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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: abstract who wrote (60752)	2/12/2004 6:33:48 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

"Observing that the US has gotten progressively more conservative over the past 25 +/- years" That's news to me. I would think that in the last 10 years conservatives have increased their minority status to almost parity with liberals. Perhaps it has to do with the ethics & morals issues of the last Administration as well as certain leading liberal politicians, major media outlets, plus the obvious political partisan divide since the last Presidential election. Perhaps not. I know it pushed me further & further away from them as morals & ethics are critical in evaluating whether I can trust someone. You aren't going to gain my trust with nuance, relativism, revisionist history, slant, bias, selective reporting of some facts & excluding others, deceit, distortion, lies & the politics of personal destruction. Perhaps other Americans have similar thoughts & have disassociated themselves from their former party. In any event, something has caused a significant trend away form liberals & toward conservatives in the last decade. "how do you explain the growing ideological schism between population and media? Wouldn't appealing to the masses sell more copy than disagreeing with them?" First, I still believe that there are more liberals than conservatives, although the gap has dramatically closed in recent years. So they are still playing to a larger audience. Second, is just another supposition based on personal observation. Most major media outlets are large bureaucracies (recall the BBC - Hutton article). They have changed little over the years. And like the BBC they are self regulated. That's why Jason Blair & other outrageous scandals take place & almost no real change happens. Look at how long the anchors have been in place at all the major networks. They are all very powerful figures at each network & they are all very liberal, just like the NYT & LA Times. They are all surrounded by like minded people. That has been proven time & time again in numerous studies. Self described liberals & democrats dominate the ranks of journalism. Their voting patterns & their beliefs are decidedly liberal. IMO, groupthink is a significant problem at most major media outlets. That's why they just don't get it. They all look at the world through the same prism, one that is decidedly liberal. From their POV, they are certain they are all mainstream moderates & no one from within is telling them otherwise. Because of this, viewpoints toward the center are seen as coming from the the right & views slightly to the right are considered extremist. They honestly believe they are reporting mainstream, moderate, fair & balanced viewpoints regardless of the facts. They continue to persist in these views although their viewership & readers have been declining for a decade. Perhaps their inflexible philosophy & groupthink has yet to collide with the stark reality of declining profits. Perhaps I have it all wrong. Perhaps not. Something is changing folks minds away from the Democratic party & away from major media outlets. Perhaps you have a rational explanation? "On another note, don't an awful lot of Americans listen to an awful lot of radio talk shows (I don't)? Aren't the preponderance of these shows ultra-conservative? Why is that so different that the balance of the media?" Off the to of my head, I believe that Rush Limbaugh is by far the most listened to political radio personality. I have heard he reaches 20 million homes, but does that mean he has 20 million listeners hanging on every word 5 days a week? I don't know. In any event, no one has anywhere near the audience that Rush has. And the networks are still the main source of news than any other source, so your argument lacks merit. Perhaps as this trend continues, more listeners will tune in to moderate & conservative media outlets while liberal outlets continue to decline in popularity. As for, "Aren't the preponderance of these shows ultra- conservative?". I have no idea, but I think you may be exaggerating considerably. What little I have listened to Rush is not the rantings of an ultra-conservative. He is no Pat Buchanan by any stretch. When I have tuned in, all I hear Rush do is repudiate the BS that liberals spew. I've never heard him utter something that would be considered "ultra-conservative", but then I am not a regular listener by any stretch. Perhaps you can cite several clear examples of Rush & other "ultra-conservative" viewpoints that are regularly & consistently heard on the radio? Until then, here are some more persuasive articles regarding liberal bias in the media. Every Major Survey Has Found That Most Elite Journalists Hold Liberal Views and Vote For Democrats Message 19793270 Bias and the media Author contends that liberal journalists tilt the news toward the left Message 19793405 Media fraud Message 19793386 Media failed to find facts behind Bush's service record Message 19798180 Is NBC News Biased? Message 19798192 ABC News Admits Press Liberal, Hates Bush Message 19798164