When it comes to news personalities, our favorites are Diane Sawyer, Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams.
And the three we like the least are Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Nancy Grace.
That's the word from the Harris Poll, which surveyed 2,015 adults nationwide to find out which of 26 current affairs personalities are the most popular.
Back in the day, there were only three TV newsmen and everyone knew who they were: Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley and Chet Huntley. And while we still have three anchors at the big three TV networks, there are now a multitude of news personalities on cable stations and even a radio personality who transcends many of his brethren on television.
The top 8 most liked news personalities:
1. Diane Sawyer: 23 percent
2. Anderson Cooper and Brian Williams: 19 percent (tie)
4. Bill O'Reilly and Barbara Walters: 15 percent (tie)
6. George Stephanopoulos: 14 percent
7. Matt Lauer and Katie Couric: 13 percent (tie)
The top 8 most disliked news personalities:
1. Rush Limbaugh: 46 percent
2. Bill O'Reilly: 31 percent
3. Nancy Grace: 23 percent
4. Sean Hannity: 14 percent
5. Katie Couric, Piers Morgan, Barbara Walters and Chris Matthews: 10 percent (tie)
Fun facts to know and tell:
- For Republicans, the top three favorite current affairs personalities are Bill O'Reilly (29 percent), Sean Hannity (25 percent) and Rush Limbaugh (22 percent).
- Democrats and Independents say their top three favorites are Diane Sawyer (28 percent and 25 percent respectively), Anderson Cooper (24 percent and 21 percent) and Brian Williams (24 percent and 20 percent).
- For Republicans, the three least liked current affairs personalities are Nancy Grace (25 percent), Rush Limbaugh (24 percent) and Chris Matthews (18 percent).
- For Democrats, the three news personalities that are the least favorite are Rush Limbaugh (66 percent), Bill O'Reilly (45 percent), and Sean Hannity (23 percent)
- For Independents, the three most disliked are Rush Limbaugh (49 percent), Bill O'Reilly (31 percent) and Nancy Grace (25 percent).
The takeaway: Rush Limbaugh is in the least-liked top three for Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
--From the Editors at Netscape
Poll
