Civility in News

Fox News is the most uncivil source of news, PBS the most civil, at least according to a survey released today (read a brief report here, download the actual PDF here, which is part of a larger "civility in America" study).

First off, let's be clear -- this is not an analysis of actual content.  Rather, this is a survey of people and their perceptions of civility.  Actual content studies do exist, one of my favorites being how often in a minute Bill O'Reilly manages to insult someone (answer, every seven seconds, see my post about that study).

What's making things less civil?  Survey says:

1. Politicians
2. Government officials
3. The economy
4. America's Youth
5. Media
6. Celebrities
7. Corporate America
8. Internet/Social Media
9. Sports Figures
10. Cellphones
11. Twitter
12. None of the above

We can feast on the above list for days, but let's move on to the fun stuff:

• Republicans in Congress are seen as more uncivil than Democrats
• The Occupy movement is more uncivil than the Tea Party
•  Schools are a cause of incivility more than pro sports
• Urbanites are the least civil
• Pepsi is more uncivil than Coke (I made this one up)

I'd go on (and on and on), but summer hours are a precious beer-drinking time, so check out the report yourself.