You'd never imagine it by their behavior, but college students are very easily influenced by TV, the Internet, and the power of Everclear punch. So it's not a big surprise to hear that heavy doses of The Daily Show have made kids of that age cynical about politics and the media (heck, I was cynical about politics and the media years before TDS even existed).

But now, this outcome has been recorded in a study, conducted by two political scientists at East Carolina University. They showed a group of students TDS clips from the 2004 Presidential campaign and another group coverage from the CBS Evening News. They measured the groups' attitudes about both candidates and found that the TDS watchers had the more negative view. The concern is that the more cynical this group becomes, the less likely they'll vote (and they don't vote much now). My thinking? As they get older, they'll look for more news sources. Right now, they just want to laugh.

[via Romenesko]