I think there is a propensity for older folk to be gullible. They are more likely to be taken in by a salesman who flatters them. They are more likely to pay too much money for a product they really don't need just because they like the way the salesman gives them attention. In a way, Fox News does that. Fox makes its most ardent viewers feel good about themselves by re-affirming their fears and prejudices, and older people are more likely to hold some "old-fashioned views" of the world.
Fox News and the right-wing radio shock jocks are reassuring to these people, as in a world that is changing in a way they don't like, there is somewhere that expresses their grudges and defends the way that things should be. Everyone else wants to dismantle the world as they know it - gays, blacks, Muslims, socialists, but in Bill O'Reilly or Rush Limbaugh, they feel they have found somebody who is as good as a friend who says - "you are right, these are things to fear."
They are insecure in their opinions, as they come from a non-factual, emotional place and cannot be easily verbalized without fear of judgement from outside their bubble. They feel they are at risk of attack from the outside world, and so those they know who hold their views are easily trusted.
All other opinions are dismissed as "liberal bias," "lamestream media," or "dangerous to America" - this satisfies the audience who have a need to be told: "you are right to hold these prejudices," and "you have found a true home here with people who share your values." However, drawing in that captive audience is a confidence trick, because once they are there they can be fed lie after lie, as long as they are neatly packaged in the context of those prejudices - global warming is a prime example.
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