The political divide extends to the television remote
My centrist political views were confirmed by recent research
that listed the most popular television shows among Democrats and
Republicans.
Of the top 15 programs, as gathered by media-research company
Experian Simmons and listed by the Hollywood Reporter, I am a
regular watcher of four of the top 15 on each side of the political
aisle.
The political divide extends to the television remote
My centrist political views were confirmed by recent research that listed the most popular television shows among Democrats and Republicans.
Of the top 15 programs, as gathered by media-research company Experian Simmons and listed by the Hollywood Reporter, I am a regular watcher of four of the top 15 on each side of the political aisle.
The top shows for each party are ultra-partisan: “Glenn Beck” for Republicans and “Countdown With Keith Olbermann” for the Dems, neither of which appeals to me. I’m more of a John Stewart guy, because he doesn’t take himself or his politics as seriously as the other guys, though he certainly leans to the left.
Two of the top four Republican shows are in my TiVo queue: “The Amazing Race” and “American Idol.” However, none of the top six Democratic faves are on my list: “Mad Men,” “Dexter,” Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami,” “90210” and “Private Practice.” I’ve never seen one episode of any of those, so maybe I’m more right-leaning than I thought.
But then there’s “Brothers and Sisters,” “30 Rock,” “Community” and “Parks and Recreation” on the Democratic side, and I’m a fan of each, so the pendulum swings back to the left.
“Survivor” and “The Bachelor” (I admit it; I watch it with my wife) are the other two of the top 15 Republican favorite shows that I watch.
Television viewers who consider themselves conservative have a higher opinion than liberals of nine of the top 10-rated broadcast shows, according to The Reporter. Younger shows skew Democratic; reality-competition shows are big among Republicans.
Maybe the titles alone – if not the content – of the 15 favorite shows by political affiliation can tell us something as a reflection of each party’s platform.
Republicans like “Modern Family” (family values) and “V” (we must stop illegal aliens). They like “The Big Bang Theory” (military might) and “Dancing With the Stars” (Sarah Palin is in the audience) and “Lie to Me” (assisting in investigations, kind of like waterboarding).
Democrats like “Private Practice” (doctors), “Damages” (lawyers) and “Law & Order” (lawyers).
Republicans prefer more of the top-rated Nielsen shows, while Democrat-favored shows are lower-rated, much like Congress and the president are this season.
The most telling news from the across-the-aisle look at political parties’ TV favorites is that none of either side’s top 15 shows is listed among the top 15 by the other party. It’s a perfect microcosm of politics: they can’t find common ground on taxes, or spending or military matters or social programs or education or the role of government or who should serve on the Supreme Court, blah, blah, blah.
And now we know the two parties can’t even share the remote. It’s hard to watch.
Adam Breen writes a blog at
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and teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School. He is a reporter at The Pinnacle and former editor of the Free Lance.
