Liberal Media Bias...

[GarMan]

Didn't I argue this already?

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/06/16/book-liberal-media-distorts-news-bias

Book: Liberal Media Distorts News Bias
By Paul Bedard

Posted: June 16, 2011

The liberal bias of the mainstream media tilts so far left that any outlets not in that political lane, like the Drudge Report and Fox News Channel, look far more conservative than they really are, according to a UCLA professor's new book out next month.

In a crushing body blow to the pushers of the so-called "Fox Effect," which claims the conservative media is dragging the left into the center, UCLA political science professor Tim Groseclose in Left Turn claims that "all" mainstream news outlets have a liberal bias in their reporting that makes even moderate organizations appear out of the mainstream and decidedly right-wing to news consumers who are influenced by the slant. [Read Fox's Huckabee slams MSNBC's Matthews, Scarborough over bias.]

"Fox News is clearly more conservative than ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and National Public Radio. Some will conclude that 'therefore, this means that Fox News has a conservative bias,'" he writes in an advance copy provided to Washington Whispers. "Instead, maybe it is centrist, and possibly even left-leaning, while all the others are far left. It's like concluding that six-three is short just because it is short compared to professional basketball players."

What's more, he says, "this point illustrates a common misconception about the Drudge Report. According to my analysis, the Drudge Report is approximately the most fair, balanced, and centrist news outlet in the United States. Yet, the overwhelming majority of media commentators claim that it has a conservative bias. The problem, I believe, is that such commentators mistake relative bias for absolute bias. Yes, the Drudge Report is more conservative than the average U.S. news outlet. But it is a logical mistake to use that to infer that it is based on an absolute scale."

And in further analysis sure to enrage critics of conservative media, Groseclose determines that Drudge, on a conservative to liberal scale of 0-100, with 50 being centrist, actually leans a bit left of center with a score of 60.4. The reason: Drudge mostly links to the sites of the mainstream media, with just a few written by Matt Drudge himself. "Since these links come from a broad mix of media outlets, and since the news in general is left-leaning, it should not be surprising that the slant quotient of the Drudge Report leans left," he writes. [Read Poll: Fox, O'Reilly most trusted news sources.]

The author developed a calculation to figure out the "political quotient" to find the bias of media outlets and the average slant of an organization.

Groseclose opens his book quoting a well-known poll in which Washington correspondents declared that they vote Democratic 93 percent to 7 percent, while the nation is split about 50-50. As a result, he says, most reporters write with a liberal filter. "Using objective, social-scientific methods, the filtering prevents us from seeing the world as it actually is. Instead, we see only a distorted version of it. It is as if we see the world through a glass—a glass that magnifies the facts that liberals want us to see and shrinks the facts that conservatives want us to see." [Check out political cartoons about the Democratic Party.]

He adds: "That bias makes us more liberal, which makes us less able to detect the bias, which allows the media to get away with more bias, which makes us even more liberal."

Some key points:

"Every mainstream national news outlet in the United States has a liberal bias."

"Supposedly conservative news outlets are not far right. For instance, the conservative bias of [Fox's] Special Report is significantly less than the liberal bias of CBS Evening News."

"Media bias aids Democratic candidates by about 8 to 10 percentage points in a typical election. I find, for instance, that if media bias didn't exist, John McCain would have defeated Barack Obama 56 percent to 42 percent, instead of losing 53-46." [See editorial cartoons about Barack Obama.]

Perhaps the most useful part of his book is the slant ratings of the media. The numbers are based on a conservative-to-liberal 0-100 rating, with 50 being centrist:

New York Times-73.7.
CBS Evening News-73.7.
NPR Morning Edition-66.3.
U.S. News & World Report-65.8.
Drudge Report-60.4.
ABC Good Morning America-56.1.
Washington Times-35.4.

Left Turn, How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind, published by St. Martin's Press, is due out July 19.

[GH2001]

Cue and an argument ensuing between everyone in 3.....2......

[GarMan]

Cue and an argument ensuing between everyone in 3.....2...... 

He's busy right now...

[AU_Tiger_2000]

I agree with everything he said but would like to see how he came up with the numbers on the election and how it is influenced by the media.  That seems like that would be awfully hard to prove out.

Also I need to get a subscription to the Washington Times.

[RWS]

I like Fox News because I think they tell it how it is. CNN just always seems like rainbows and unicorns.

[AUChizad]

Well, if a conservative writes a book saying that all media, including Fox News (ha-fucking-ha), has a liberal bias, then it must be true. Case closed. Iron clad.

On a somewhat related note, I know a lot of you guys hate Jon Stewart with every ounce of your being. This interview reminded me of several people in this forum.

Do you guys watch this and think Chris Wallace "showed him"? I'm genuinely curious.

