Fox News Channel and Internet-only newssites like WorldNetDaily are the most popular non-radio sources of news among talk-radio listeners, according to a new study by Talkers magazine.
The spring 2003 study, called the Talk Radio Research Project, also found the talk radio audience is politically and economically active, affluent and well-educated.
The report found 13 percent of talk radio listeners prefer Fox News Channel as a news source, while another 13 percent chose Internet-only sites. There was no breakdown available from the researchers on which sites were used. But WorldNetDaily is the largest Internet-only – or independent – newssite in the world.
By comparison, 11 percent chose their local daily newspaper as their favorite source of news, 8 percent chose ABC-TV, 8 percent chose CNN, 8 percent chose CBS-TV and 7 percent chose USA Today.
MSNBC was chosen by another 6 percent, C-SPAN was selected by 5 percent, NBC-TV was picked by 4 percent as was FOX-TV.
Time Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, ESPN and others all tied with 2 percent. Newsweek, CNBC and local alternative weeklies followed with 1 percent. U.S. News & World Report got 0 percent.
Politically speaking, 26 percent of talk-radio listeners call themselves moderate, 23 percent call themselves conservative, 22 percent characterize themselves as fiscally conservative/social liberals, 11 percent liberals, 8 percent ultra-conservative, 8 percent said it depends on the issue, and 2 percent refer to themselves as ultra-liberal.
