Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve dietrich who wrote (336780)	1/3/2003 1:05:46 AM
From: Rick Slemmer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Hi, Steve: Guess the Liberal/democrats are just better able to separate their biases from their reporting, unlike the other group, that filters everything for their viewers, and puts their spin on it. Again, from the website of MediaResearch.org: "Liberal bias in the news media is a reality. It is not the result of a vast left-wing conspiracy; journalists do not meet secretly to plot how to slant their news reports. But everyday pack journalism often creates an unconscious "groupthink" mentality that taints news coverage and allows only one side of a debate to receive a fair hearing. When that happens, the truth suffers. That is why it is so important news media reports be politically balanced, not biased." Will you do me a favor, Steve? Will you take a look at the website and read the data presented there before you dismiss it entirely? mediaresearch.org Happy New Year!

To: steve dietrich who wrote (336780)	1/3/2003 1:12:58 AM
From: RON BL	Respond to of 769670

Evidence of how hard journalists lean to the left was provided by S. Robert Lichter, then with George Washington University, in his groundbreaking 1980 survey of the media elite. Lichter's findings were authoritatively confirmed by the American Association of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) in 1988 and 1997 surveys. The most recent ASNE study surveyed 1,037 newspaper reporters found 61 percent identified themselves as/leaning "liberal/Democratic" compared to only 15 percent who identified themselves as/leaning "conservative/Republican." mediaresearch.org

To: steve dietrich who wrote (336780)	1/3/2003 1:15:34 AM
From: RON BL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

About 85 percent of the reporters who cover the White House vote Democratic,” (Evan Thomas). The people who hire these correspondents therefore are in a sense planting a liberal media in the White House. To do an informative job, they should attempt to hire an approximately equal number of reporters from each side. To do otherwise, the press admits, has a dramatic impact on a candidate’s chances. No matter what good things a person has done, if the media decides to publish the bad, their chances are blown. Fifty-five percent of journalists at national media outlets felt that Bush’s chances in 1992 were hurt by the way the press covered him while only 11% felt Clinton was hurt by his portrayal by the media (Times Mirror Center). The acknowledgement of this slant in news coverage by journalists is the most troubling of all evidence that exists to suggest that bias is present. freerepublic.com

To: steve dietrich who wrote (336780)	1/3/2003 1:22:54 AM
From: RON BL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

These voting patterns are consistent with journalists' self-description on a wide range of social and political issues. The following figures are reprinted from The Media Elite. Social-Cultural 90% believe in abortion rights. 25% believe homosexuality is wrong. 47% believe adultery is wrong. 19% believe environmental problems are overstated. 80% believe strongly in affirmative action. Economics 68% believe government should reduce income gap. 48% believe government should guarantee jobs. Foreign Policy 56% believe the U.S. exploits the Third World and causes poverty. 57% believe America's use of resources are immoral. The attitudes and values of the media elite are clear. Most follow the lead of the Eastern liberal establishment and reject the notion of traditional morality. In the worst cases, these journalists attempt to use their position to change public opinion on the social and political issues of the day. These aren't the New Deal liberals of FDR, however, but the social liberals of the post-Watergate era. By their own admission, they favor a strong welfare state, abortion-on-demand, homosexual rights and affirmative action, and are increasingly critical of America itself. It's accurate to say that the media elite are extremely liberal when compared to the general population. The question isn't whether they're liberal -- they are. What is in dispute is whether these journalists let their personal beliefs influence their coverage of news. While acknowledging their own leftward leanings, most journalists maintain that they are fair and impartial, and that their political philosophy doesn't affect their coverage of the news. Such a claim is truly incredible. It is unreasonable to assume that their personal views, whatever they may be, don't influence the way they present a story. thequestioner.com