Since this subject seems to be drawing the most discussion, here is a "primer" on it from "Media Bias Basics."
Thirty million Americans rely on broadcast television for their news. They form opinions based on what they hear and see and to a lesser extent, read. Since citizens cannot cast informed votes or make knowledgeable decisions on matters of public policy if the information on which they depend is distorted, it is vital to American democracy that television news and other media be fair and unbiased.
Conservatives believe the mass media, predominantly television news programs, slant reports in favor of the liberal position on issues. Most Americans agree, as the data below indicate. Yet many members of the media continue to deny a liberal bias.
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."
With the political preferences of the press no longer secret, members of the media argued while personally liberal, they are professionally neutral. They argued their opinions do not matter because as professional journalists, they report what they observe without letting their opinions affect their judgment. But being a journalist is not like being a surveillance camera at an ATM, faithfully recording every scene for future playback. Journalists make subjective decisions every minute of their professional lives. They choose what to cover and what not to cover, which sources are credible and which are not, which quotes to use in a story and which to toss out.
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.
The Media Research Center regularly documents the national media's ongoing liberal bias — and has since 1987. For a look at media bias in the last decade, the last year or even last night, check the MRC homepage.
The information that follows relays the political composition of the media — voting patterns, political affiliations and beliefs — as expressed to researchers by the reporters themselves. This is followed by a review of public opinion on liberal media bias, and what members of the media have said about liberal media bias, and a guide to how to identify liberal media bias.
HOW THE MEDIA VOTE
Elite Media
OVERVIEW
In 1981, S. Robert Lichter, then with George Washington University, and Stanley Rothman of Smith College, released a groundbreaking survey of 240 journalists at the most influential national media outlets — including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS — on their political attitudes and voting patterns. Results of this study of the "media elite" were included in the October/November 1981 issue of Public Opinion, published by the American Enterprise Institute, in the article "Media and Business Elites." The data demonstrated that journalists and broadcasters hold liberal positions on a wide range of social and political issues. This study, which was more elaborately presented in Lichter and Rothman's subsequent book, "The Media Elite," became the most widely quoted media study of the 1980s and remains a landmark today.
KEY FINDINGS
81 percent of the journalists interviewed voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election between 1964 and 1976.
In the Democratic landslide of 1964, 94 percent of the press surveyed voted for President Lyndon Johnson (D) over Senator Barry Goldwater (R).
In 1968, 86 percent of the press surveyed voted for Democrat Senator Hubert Humphrey.
In 1972, when 62 percent of the electorate chose President Richard Nixon, 81 percent of the media elite voted for liberal Democratic Senator George McGovern.
In 1976, the Democratic nominee, Jimmy Carter, captured the allegiance of 81 percent of the reporters surveyed while a mere 19 percent cast their ballots for President Gerald Ford.
Over the 16-year period, the Republican candidate always received less than 20 percent of the media’s vote.
Lichter and Rothman's survey of journalists discovered that "Fifty-four percent placed themselves to the left of center, compared to only 19 percent who chose the right side of the spectrum."
"Fifty-six percent said the people they worked with were mostly on the left, and only 8 percent on the right — a margin of seven-to-one."
Only one percent strongly agreed that environmental problems were ovestated, while a majority of 54 percent strongly disagreed.
90 percent favored abortion.
80 percent supported "strong affirmative action for blacks."
54 percent did not regard adultery as wrong, compared to only 15 percent who regarded it as wrong.
White House Reporters
OVERVIEW
In 1995, Kenneth Walsh, a reporter for U.S. News & World Report, polled 28 of his fellow White House correspondents from the four TV networks, the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Copley, Cox, Hearst, Knight-Ridder, plus Newsweek, Time and U.S. News & World Report, about their presidential voting patterns for his 1996 book "Feeding the Beast: The White House versus the Press." As reported in the MRC's June 1996 MediaWatch, Walsh counted 50 votes by White House correspondents for the Democratic entry compared to just seven for the Republican.
KEY FINDINGS
In 1992, nine of the White House correspondents surveyed voted for Democrat Bill Clinton, two for Republican George H. W. Bush, and one for independent Ross Perot.
In 1988, 12 voted for Democrat Michael Dukakis, one for Bush.
In 1984, 10 voted for Democrat Walter Mondale, zero for Ronald Reagan.
In 1980, eight voted for Democrat Jimmy Carter, two voted for Ronald Reagan.
