Actually I think most news media in the U.S. does a good job of only talking about and covering what they want to. International news agencies like BBC do the same thing, but they cover slightly different stories. I think the best way is to follow BBC, and All things Considered on NPR in addition to the Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, etc. As an example of news agencies not covering certain stories and only some take MSNBC. They are the only major national news agency that reported on an Israeli terrorist group that Bombed a Palestinian School, killing seven children, and then later were arrested for planning to blow up a Palestinian girls school, and also blow up the near by Mosque. Even their coverage was one month after the first explosion and several days after the Israeli terrorists were arrested in the second attempt. I'm not trying to take sides in the conflict because both sides are deplorable. But I do think the innocents of both sides should be mourned the same. When a suicide bomber kills Israeli children we hear about it immediately and it gets extensive coverage. But no one bothered to mention about the bombing of the Palestinian school. Are Israeli lives more sacred than Palestinian ones?
What does that prove? I'm seeing a lot of remarks in this thread that are completely ignorant, but given that the evidence of liberal bias I'd like to cite is produced by a conservative media watchdog group and would be casually derided and dismissed out of hand despite its factual statistical nature, I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. I can't prove liberal media bias because there's not a single liberal in this thread that would accept the evidence I would use to prove it. I do think it's very funny though that left-leaning people essentially say, "CNN is balanced, but FOXNews is biased towards conservatives. You conservatives only find CNN liberal because you're conservative" without the slightest trace of irony.
Brian, I'm not denying there are liberal shows/networks out there -- I just don't think it's the ENTIRE media. As was pointed out earlier, the most prevalent media bias is corporate. They're all owned (with the exception of public) by major corporations. From my time spent at newspapers, I know first-hand how much bleedover there is from advertising into editorial. I dreaded looking up from my desk and seeing someone from advertising standing there with an ad in their hands, "We just got this new advertiser and it would be REALLY appreciated if you could run a story on their new business location..." If this goes on in small-town papers, how much greater is the pressure at, say NBC? How much thought do they have to give to running a piece that might be critical of their parent company? Are they even going to run it at all? Hell, I can't even read Newsweek any more because the whole thing seems like one giant ad for big pharma. But, from a liberal perspective, I have to tell you, I never watch CNN and think, "they're liberal, just like me." I never think they go far enough or in-depth enough. I think they gloss over most things and they strike me as pro-business and pro-military. My regular news sources are: NPR, The New York Times, PBS, BBC and The Daily Show (Now THAT is a liberal show!) I prefer most public news outlets because there are no advertisers to cater to. If that makes them liberal, so be it.
CNN isn't liberal (and Fox *obviously* isn't). CNN is centrist with occasional leftist and rightist flashes, much like the Democratic party - which isn't all that leftist either! The US media, as a whole, doesn't really have a viable leftist voice - what most people there call 'liberal' is just, you know, your average centrist person. Too many sentences in that paragraph ended in 'ist'. Of course, I agree with RocketMan Tex and Mrs. JB. It's corporate, above anything else. It's PR and focus groups and advertising and target demographics. It's all about the benjamins. Wow. 90%. By six companies. I'd heard that before, but it's so f*cking scary it makes my head spin.
I'm seeing a lot of remarks in this thread that are completely ignorant, but given that the evidence of liberal bias I'd like to cite is produced by a conservative media watchdog group and would be casually derided and dismissed out of hand despite its factual statistical nature, I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. I'd say the opposite is true too. Anyone who defends the "liberal" media is said to be brainwashed by the liberal media. I do think it's very funny though that left-leaning people essentially say, "CNN is balanced, but FOXNews is biased towards conservatives. You conservatives only find CNN liberal because you're conservative" without the slightest trace of irony. I think it's funny that right-leaning people essentially say "CNN is liberal. You liberals only find CNN moderate because you're liberal." FWIW, FoxNews pretty openly admits they think news tends to be liberal so they have a more conservative slant than normal media to create moderate coverage. If don't accept their premise (that news tends to be liberal) then their conclusion falls apart. However, we did get some complaints that we listed CNN and the Washington Post (they are widely known for their political coverage) as two random links for more information on our neutral political website. We have since added Fox News to that list.
