Pew Study: Journalists and Liberal Bias

[devilgrrl]

:eyes: Brace yourselves DUer's :eyes:


http://www.npr.org/features/columns/column.php?columnId=2781901

Pew Study: Journalists and Liberal Bias

Web Extra June 2, 2004 -- A recent study by the Pew Center for the Public and the Press looked at the state of journalism, journalists and journalistic attitudes.

Details of the study can be found at the Pew Web site (See link in Web Resources below). It surveyed 547 journalists in broadcasting and print. It also looks at attitudes comparing journalists who work in local newsrooms and those who work for national media. The survey replicated a similar study done in 1995.

<snip>

Overall, the poll shows that journalists are more pessimistic than ever about the state of the profession. Their confidence in their management is low and their fears are high about the commercial pressures on journalism.

<snip>

Confirmation for Conservatives

It found that a majority of American journalists say they are liberals. Not surprisingly this has been grist for conservatives because it confirms the impression that journalists are overwhelmingly liberal compared to the public in general.

more>

[trotsky]

1. Nothing new here.

The old study that supposedly "proved" liberal bias also confirmed that more journalists are liberal in their political views.

What this proves is that more journalists are liberal. That's it. It doesn't prove their personal beliefs taint their reporting, it has to rely on that assumption first and foremost.

But more importantly, it says nothing about the media's editors, producers, and owners, who control HOW the news gets reported.

[RandomKoolzip]

10. 2 ways to look at this: more JOURNALISTS call themselves liberal....

.....simply beacuse there are more liberals than conservatives in this country.

And in order to be a GOOD journalist, you have to be semi-intelligent, literate, and able to see patterns and subtexts. This is beyond most conservatives' abilities.

Sure, it's also natural for some journalists to "call" themselves liberal...it's like when freepers come on to DU and say, "As a lifelong liberal, blah blah blah." CYA for the CIA. Remember, even Bob Woodward knows that most high-profile newswriters work for the CIA.....

If their editor finds that what they write is too....uh, not-right-wing for their tastes, that editor will then disort that writer's words to better adhere to the corporate agenda. And the corporate agenda is NOT a liberal agenda. A newspaper exists as a vehicle for advertising; the news only distracts buyers from the corporate propaganda hawking wares. The most safe, falsely-magnaimous MOR pablum gets written as a result. Then those reading it on both sides accuse the writer of having a conservative bias or a liberal bias, depending on the accuser's standpoint. Really, though, the only bias is a pro-corporate bias.

TV network news will not report anything which may sound critical of that network's corporate owner; witness NBC and GE. And it's no accident that most corporations donate to the party which protects their assets and votes to cut their taxes: the republicans.

So this issue is really a ghost. What gets REPORTED is overwhelmingly right-wing-posing-as-balanced, no matter what party afiliation the writers themselves may hold.

[LoZoccolo]

14. CIA what hey that's weird.

Remember, even Bob Woodward knows that most high-profile newswriters work for the CIA.....

You're joking, right? When did he ever say this?

[RandomKoolzip]

15. Whoops! I meant Carl Bernstein!

Sorry!

Here's the link:

http://mprofaca.cro.net/ciapress1.html

Got the two guys mixed up! Woodward, it has been long suspected, works for the CIA. Strangely, Bernstein, his supposed partner and friend, exposed the CIA-journalist connection in 1977.....lots of good info on this website.


I apologize.....

[redqueen]

2. It really is sad that NPR is becoming so pro-corporate lately

How many brain cells does it take to make figure out that 'journalists are liberal' does not mean the same thing as 'coverage is liberal'?

I hope NPR's listeners are more intelligent than NPR apparently thinks.

[Democat]

3. The owners of the media, who set the programming and bias are right wing!

Studies like this set out with a goal of proving liberal bias, then they try to find a way to prove their pre-defined position.

Look at who owns and runs the media and you will see the truth.

[Dookus]

4. Odd, isn't it...

that with such a liberal bias in the media, the republicans are consistently opposed to restoring the Fairness Doctrine?

[devilgrrl]

9. Exactly....

These are also the same people who claim there isn't a market for liberal talk radio but will stop at nothing to make sure that Air America fails.

:wtf: is with these people?

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

5. However News ENTERTAINMENT didn't come into vogue...

.. until the Conservatives entered the fray.

Coincidence?

No, liberals don't whine as much, they report.. they brought about desegregation and the downfall of Richard Nixon...

Conservatives claim to fame? A stained blue dress.

[Qutzupalotl]

6. Hmmm. So the people who follow the news most closely,

know the details and the context, and are the best informed, tend to be liberal? What does that tell you?

[Az]

7. Personal beliefs vs professionalism

It has long been known that the majority of reporters lean left. But their conduct is to keep their bias out of their reporting. Thats the nature of their profession. Or at least how it is supposed to be. The NeoCons and the Heritage Foundation have upended the board. They are turning out conservative reporters that are willing to put their biases on the table and play them for all their worth.

A liberal media is one that adheres to the truth and promotes objective reporting. A conservative media tells you what you are supposed to believe and who to hate.

[hadrons]

8. O'Reilly, Coulter, and Hannity all called themselves "moderates"

so much for self-descriptions having any value

[Paragon]

11. Too bad journalists don't run the show(s) anymore

Corporate backers pressure the editors and put conservative talking heads on TV and radio.

The notion of a "liberal media" is just stupid enough for Joe Sixpack to buy it. End of story.

[JHB]

12. Some articles from FAIR

...countering these claims. They refer to the older study, but no problem. The same methodological problems caused the same skewing in the new one as the old one.

http://www.fair.org/reports/journalist-survey.html
http://www.fair.org/reports/ff2000.html
http://www.fair.org/reports/ff2001.html
http://www.fair.org/reports/ff2002.html

[LoZoccolo]

13. So?

It found that a majority of American journalists say they are liberals. Not surprisingly this has been grist for conservatives because it confirms the impression that journalists are overwhelmingly liberal compared to the public in general.

Big fucken deal. So people who write well tend to be smarter, so?

I don't care about their personal beliefs so much as I care about whether or not what they say is true or not true. People float this "liberal media" bullshit without going into whether or not what is being said is true or not true.