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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (17678)	7/3/2001 6:28:45 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

If I come across a link on that poll, I'll let you know. Thanks. In the meantime, I found these data, which are not exactly on point, but close. They're more consistant with my expectations. Karen <<1. Political Orientation One of the basic findings of this survey is that most journalists identify themselves as being centrists on both social and economic issues. Perhaps this is why an earlier survey found that they tended to vote for Bill Clinton in large numbers. Clinton's centrist "new Democrat" orientation combines moderately liberal social policies (which brings criticism from conservative anti-gay, "pro-life" and other activists) with moderately conservative economic policies (which brings criticism from labor unions, welfare rights advocates and others). This orientation fits well with the views expressed by journalists. Q#22. On social issues, how would you characterize your political orientation? Q#23. On economic issues, how would you characterize your political orientation? Left 30% Left 11% Center 57% Center 64% Right 9% Right 19% Other 5% Other 5% When asked to characterize their political orientation on social and economic issues, most journalists self-identify as centrists (Q#22 and Q#23). Of the minority who do not identify with the center, most have left leanings concerning social issues and right leanings concerning economic ones. This is consistent with a long history of research on profit-sector professionals in general. High levels of education tend to be associated with liberal views on social issues such as racial equality, gay rights, gun control and abortion rights. High levels of income tend to be associated with conservative views on economic issues such as tax policy and federal spending. Most journalists, therefore, would certainly not recognize themselves in the "liberal media" picture painted by conservative critics. >> fair.org and << Possible Bias Among Washington Journalist -------------------------------------------- 1992 voting among Washington journalist: 89 % voted for Clinton ( received 43 % nationwide ) 4 % voted for Bush 57 % are registered Democrat 37 % are independent 4 % are registered Republican 2 % consider themselves conservative 91 % consider themselves as moderate or liberal " 3 % of the journalists in the Freedom Forum poll said the ( Republican ) Contract was a ' serious reform proposal ' while 59 % said it was an ' election year ploy .' The Contract called for a balance budget, tax cuts, welfare reform and increased defense spending, all of which were passed and sent to President Clinton. " Possible Bias Among Newspaper Editors ---------------------------------------- 1992 voting among Newspaper editors: 61 % voted for Clinton 22 % voted for Bush 31 % are registered Democrats 22 % are registered Republicans As I'd assume, the bias declines as you go up the management tree. When it comes to deciding the prejudices of an entire newspaper, management and editors play a stronger part than journalists - and, speaking as someone who has worked in London's Fleet Street, the urge to sell papers and make a bit of money outweighs them all. I've seen journos who voted Labour all their life writing the most spectacular celebrations of Conservative policies and politicians to fit in with the stance of their paper. I think what you may see more of amongst journalists of all kinds is a general cynicism towards politicians, based on how they regularly try and hoodwink them (and us) with spin and statistics. You actually seem to be playing up to that POV, albeit in a one-sided fashion. What's a better stance to take? Believe the propaganda of one side, or disbelieve both until hard evidence is shown? >> xent.com