[GH2001]

Well, if a conservative writes a book saying that all media, including Fox News (ha-fucking-ha), has a liberal biased, then it must be true. Case closed. Iron clad.

On a somewhat related note, I know a lot of you guys hate Jon Stewart with every ounce of your being. This interview reminded me of several people in this forum.

Do you guys watch this and think Chris Wallace "showed him"? I'm genuinely curious.

To be honest, Chris Wallace is like that to everyone. He is an equal opportunity ass. But I did think he got the better of Stewart. He looked very uncomfortable and was pinned down a couple of times to the point where he couldn't joke his way out of it.

John Stewart is an ok sattirist when he can stay in his comfort zone and abide by his standard script. But when he gets thrown a curveball or gets out of his element, he falls like an old person trying to climb a ladder.

Foxnews having a liberal bias is hilarious though. I admit they have a right leaning slant. My argument has always been that you have 1 network out there, Foxnews, that has popped up in the last 10-12 years with a lean to one direction, but you have 5 others that have a slant to the other direction, 3 of them for over 40 years. And somehow all the hoopla and outrage gets aimed at the one that has only been around 10-12 years. 

There definetly is an overall left media slant and HAS been for a long time. It goes back to the support for the arts and journalism professions. BUT...where was the outrage when ABC, CBS and NBC were slanting what the public viewed 20, 30 or 40 years ago? Walter Knonkite single handedly LYING about the Vietnam War to sway public opinion? Why is only Foxnews being targeted now? To me, its just hypocrisy. It comes across as being a case of there's a new guy in the neighborhood kicking ass and taking names (good ratings) , and the old guard (poor ratings) doesn't like it. Not saying I LOVE Foxnews, but they get good ratings and I think it pisses a TON of people off.

FWIW - I think Foxnews is a neocon think machine and don't care for many of their shows.

[RWS]

I don't watch the shows on Fox News. I watch their actual news reporting. I know who both of these guys are, and know of their shows, but I couldn't honestly say what their agendas are. I can tell Jon Stewart is an Obama supporter, and I can tell that Wallace is not. I noticed that Stewart picked up the partyline real quick when asked if he was satisfied with the administration so far, and he mentioned that things hadn't changed because all of the people that got us in this mess are still in certain positions. I think the point to be made there is WHY has Obama chosen to keep those people in those certain positions? I just don't like the blame game. While Obama can't be held responsible for the start of the problem, he certainly isn't doing shit to fix it.

I agree that Fox leans towards the right. However, in their actual reporting, I don't really see where they go over the line and skew things. They may report things that the Obama supporters don't like to see, but maybe Obama should quit doing dumb shit and they wouldn't have to worry about it.

[AUChizad]

I agree that Fox leans towards the right. However, in their actual reporting, I don't really see where they go over the line and skew things. They may report things that the Obama supporters don't like to see, but maybe Obama should quit doing dumb shit and they wouldn't have to worry about it.

Staying with the Jon Stewart theme:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-21-2011/fox-news-false-statements

[GH2001]

I don't watch the shows on Fox News. I watch their actual news reporting. I know who both of these guys are, and know of their shows, but I couldn't honestly say what their agendas are. I can tell Jon Stewart is an Obama supporter, and I can tell that Wallace is not. I noticed that Stewart picked up the partyline real quick when asked if he was satisfied with the administration so far, and he mentioned that things hadn't changed because all of the people that got us in this mess are still in certain positions. I think the point to be made there is WHY has Obama chosen to keep those people in those certain positions? I just don't like the blame game. While Obama can't be held responsible for the start of the problem, he certainly isn't doing shit to fix it.

I agree that Fox leans towards the right. However, in their actual reporting, I don't really see where they go over the line and skew things. They may report things that the Obama supporters don't like to see, but maybe Obama should quit doing dumb shit and they wouldn't have to worry about it.

Obama is not soley responsible. Neither is Bush II, Bush I , Carter, Johnson, Nixon or Ford. They all are. And it started with Johnson and Roosevelt creating Great Society and New Deal programs. The only 2 Presidents that halfway made sense in their policy were Reagan and Kennedy. Kennedy would more than likely be a moderate Repubican in 2011 on paper. Clinton is on the fence for me. He at least had sense enough to listen to people who knew what they were doing and he got out of the way and let business do what it does best.

The fact that none of these goons has done anything to stop this and get us back to operating as a true "Constitutional Republic" as we are suppose to be with a free market economy, is the real key.  Yes, Obama's predeccesors helped contribute to this mess. But he is also continuing to do the same exact thing at a much more astronomical level that is not sustainable. And he is the President NOW!

This is his economy. His country. NOW. Not GWB's. Truth is, I am not sure if he knows how to fix it. IF he does, he is putting social agenda ahead of the people's will and ahead of the Constitution which grants that we operate as a free market Republic.

