Fact check: How does the average age of Fox News viewers compare to MSNBC?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, MSNBC viewers are older on average than Fox News viewers. The most specific data comes from source ^[1] and ^[1], which report that MSNBC has a median age of 71, while Fox News has a median age of 69. CNN falls in between with a median age of 68 ^[1].

However, the data landscape is somewhat limited. Source ^[2] provides a broader perspective, stating that the median age for all three networks (FOX, CNN, and MSNBC) is around 70 years old, suggesting the differences may be relatively small in the grand scheme of cable news demographics.

Additional demographic insights show that Fox News attracts significantly more viewers in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic, with 252,000 total day viewers compared to MSNBC's 66,000 in this age group ^[3]. Source ^[4] confirms that older Americans are more likely than younger adults to both use and trust Fox News.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question focuses solely on age comparison but omits crucial context about the broader demographic landscape of cable news consumption. Several important factors are missing:

• All major cable news networks skew significantly older than the general population, with median ages around 70 ^[2]
• The difference between networks may be less significant than the overall aging of cable news audiences
• Viewership patterns vary by specific age brackets - source ^[5] indicates that adults aged above 45 were most likely to say they never watched Fox News, while source ^[6] shows that 57% of adults aged 55-64 watched Fox News as of 2017
• The data may reflect broader media consumption trends rather than network-specific preferences

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself appears neutral and factual, seeking a straightforward demographic comparison. However, there are potential issues with how this information might be interpreted:

• The question could be used to dismiss either network's credibility based on age demographics, when viewer age doesn't necessarily correlate with content quality or accuracy
• Without proper context about cable news demographics generally, the comparison might mislead people into thinking one network is significantly more "mainstream" than another
• The focus on age alone ignores other important demographic factors such as education, income, and geographic distribution that might provide a more complete picture
• Different sources use different methodologies and time periods, making direct comparisons potentially problematic without acknowledging these limitations

The analyses reveal that multiple sources lack specific comparative data ^{[7] [3] [8] [5] [6]}, suggesting that definitive age comparisons between these networks may be less readily available than the question implies.