"What some see as a *bias* is to others "objective reasoning". "
Well thought out & reasoned reply Michael.......
___________________________________________________________
Are the Media Liberal?
These are fascinating times for polemical debate. Are we right to invade Iraq? Will tax cuts weaken or strengthen the economy? On these and so many other issues a conservative can enjoy energetic discourse with the political left.
Just don't ask a liberal if there is a liberal bias in the national news media. In answer to that question you'll continue to hear what conservatives have been hearing for decades. No matter how many times the obvious is proven, and no matter how many ways that evidence is documented, the response from the liberal elites is always the same.
Noise.
For decades conservatives have charged that a liberal bias dominated the press; at every turn the liberals in the press have denied it. But when irrefutable evidence is presented — say, a national survey of the Washington-based media commissioned by the Gannett media organization showing that in 1992, by 89-7 percent, they voted for Bill Clinton over George Bush; that by 50-14 percent they see themselves as Democrats over Republicans; and that while 61 percent describe themselves as liberal, only two percent dare call themselves "conservative" — how do they respond? OK, they concede, we may be philosophically liberal, but it doesn't prove our philosophy affects our performance. But how can such an overwhelming bias not affect the work product?
Noise.
The Media Research Center has produced dozens of scientific studies, often examining tens of thousands of stories at a time, proving the liberal bias dominating the news media. Not once has a single study ever been refuted, or any of the hundreds of thousands of data been disputed. Much in the same vein that Saddam denies the existence of his weapons of mass destruction, the liberal media simply deny the evidence proving their bias. And if pressed they'll fall to the next line of defense: it speaks to a general bias, but doesn't prove anyone's specific bias.
More noise.
What, exactly, is a liberal denying when he denies a liberal bias in the media? Most journalists continue to promote the mythology that bias is nonexistent in the news business, an amazing proposition given that it is impossible not to be biased. What is news? What is the day's top news story? What is to be the lead? Who is to be cited? What ought to be the conclusion? These and so many others are the daily questions a reporter faces, and every single one demands a subjective, biased response. So why do so many journalists deny the obvious? First and foremost, because they really do believe their liberalism is mainstream.
<font size=4>
But wait! Stop the presses! Extra! Extra! Bias has been found! After all these years suddenly these same journalists are finding that a conservative bias — yes, indeedy, a conservative bias dominates the press because the Fox News Channel and Rush Limbaugh control the world, or something.
Assuming Fox were as conservative as liberals charge — and it's an assumption I am not willing to make — it would now be one against CBS, NBC, ABC, CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, and on and on and on. Some conservative dominance. What about Rush and the seemingly endless list of conservatives in the media today, men and women like Cal Thomas, Bob Novak, Michael Reagan, Laura Ingraham, and the like? All have two things in common: All openly, cheerfully acknowledge their biases; and all are commentators. Not a one is a member of the "news" media.
But if you're on the other side of the political fence the rules are very different. If you're a liberal, you're objective. And if you are promoting an agenda, you're a reporter.
<font size=3>
Making noise.
— L. Brent Bozell III is president of the Media Research Center
nationalreview.com |
