First, let’s establish that correlation does not equal causation. But some of these maps of television show viewership are provocative. Where is Duck Dynasty watched most? Least? How about Modern Family?
The contrast of the shows most watched in urban vs. rural areas is ripe for cultural and media studies dissertation. Then let’s layer in maps of fatal drug overdoses and see what correlations appear to the naked eye.
Scroll down, follow the links to the Times article and scroll through the entire article to see what shows are watched most/least where. At the very bottom, enter any zip code to see the most/least watch shows in that zip. This is first rate journalism.
The full New York Times article link is immediately below. For contrast, compare those maps to the recent Wall Street Journal map of per capita opiod drug overdoses (2014 in lower right)
Wall Street Journal map of fatal drug overdoses through time. Compare and contrast the 2014 (lower right) map saturation with the media maps, above.
This begs the question, are we one nation, two, or more?
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