Flemington, NJ, January 19, 2010 – A new media study among 301 viewers of two videos about Chris Matthews claiming that he “forgot” that President Obama is black revealed that majority of viewers (62%) reported that thought his comment was not racist.
The study was conducted during January 29- February 1 by HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com® website, to obtain viewers’ perceptions of Chris Matthews’ statement that he made after viewing President Obama’s State of the Union address, “I forgot he was black.” The first video was of Matthews’ initial statement and the second video by the Associated Press was about the reactions to his statement. To view detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.
More than half of the viewers (57%) indicated that they thought Chris Matthews’ comments were not appropriate after viewing both videos. In addition, approximately one-third of viewers (33%) reported that the incident had a negative impact on their perception of Chris Matthews.
“Although many viewers indicated that they felt Matthews’ comments were not appropriate, our automated response curves revealed that viewers’ agreement levels rose when Matthews stated that he forgot President Obama is black,” commented Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research.
Among the findings:
Do you think Chris Matthews’ comments on President Obama were racist?
|
|
After Video 1 |
After Video 2 |
|
Yes |
35% |
38% |
|
No |
65% |
62% |
Do you think Chris Matthews’ comments on President Obama were appropriate?
|
|
After Video 1 |
After Video 2 |
|
Yes |
52% |
43% |
|
No |
48% |
57% |
Has this incident changed your perception of Chris Matthews?
|
|
After Video 1 |
After Video 2 |
|
Yes, I have a more negative perception of Chris Matthews now |
30% |
33% |
|
Yes, I have a more positive perception of Chris Matthews now |
14% |
11% |
|
No, No change |
56% |
56% |
While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of agreement by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants were also asked to respond to post-viewing questions.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net). You can also receive updates from MediaCurves.com by following us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mediacurves and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flemington-NJ/MediaCurves/86691908820
HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. MediaCurves.com® (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
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