While lecturing students in his Public Parties and Campaigns class, a Florida State University (FSU) associate professor reportedly said Fox News Channel is “simply lying” to its viewers, and that MSNBC provides the “truth” as does the New York Times.
According to a report in Campus Reform by Kaitlyn Schalhorn, Dr. William Claggett said “my partisanship is shaping my exposure to information, and it’s also probably affecting how I process information, and the same thing with most Americans.”
“So you know, when I’m at home clicking through the stations, oh here comes Fox News, the Fox News Channel,” Claggett said in an audio recording obtained by Campus Reform. “Oh, I don’t stop there. I know they’re simply lying, and I keep on going.”
“On the other hand, you know, here comes MSNBC,” he continued. “Well, I’ll stop here for a bit, see what truth I can find out the easy way while I’m reading the New York Times.”
As Breitbart News’s John Nolte reported at the end of January, television ratings for that month showed that Fox News beat its competition at MSNBC and CNN for the 13th year in a row.
“MSNBC had a terrible January, losing -23% of total viewers and -39% of demo viewers in primetime compared to January of last year,” Nolte wrote.
Claggett also told his students, “I don’t read the Wall Street Journal, again, rag of lies, unless I’m interested in reading the CEO of some particular company.”
A student in Claggett’s class who requested anonymity for fear of retribution reportedly told Campus Reform that Claggett continually makes denigrating comments about Republicans, including former President Richard Nixon whom he refers to only as “Dick.”
“There have been a few times where his comments in class have made me feel uncomfortable, but saying Fox News is nothing but lies was a new low,” the report states. “I’m constantly afraid of speaking my mind in class because I know that my views don’t align with his. And ultimately, I think that my education is worth more than being fearful because I don’t agree with a professor.”
FSU lists Claggett as “an expert on electoral behavior, political change in the United States, national election outcomes, voter turnout and long-term changes in electoral support.”
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