“Who is your favorite TV personality?” It’s a rather easy question. Perhaps you might answer “Jon Stewart,” because you like your comedy to be political and left-of-center. Maybe you’ll answer “Glenn Beck,” because you appreciate his "libertarian" ideas and "populist" viewpoints, even if he is a multi-millionaire several times over. You may even answer “Oprah Winfrey,” because you enjoy people telling you what to do.
Harris Interactive is a market research company, and between December 7 and 14, 2009, the company asked 2,276 people this very same question: “Who is your favorite TV personality?” The results of the poll, which were released only a few days ago, are surprising to say the least.
According to Harris Interactive, Americans’ favorite TV personality in 2009 was Oprah Winfrey, followed by Glenn Beck and Jay Leno:
- Oprah Winfrey
- Glenn Beck
- Jay Leno
- Ellen DeGeners
- Hugh Laurie
- Jon Stewart
- Charlie Sheen
- Mark Harmon
- David Letterman
- Bill O'Reilly
What’s even more interesting are the results of the 2008 poll:
- Jay Leno
- Hugh Laurie
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Oprah Winfrey
- David Letterman
- Jon Stewart
- Charlie Sheen
- Steve Carrell
- Stephen Colbert
- Mark Harmon
What can we deduce from the 2009 poll? Does a poll of Americans’ favorite TV personalities reflect the political climate of 2009? More specifically, is this poll any indication of Americans’ attitude towards the Obama administration?
Although the poll is meant to reflect Americans’ opinions towards TV personalities for the duration of the entire year, it is important to point out that the poll itself is conducted in December. When the 2008 poll was conducted in December 2008, Americans had so much optimism and hope coming out of their pores that many of us had to use an exfoliant. Our nation had made history by electing the first African-American president, and despite the economic downturn and mess left in President Bush’s wake, we knew that brighter days were around the corner. Our three favorite TV personalities of 2008? Jay Leno, Hugh Laurie and Ellen DeGeneres – all comedians. In fact, eight of the ten of our favorite TV personalities, with the exception of Oprah Winfrey and Mark Harmon, have a background in comedy.
I’m assuming Mark Harmon doesn’t have a background in comedy because Wikipedia told me so.
Let’s now flash forward and consider the poll conducted by Harris Interactive during December 2009. My, what a difference a year makes. President Obama had just received the Nobel Peace Prize for not coloring outside the lines, health care reform had stymied for several months due to filibusters and shenanigans, and the nation continued to face high unemployment, despite Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke’s insistence that we were officially out of the recession. Were comedians still our favorite TV personalities?
Oprah Winfrey’s ascension to first place did not come as a shock, but what is surprising is Glenn Beck’s ascension not just to the list at all, but to second place. Did something occur during 2009 to aid his elevation in the eyes of so many Americans? Love him or hate him, there is no denying that he started conversations, arguments and tea parties. The inclusion of Bill O’Reilly on the list, who had not been included the previous year, also support this view. Americans – particularly conservatives and independents – felt discouraged and betrayed by the new Obama administration during 2009, and turned to the only therapist who’s interrupted every seven minutes by a commercial break: the television.
Many people are frustrated with Obama’s first year, a frustration which is easily reflected in the political blogs and the media. However, as the Harris poll has proven, such frustration is even reflected in our choices of entertainment. Other TV personalities will rise and fall according to the current season and scandal (a certain NBC late-night feud comes to mind), but when a political pundit makes a meteoric rise to the number two spot on the list of Americans’ “favorite TV personality,” it should give Obama pause for thought.
