美国国家公共电台 NPR Poll: Where You Watch TV News Predicts Your Feelings On Immigration

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Immigration has become a central wedge issue in American politics. And whether you identify as Republican or Democrat¹ is a very good indicator² of how you feel about the border wall, also about the travel ban and a host of other immigration policies. A new poll from NPR and Ipsos shows there is an even better predictor, though - where you get your TV news. Here's NPR's Joel Rose.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE³: The latest immigration story to divide the country is the separation of migrant families at the southwest border. Here's how it played on CNN.

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DON LEMON: Our government in your name and my name as well took the smallest, most defenseless children away from their parents. That is an outrage⁴.

ROSE: And here's a clip from Fox News on President Trump's policy.

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BRIAN KILMEADE: Like it or not, these aren't our kids. Show them compassion⁵. But it's not like he's doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country.

ROSE: NPR and Ipsos polled a thousand people to try and figure out what shapes our views about immigrants and immigration. Republicans and Democrats⁶ are often 30, 40, even 50 percentage points apart on the big issues. But people who primarily get their TV news from Fox and CNN are even further apart with viewers of the other big TV networks somewhere in between. Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson says he wasn't expecting to find a dividing line even stronger than partisanship⁷.

CHRIS JACKSON: People who get their news from Fox News actually take the strongest anti-immigrant position of any group we looked at in the survey.

ROSE: Did that surprise you?

JACKSON: I think it was very surprising. I can't really say if those views are coming because of watching Fox or if they're watching Fox because they hold those views, but it's a really strong connection.

ROSE: We looked at other factors, too - whether you live in a city, suburb or a rural area - and there are some differences in opinion depending on where you live. We also looked at another factor we thought would really matter - whether you know anyone born outside the U.S. or are an immigrant yourself.

JACKSON: There's definitely some difference there, but it really pales when you look at Republican and Democrat and really compared to Fox and CNN.

ROSE: We asked, for example, whether immigrants are an important part of American identity. Barely half of Fox News viewers said yes compared with more than 70 percent of network TV and CNN viewers. We also asked whether the U.S. has a moral obligation to accept refugees. Only a quarter of Fox viewers said we do. Pollster Chris Jackson says some of the biggest disagreements are over what's really motivating asylum⁸-seekers to come here.

JACKSON: CNN viewers - 68 percent of them think that these people are fleeing some sort of real danger, real sense of violence or persecution⁹, whereas only 20 percent of Fox News viewers believe that. Almost three-quarters of Fox News viewers think that refugee and asylum-seekers are just taking advantage of the system. They're trying to cheat their way in.

ROSE: It's not surprising, then, that there's a sharp difference in how our poll respondents view the separation of migrant families who crossed the border illegally, many of them seeking asylum.

TRICIA MCCARY: It's really the parents' responsibilities. They are the ones who take the kids through this ordeal¹⁰ to try to come to America.

ROSE: Tricia McCary lives in Riverside, Calif. She immigrated¹¹ to the U.S. from China legally when she was 14 and is now a citizen. McCary told me she rejected CNN as fake news after the 2016 election. Now she watches Fox News because, she says, it's unbiased, and she says its coverage¹² tends to match her views about undocumented immigrants.

MCCARY: They're taking resources. They're taking jobs. And they're not contributing back to the community.

ROSE: Contrast that with one of our poll respondents who doesn't watch Fox News. Beth Bunnell is a Christian¹³ missionary¹⁴ in Minneapolis.

BETH BUNNELL: I think that Fox News feeds on fear.

ROSE: Bunnell says she gets her news from CNN and other online sources. She says the U.S. has an obligation to help people making the dangerous journey to the southwest border to escape from violence and persecution.

BUNNELL: It would have to be a desperate situation to push them to such desperate measures. And I feel like we have the capacity to help. And why not welcome them?

ROSE: That said, the problem of what to do about asylum-seekers divides Bunnell's own family just like it does the rest of the country. She says her parents watch Fox News. Joel Rose, NPR News.

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1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

8 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

9 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

10 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

11 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。