From a YouGov analysis of partisan trends
Independents, interestingly, look more like Republicans on the use of guns, but more like Democrats on power tools, marriage and religion.
Another interesting bit.
[Partisan] differences exist despite the similarity of the content and programming on [TV] shows. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist (or a political scientist for that matter) to see the one obvious pattern here: the geographic location of the show seems to correspond to the partisan sorting. Democrats like the shows that take place in Miami and California; Republicans like the shows that take place in Virginia. I wouldn’t stake my Ph.D. on it, but it isn’t a pattern I would have expected a priori.
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Wednesday ~ February 23rd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Apex
The data from the study was interesting but the regional and geographical conclusions seem like a large reach.
NCIS and Criminal Minds were both in Virgina and the Mentalist and CSI:Miami were the ones in Miami and California. So with those 4 shows do with thing the most significant factors that would split the audience was the setting for the show? Really? This is the scientific conclusion drawn by the researcher?
NCIS is party of the military division of the government. Republicans tend to be more pro-military. Do we really think the state of Virginia is more important to Republicans than the military angle. Criminal minds is an FBI division and they are going after extremely violent criminals with a vengeance. Republicans tend to be more law and order. Again, do we suppose that Virginia is more important than that (How many viewers even know it’s set in Virginia).
CSI:Miami clearly states its miami so we should assume the audience knows its in miami, but CSI is also about solving crime using forensics, and also promotes the concept of multiple people looking guilty but the evidence pointing to the real criminal. This goes along with the idea that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and everyone deserves their day in court, the chance to defend themselves. Which political party tends to be more associated with the court process and the right to make sure you have proper representation and are not just railroaded off to prison for a crime you may not have committed by an over-zeolous law and order entity? That would be the Democratic party. Do we think the Miami location is more imprtant that this? The Mentalist has Patrick Jane solving crimes by picking up on subtle clues that looks like psychic readings but is really just being very observant and reading people’s reactions, etc. It feels a little mystical (although its really not but Republicans tend to be more turned off by Mystical things, even if they are only made to appear mystical, as they run counter to the religious beliefs) and it again is using real circumstances to show the real criminal and often pits Jane’s character against his superiors in the California Bureau of Investigation, who follow the more traditional path that might have lead to assuming the wrong person did it while Jane’s methods uncover the hidden truth of the real culprit. Notice that unlike the FBI based Criminal minds show, the hero her is not the Bureau solving the crime through rigorous law and order tactics but the observant Jane going against the Bureau rules and repeatedly being in trouble with them all to get at the real truth while the Bureau seems more concerned with following Bureau policy. This is all consistent with the Democratic support for your day in court and representation to ensure you don’t get railroaded as well as some skepticism for organized law and order units and some of their methods. And so for the 4th time, do we believe these elements are less significant than the California setting?
I am actually quite shocked to see a researcher pull out something so random and arbitrary as the location the show is set in when I am sure there are plenty of other arbitrary things you could point to about the shows that you could claim also played a role.
BTW, I generally enjoy and watch all these shows on occassion (except NCIS – hmmm, since both NCIS and Criminal minds are set in Virginia I wonder why I like one and not the other).
Other than CSI-Miami, I was oblivious to where each show was set. Yes if I thought about it I could have figured out that Quantico was in Virginia, but I never thought about it, never cared to think about it.
Thursday ~ February 24th, 2011 at 3:48 am
buddyglass
When I read the analysis of the partisan skew of TV programs, my first thought was that some appeal mainly to men and some more to women. Since women are, as a group, more skewed toward the Democratic party and men are, as a group, more skewed toward the Republican party, it would make sense that a show that appealed mainly to men (e.g. “Two and a Half Men”) would have a disproportionate number of conservatives in its audience.
I bet you’d find that the audience of the U.S. figure skating championships skews liberal or Democrat. But not because ice skating is uniquely appealing to liberals; because it’s uniquely appealing to women.