Jennifer Dandron are necessary for democracy, but those who put themselves in that line of profession sacrifice their reputations and personal emotions in order to shed light on any situation, no matter how disturbing. Media outlets compete for the highest ratings. The most effective way to get and/or maintain the highest ratings is to understand the target audience. It is no surprise that conservatives are more likely to tune into FOX News, while liberals are more likely to watch CNN or MSNBC. Multiple studies conducted by the Pew Research Center concluded in the article “Beyond Red vs. Blue: the Political Typology” published in May 2011, that fifty-four percent of “staunch conservatives” watch FOX News on a regular basis, while forty-four percent of the time “solid liberals” watch CNN regularly, and MSNBC nineteen percent of the time.9 Thus, these media outlets, while claiming to be fair, balanced, accurate and un-slanted, report the tragedies in a way that makes their audiences most comfortable. Their audiences’ reactions have the ability to result in legislative change. Democrats advocate more for gun control than republicans do.10 Therefore, the news stations that cater more to liberal audiences are likely to report more about gun control. On the other hand, the shows that focus on conservative audiences do not want to offend their viewers, which could make them quit watching and lead to a drop in ratings. In this case, the conservative shows are more likely to tackle the mental health issue aspects that contributed to each incident. Not even a week following the Newtown tragedy, FOX News released a column calling for the rebuilding of the mental health care system.11 FOX News viewers, most of whom are conservative, are going to call for legislation on mental health. Just as FOX News called for a closer look into the mental 9. "Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. Pew Research Center, (May 2011). (accessed January 12, 2013). 10. Grant, David. "How Democrats Might Get to 'yes' on Gun Control." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, (Jan 2013). (accessed Jan. 2013). 11. Ablow, Keith. "How to Rebuild the Mental Health System in America." Fox News. FOX News Network, 20 Dec. 2012. (accessed January 11, 2013).
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