Polling agency Survata conducted a survey or 8,546 people to determine the initial perceptions of America’s newest cable news station. They asked respondents a straightforward question: “Do you perceive Al Jazeera America as an objective news source?”
According to the survey, only 18% of Americans view AJAM as an objective new sources, and 31% did not. Over half of respondents did not have an opinion.
What was quite interesting in the results was the geographic locations of those Americans who do find AJAM fair and balanced:
Respondents from Washington, D.C. were by far the most likely to perceive Al Jazeera America as objective (40%), while those from South Carolina were the least likely (5%). Groups by region, respondents from New England were the most likely to perceive Al Jazeera America as objective (22%), and respondents from the Plains region were the least likely (13%).
Another interesting, yet probably irrelevant aspect of the survey tracks the type of browser respondents used and then related it back to the perceptions of AJAM. Apparently, if you use Google Chrome you are more inclined to trust the Qatar-based station, and if you use Microsoft Explorer, not so much.
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