In 1976, 11 voted for Carter, two for Republican Gerald Ford.
1976: Carter (D), Ford (R); 1980: Carter (D), Reagan (R); 1984: Mondale (D), Reagan (R);
1988: Dukakis (D), Bush (R); 1992: Clinton (D), Bush (R).
Washington Bureau Chiefs and Correspondents
OVERVIEW
In April 1996, the Freedom Forum published a book by Chicago Tribune writer Elaine Povich titled, "Partners and Adversaries: The Contentious Connection Between Congress and the Media." Buried in Appendix D was the real news for those concerned about media bias: Based on the 139 Washington bureau chiefs and congressional correspondents who returned the Freedom Forum questionnaire, the Washington-based reporters — by an incredible margin of nine-to-one — overwhelmingly cast their presidential ballots in 1992 for Democrat Bill Clinton over Republican incumbent George Bush.
KEY FINDINGS
89 percent of Washington-based reporters said they voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. Only seven percent voted for George Bush, with two percent choosing Ross Perot.
Asked "How would you characterize your political orientation?" 61 percent said "liberal" or "liberal to moderate." Only nine percent labeled themselves "conservative" or "moderate to conservative."
59 percent dismissed the Republican's 1994 Contract with America "an election-year campaign ploy." Just three percent considered it "a serious reform proposal."
Newspaper Editors
OVERVIEW
In January 1998, Editor & Publisher, the preeminent media trade magazine, conducted a poll of 167 newspaper editors across the country. Investor’s Business Daily reporter Matthew Robinson obtained complete poll results, highlights of which were featured in the MRC's February 1998 MediaWatch.
KEY FINDINGS
In 1992, when just 43 percent of the public voted Democrat Bill Clinton for President, 58 percent of editors surveyed voted for him.
In 1996, a minority (49 percent) of the American people voted to reelect Clinton, compared to a majority (57 percent) of the editors.
Major Newspaper Reporters
OVERVIEW
In 1982, scholars at the California State University at Los Angeles asked reporters from the fifty largest U.S. newspapers for whom they voted in 1980. In that election, Republican Ronald Reagan won with 50% of the vote, compared with 41% for Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter and 8% for liberal Republican-turned-independent Jon Anderson.
KEY FINDINGS
51 percent of big city reporters cast a ballot for Democratic President Jimmy Carter, 24 percent for liberal independent candidate John Anderson, and 25 percent for the Republican winner, Ronald Reagan.
THE MEDIA'S POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS
Reporters Disproportionately Identify with Democratic Party
OVERVIEW
In 1992, the Freedom Forum commissioned two Indiana University professors to survey journalists about their political affiliations. They interviewed more than 1,410 journalists and found the percentage identifying themselves as liberals had grown since the first such poll in 1971, which found a 38-25 percent tilt toward the Democratic side. The results were published in the MRC's December 1992 MediaWatch.
KEY FINDINGS
44 percent of journalists identified themselves as Democrats, compared to only 16 percent who tagged themselves as Republican.
Journalists are 5 to 10 percentage points more likely to be Democrats than the general population and 10 to 15 points less likely to be Republicans.
The study authors found "minorities are much more likely to call themselves Democrats than are white journalists, especially blacks (70 percent), Asians (63 percent) and Hispanics (59 percent)."
Women journalists (58 percent) are much more likely than men (38 percent) to prefer the Democratic Party.
Conservative Reporters Few...and Getting Fewer
OVERVIEW
In 1996, as a follow-up to a 1988 survey, the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) surveyed 1,037 reporters at 61 newspapers of all sizes across the nation, asking "What is your political leaning?" Results of the survey were published in ASNE's 1997 report The Newspaper Journalists of the ‘90s, highlights of which appeared in the MRC's May 1997 MediaWatch.
KEY FINDINGS
In 1988, 62 percent of journalists identified themselves as "Democrat or liberal" or "lean to Democrat or liberal." In 1996, 61 percent said they were liberal/Democrat or leaning that way.
In 1988, 22 percent identified themselves as "Republican or conservative" or "lean to Republican or conservative." By 1996 that figure had declined to 15 percent.
Those identifying themselves as independent jumped from 17 to 24 percent between the two years.
