Friday 27 August 2004

Good News

Many Americans seem to believe that Fox News provides a balanced, impartial viewpoint, but its right-wing bias is apparent from the merest glance at the mouthings of its commentator Bill O’Neill, who claims to be an objective independent news analyst but is in reality a rabid francophobe Republican.

More than one US-based website says: If you want real news, go to the BBC or the Guardian in the UK. These two sites have both, happily, become very popular with Americans, millions of whom turn to them regularly for independent liberal voices.

In particular, it is pleasant to read of the worldwide success of the Guardian's website: Google News found that it was the world’s most popular news source for the six months to June this year. Last month more than 3.5 million people across the US visited the site, and just over 2 million in the UK.

In a recent online survey conducted by the Guardian, 89% of the 1,200 respondents answered "yes" to the question: "On balance do you trust editorial coverage on Guardian Unlimited?". This compares with the 25% (and 32% for CNN) who said in a recent Pew Research Center Survey that they can believe most or all of what they hear on Fox News Channel.

It is clear that the Guardian has earned an incredibly high degree of trust, and is becoming the global English language liberal voice.