Sidenote: We are not and have never been a democracy. A democracy is a 1 dimensional model of the majority rules. A republic has a set of checks and balances that a democracy doesn't include.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

I don't watch CNN or FoxNews.  CNN is biased in the stories it chooses to cover and FoxNews is biased in the spin it puts on stories.

[RWS]

Staying with the Jon Stewart theme:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-21-2011/fox-news-false-statements

And what sort of agenda does PolitiFacts have? It's a vicious cycle.

[GH2001]

Staying with the Jon Stewart theme:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-21-2011/fox-news-false-statements

I won't dispute those. It has happened and is what it is.

My point Chizad is that Fox is the only one chastized. It's a one sided affair. Why are the other 5 NOT held accountable for the same, if not worse, level of bias/misinformation?

Is he going to publish the same for MSNBC and CNN? What about all the crap CNN "NEWS Anchor" Fareed Zakaria says about Foxnews wanting to usher in a fascist government behind the scenes?

The objectivity has been lost here. The irony is the people who slam Foxnews over a bias. Most of them are angry due to their own bias. Tell me it isn't so.

[AUChizad]

And what sort of agenda does PolitiFacts have? It's a vicious cycle.

If your argument is that Politifact.com has a left leaning slant, then that identifies the problem.

That's kind of the whole point of Politifact.

They are also the ones that called Stewart on his comments that Fox News viewers are consistantly less informed than viewers of other news sources, which prompted that last bit.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jun/20/jon-stewart/jon-stewart-says-those-who-watch-fox-news-are-most/

In summation:

The way Stewart phrased the comment, it’s not enough to show a sliver of evidence that Fox News’ audience is ill-informed. The evidence needs to support the view that the data shows they are "consistently" misinformed -- a term he used not once but three times. It’s simply not true that "every poll" shows that result. So we rate his claim False.

[GarMan]

Well, if a conservative writes a book saying that all media, including Fox News (ha-effing-ha), has a liberal bias, then it must be true. Case closed. Iron clad.

It's sort of like trusting a Leftist's assessment of Fox News, isn't it?  But, when a professor from UCLA (hardly conservative), publishes a book with studies, observations and opinions that address the Leftist influence over society, you can't just write it off as being conservative blather. 

On a somewhat related note, I know a lot of you guys hate Jon Stewart with every ounce of your being. This interview reminded me of several people in this forum.

Do you guys watch this and think Chris Wallace "showed him"? I'm genuinely curious. 

First off, I enjoy Stewart's show on occassion, but I recognize it for what it is...  He's a comedian.  His own statements towards the end summarized it for me.  Both made some good points, but Steward was caught up in petty semantics and baseless cynicism. 

Staying with the Jon Stewart theme:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-21-2011/fox-news-false-statements

Yeah...  A lot of those comments were likely heard on the Fox News channel.  Many are false or just sensationalized representations or opinions on issues, but not all of those statement were made by Fox News anchors or necessarily reported as fact.  Context also has a lot to do with it, of course.  As an example, Healthcare Reform alone does not imply a government takeover of our healthcare system, but the context of that statement with the points made during those discussions illustrate the increased government intervention, control and mandates over the healthcare industry.  In fact, if Obama had pushed for a single-payer option, government takeover is exactly what it would have been. 

And, those Fox viewers are so misinformed.  Let's have a look-see...  (Review attached pic)

Fox News as a channel scored low on the list, but they still beat out MSNBC, CNN and the evening network news shows, local and national.  And, look at those specific shows on FOX...  Way up there on that list, aren't they? 

[CCTAU]

We have all been in the pot for a long time. The lineup mediaa has kept to their agenda so long that society thinks Fox is extreme right wing. By the time the water starts to boil, it will be too late for all of us. Socialism will be in effect and we, as a nation, will be in our final stage.

[GarMan]

We have all been in the pot for a long time. The lineup mediaa has kept to their agenda so long that society thinks Fox is extreme right wing. By the time the water starts to boil, it will be too late for all of us. Socialism will be in effect and we, as a nation, will be in our final stage.

There's a lot of truth to that.  Socialism has become strong throughout most of Western Europe and Canada.  The once great nations/empires have essentially fallen.  Today, they're floundering.  They even tried to merge into the European Union to compete economically on the global market, but that has been a failure.  They're pathetic.  Social engineering in the US has followed their lead at an unprecidented rate.  For the last 50+ years, the news media, Hollywood, the courts, various organizations and the government have attacked the core family unit, traditional American values and the core foundations of this country.  What is recognized by Stewart and others today as being conservative was effectively mainstream moderate in the 50s.  People have been desensitized to it.  They're tolerance for left wing ideas, opinions and influence is far greater than it was in the past.  For the life of me, I really don't understand how a lot of these 20-somethings can't see this downbreeding affect.  Of course, they're far more enlightened than us.