Media Matters conducted a study (PDF here) analyzing guests on four programs on each of three prime-time cable news stations. While the findings about the lack of women and people of color overall may not surprise you, you may be surprised to know which programs are on the winning and losing ends of the spectrum.

If you had to guess what percent of the US population is comprised of white males, what would you say? They’re the vast majority in Congress (86% white, 84% male) and 100% of our Presidents. So…white men must be more than half, maybe even three-fourths of the country’s population, right?

Surprise! White men make up 32% of the population of this country. Think about that for a second. Therefore, if Congress or the office of the Presidency represented the people of this country, white men would be represented as less than one-third. Yet every prime-time news host is white, and all but two are men.

This complete lack of representation of diversity on television reinforces the notion that white men’s voices are the ones we should be listening to. They are who we should turn to when we need answers. They are the ones in power. Though no one is going on television saying that women’s and people of colors’ voices are less valid, the message is being sent loudly and clearly by our absence.

Is it any wonder why some people are having a difficult time imagining Barack Obama as the next President?