Nearly the same percentages of people agree and disagree that Jon Stewart is a better source of political information than ABC News. Thirty’six percent agree that Bill O’Reilly is a better source than ABC News, while 26% disagree. The number of people who believe Stewart is a better source decreases as the age range increases: 18-24, 33%; 25-34, 27%; 35-44, 26%; 45-54, 25%; 55+, 16%. The reverse is nearly true of O’Reilly: 18-24, 23%; 25-34, 33%; 35-44, 39%; 45-54, 40%; 55+, 39%. By party affiliation: A whopping 55% of Republicans think O’Reilly is a better source than ABC News versus 23% of Democrats; 20% of Republicans say the same of Stewart compared to 28% of Democrats.

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