I agree with dimsie that there isn't any real leftist media. In fact I bet the news organizations like being accused of having a liberal bias. It makes them seem like they are stirring things up, instead of being the centrists that they actually are. In the end the media will do little that would anger any of their big advertisers, and jeopardize their $$. Accusing them of having a liberal or leftists bias, only makes them seem more legit than they actually are.
So, in conclusion (ugh...I hate that): "Conservative" watch dog groups say the media has a liberal bias (because of reporter polls, stories and the like..). "Liberal" watch dog groups say the media is mostly conservative (because of corporate ownership, censorship, etc). I think the truth is obvious with the above two statements. Yep, they all suck - that is why I get my news from messages I find in the dog hair that has been shed and collected on my floor. 95% accurate. There is that really popular bumpersticker out there right now that says something along the lines of, "Only a FOOL would believe the liberal media."
Kagy, Funny thing is that I've talked to many conservatives who say "Fox News doesn't have a conservative bias, but CNN, CBS, MSNBC, NBC, CNBC, ABC, every newspaper, news magazine, local news, the weather channel, CSPAN, CSPAN2, HBO, and Thrify Nickel all have a liberal bias" without the <b>slightest</B> trace of irony.
exerpt from article... Assignment America:Tales from the newsroom By the time I got to the end of the book I was all but convinced it WAS a conspiracy, just like Limbaugh said --only to read McGowan's curious assertion that he did NOT believe it was a conspiracy at all. After spending some 250 pages outlining actions that should have gotten reporters and editors fired, or at least disciplined, he kind of forgives the business as a whole by saying that "the notion of die-hard liberals standing around in the corners of newsrooms plotting to infuse news reporting with left-wing bias is a caricature." He describes, rather, a climate in the newsroom that is at odds with "free and open exchange." I don't see much difference between a pro-active conspiracy and a climate that discourages honest reporting -- it's the classic way that corporate presidents censor and control with a wink and a nudge -- but since McGowan is such an excellent reporter and obviously spent years on this book, I'll take his word for it. http://www.coloringthenews.com/
__________________ Conservatives are not bigots. I find your signature offensive, Mrs. JB. Please do not stereotype conservatives anymore.
I had a journalism professor who did his PhD studies primarily in the field of bias in journalism. He studied dozens of daily newspaper clippings over the course of 15 years. He came to the same conclusions that most people who work in, with or around the media have come to for years: there are basically three types of bias at work in the media. 1. Editorial bias - writers, reporters, broadcasters - predominantly liberal 2. Publisher bias - editors, publishers, owners - predominantly conservative 3. Corporate bias - advertisers - whichever way the money flows Reporters don't choose their own stories. They have assignment editors who send them out. The assignment editors make their decisions based on what is newsworthy, what readers/viewers will like and how advertisers will react. Often times, the ad department (as Mrs JB pointed out) will heavily influence stories run in the news as a way to sell ad buyers on more and bigger ads. Ultimately, it is the corporate bias that has the largest influence over WHAT gets reported and that, by far, is the most important. There are tons and tons of stories every year that should be important to us and should be in the news media. But the media needs ratings and subscription rates in order to justify high ad rates to advertisers. If they can't bring in the ratings or subscription rates, they either have to lower ad rates or lose advertisers. Every marketing department in every major company tracks the media coverage it gets with religious fervor. When they get coverage that is favorable or unfavorable, it is noted for when and where and why. If they don't like the content, you can damn sure bet an ad rep or even and editor will get an earful. There is often a lot of talk about the liberal or conservative bias of major media outlets, but it seems fairly obvious that the biggest concern to EVERYONE should be the corporate influence over media. Not because corporate America is evil but because the information is not balanced. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have my doctor prescribing something just because of favorable reviews mostly written by scientists paid by the pharmaceutical industry! If any influence is of a serious concern in media, it should be the influence of corporations on what news IS and IS NOT reported. Come to think about it, that story never gets reported either.
