Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist

Although the majority of journalists tend to lean to the left, the corporate interests of the machine still work to filter against dissent and placate advertisers, pushing the end product further to the right.

Look no further than how superior alternative sources of media are than the mainstream and how many stories are omitted in the latter for proof of this.

 

Wow, I've always thought all news are fair and unbiased.

Good read btw...

 

Go Coogs....

 

I find it humerous than in an article about media bias, a writer from UCLA includes the above sentence. This is certainly not the first successful attempt at doing this. There have been many other studies that use different measures - for example, looking at the the number, political affilation, and extremeness of guests on the various news shows, etc. Each comes up with different results, although the general rankings are fairly consistent (CBS being the most far left, FOX the most far right). Some such studies show median level to be centrist, some show it to be left (as this study does).

But this is be no means the first time this has been attempted, and I'd be curious to hear why this author thinks this is the only successful one, and if that bias has anything to do with it being from his or her school.

 

Here's the difference, mainstream media guys unconciously lean left when presenting stories, by and large. Fine. However, right-wing media outlets CONCIOUSLY lean right. THAT is what chaps my hide. If you are gonna call yourself "news," then you shouldn't be strategizing about how to push the Republican agenda. That isn't news ...thats propaganda.

 

It really doesn't surprise me that much of the media leans left. If you survey the beliefs of the average voter, they lean left on nearly every major social issue. We all tend to believe that Social Security is good, everyone deserves healthcare, and that nobody should be discriminated against. What is surprising is that even though the average American believe this, they continue to vote for people who believe the exact opposite.

As far as the study goes, "Brit Hume" is not the Faux News show that I would tag as the most right leaning. Personally, I like NewsHour, Meet the Press, and Face the Nation as I have always seen them as the most centrist news sources. Turns out I was correct.

 

Wait... if the NAACP is left-leaning, what is its right-leaning counterpart? The Ku Klux Klan?

 

Either I don't understand the methodology they used to determine what was bias in a story, or else the study is garbage. How would counting think-tank references give you an idea of how biased a story is?

 

Some think tanks are right leaning and some lean left. They compared the references in the media to the references of various politicians. If the media outlet referenced a particular think tank about as often as a particular politician, they rated the outlet with the same r/l score as the politician.

 

Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist

In a related story, Yao Ming very tall, finds Earl Boykins.

"I stood next to him 5 or 6 times, and each time he was still taller than me," says the 5'5'' guard, Boykins. "I don't get it. He's Chinese, but he's really, really tall."

 

Interesting read. But there are many others ways in which a news organization can lean one way or the other. Such as the stories they put forth, the amount of time an emphasis they put on the story, whether they play it up or down, do they give equal time to Right and the Left when it comes guests.

 

That could indicate bias. But it could also indicate that liberal think tanks provide more reliable information than conservative think tanks, or that there are more liberal think thanks that engage in PR campaigns than conservative think tanks.

 

UCLA Political Scientist's Findings Unreal, Finds BBS Biased

 

How naiive and wrong of you to think that all liberal bias is unconscious and all conservative bias is conscious.

 

Media bias is a very dangerous threat to our country....especially to impressionable young minds who have not developed mature political opinions. This is one of the reasons I go out of my way to point out the obvious bias from sources such as the Guardian, NY Times, BBC and some of these sites like commondreams.org.

 

You go out of your way to point out your own media bias, so accusing well known media outlets of just that comes as no surprise. The media has had bias for as long as media has existed. That's a fact, whether it's the Washington Times or the Washington Post, the Economist, or the Guardian. It's just the way it is, texxx, as you know, and it's why I read a wide variety of news sources, as well as watch and listen to many more. Heck, I listen to Rush Limbaugh on a semi-regular basis, just so I'll know which talking points I'm going to read here from you and your pals.

I'm raising two liberals, and both are amazingly intelligent and well informed for their age. They must have got it from their Grandfather. Do you have kids, texxx? It's a way to influence the future. Took awhile for me to reach that conclusion.


Keep D&D Civil.

 

Like you have mature political opinions. Talk about trying to have it both ways. How can conservatives blame the media and the liberals for all the ills of the country when the conservatives have the power to do something about the ills of the country. They have the congress,senate and the white house. What the hell is holding them up? Liberals? The Media?
Give me a f*&^$% break!
And I'll tell you about young minds. The bar I go to shows nothing but Faux news on TV's that don't have sports on them. I overheard some kid in his mid twenties tell his friend that he liked watching Faux news because he agrees with everything they say. HA! Goebbels would be proud.
If someone isn't smart enough to think for themselves when they turn on the TV,read the paper or go to college, they deserve all the crap they get.
Oh, thank you texx for pointing out the obvious bias of sources. I guess this is your way of being fair and balanced.