At newspapers with more than 50,000 circulation, 65 percent of the staffs were liberal/Democrat or leaned that way. The split at papers of less than 50,000 was less pronounced though still significant, with 51 percent of staffs identifying as liberal/Democrat compared to 23 percent who identified as conservative/Republican.
Women were more likely than men to identify as liberal/Democratic. Only 11 percent identified themselves as conservative or leaned that way.
Minorities tend to be more liberal/Democrat with a mere three percent of blacks and eight percent of Asians and Hispanics putting themselves on the right.
Most Recent Data: Liberals Outnumber Conservatives in Newsrooms by 4 to 1, 2 to 1
OVERVIEW
The "National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking" [full report in PDF], completed by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, a magazine published by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, was released in late June 2001.
The poll questioned 1,206 members of the public, 300 "policymakers" and 301 "media professionals, including reporters and editors from top newspapers, TV and radio networks, news services and news magazines." Significant findings from the survey of media professionals appear below.
KEY FINDINGS
The Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that members of the media were four times as likely to identify themselves as "liberal" than as "conservative:"
Source: National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking [report in PDF], The Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, page 27 question D4, June 2001.
Similarly, the survey found that members of the media were more than seven times more likely to identify themselves as "Democrat" than as "Republican:"
Source: National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking [report in PDF], The Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, page 27 question D3, June 2001.
The American Journalist in the 21st Century
OVERVIEW
The decennial survey, The American Journalist in the 21st Century by David Weaver, Randal Beam, Bonnie Brownlee, G. Cleveland Wilhoit and Paul Voakes in collaboration with the Indiana University School of Journalism and sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, surveyed 1,149 print, radio and television journalists in the fall of 2002. The book, The American Journalist in the 21st Century, is not expected to be available until the summer of 2004, but some key findings have already been reported.
KEY FINDINGS
In American newsrooms, Democrats outnumber Republicans by two-to-one (37.1 percent to18.6 percent).
One third claim to be Independents.
Business Reporters Are Reporters, Too
OVERVIEW
A 1988 poll by the Journalist and Financial Reporting, a New York-based newsletter, surveyed 151 business reporters from over 30 publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times and Chicago Tribune to Money, Fortune and Business Week. The survey found that newspaper and magazine business reporters are as liberal as their colleagues covering politics.
KEY FINDINGS
54 percent identified themselves as Democrats, barely 10 percent as Republicans.
76 percent reported they opposed school prayer and 75 percent were against aid to the Contras, rebels fighting the Communist-backed Nicaraguan government. An overwhelming 86 percent favored abortion.
More than half, 52 percent, evaluated President Reagan's performance in office as "poor" or "below average." Only 17 percent gave him an "excellent" or "good," while 19 percent considered him "average."
Asked who they wished to see become President, 27 percent named liberal New York Governor Mario Cuomo (D), trailed by 20 percent for Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and nine percent for Senator Paul Simon (D-Ill). Senator Bob Dole was the most "popular" Republican, garnering a piddling eight percent.
Rev. Pat Robertson, then a GOP candidate, topped the list — at 44 percent — of those the reporters would "least like to see as President," followed by 19 percent who named the eventual winner that year, George Bush.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORLDS APART:
MEDIA AND PUBLIC BELIEFS
Massive Majority of Media Hold Strong Liberal Beliefs
OVERVIEW
In 1985, the Los Angeles Times conducted one of the most extensive surveys of journalists in history. Using the same questionnaire they had used to poll the public, the Times polled 2,700 journalists at 621 newspapers across the country. The survey asked 16 questions involving foreign affairs, social and economic issues. On 15 of 16 questions, the journalists gave answers to the left of those given by the public.
KEY FINDINGS
Self-identified liberals outnumbered conservatives in the newsroom by more than three-to-one, 55 to 17 percent. This compares to only one-fourth of the public (23 percent) that identified themselves as liberal.
84 percent of reporters and editors supported a so-called "nuclear freeze" to ban all future nuclear missile deployment; 80 percent were against increased defense spending; and 76 percent opposed aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.
82 percent of reporters and editors favored allowing women to have abortions; 81 percent backed affirmative action; and 78 percent wanted stricter gun control.
By a margin of two-to-one, reporters had a negative view of then-President Ronald Reagan and voted, by the same margin, for Walter Mondale in 1984.
The landmark Lichter-Rothman study found similar results among the media elite. While some of the issues of the day are no longer current or expressed in dated phraseology, the results remain relevant:
mrc.org |
