I literally choked on a glass of iced tea and had a bunch come out of my nose when he called the New York Times a conservative institution on his CardPlayer.com video.

Do you have any idea of how much iced tea burns your nose on the way up?

He's right.

Stop watching Fox News. NYT is a conservative paper.

The fact that it doesn't blindly report governmebt propaganda doesn't suddenly make it liberal,

The Nation is liberal. NYT is conservative.

Allthough McManus was a dick the one time I met him.

Sorry Smasheroo. The New York Times, along with the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and whatever paper they have at UC Berkeley(wink,wink) are the Canonical Four of Liberal Journalism. No one who knows ANYTHING about editorial bias would say different.

Back to lurking.

For such a smart guy....that is one dumb statement.

I nominate this for the dumbest thing ever said by a smart person.

who knows ANYTHING about editorial bias?

You're from Atlanta. Don't say Neal Boortz.

you guys are disrespecting the game

Doesn't he announce for the WWE? Oh wait, that's Jim Ross. Forget I said anything.

Read Al Franken's book Lying liars and the lies the tell, or some variation of that, great book. On this topic.

Finally i get to flame you for posting things you know nothing about. I'm not even gonna argue with you because if you believe that you
a) have never read the NY times
have never read another paper besides the NY times
c) Cannot understand basic american politics

Please stop posting thoughts that make everyone dumber

I agree with Smash. The US has been so blinded by hardcore conservative news outlets like Fox that anything remotely moderate is classified as "liberal". When the NYT refuses to toe the government line they are branded as liberal by neo-cons like O'Reilly and Hannity. Its a sad state of affairs when the media's conservative bias becomes viewed as "fair and balanced".

No one who knows ANYTHING about editorial bias would say different.


Actually anyone who did know anything about it would say diffrent.

Anyone who's a complete sucker who accepts baseless statements from unqualified sources wouldn't.

I'm not going to bother to get into this with you. You've been brainwashed or whatever the case may be.

If you want to cite some objective sources of data indicating your case, feel free. If you want to continue on the "everyne knows..." line of thinking, go sit in the echo chamber with O'Rilely, Limbauh, Hannity et all and find out what you're suppsed to think this week.

Finally i get to flame you for posting things you know nothing about. I'm not even gonna argue with you because if you believe that you
a) have never read the NY times
have never read another paper besides the NY times
c) Cannot understand basic american politics

Please stop posting thoughts that make everyone dumber


Sorry you're not bright enough to tell the diffrence betwen fact and what your told.

I imagine you're still waiting with baited breath for that WMD cache to be found in Iraq, too?

What suckers you people are. Amazing.

Let me get this straight.....I should read a liberal book, written by a liberal writer to tell me that there is no liberal bias in the media.....

You guys are too much!!!!!!!

This isn't opinion, it is fact. The NY times has been censured by congress several times for its liberal, undermining views. Ever since Viet Nam they have shown outrageous stories of war, just like they do today. Their NY empire is one of the conerstones of NY Liberalism. Not to say the post or Daily is better, but they are the benchmark for leftists papers in NY.

You mentioned ONE conservative news outlet.....that is proof right there.

This post makes me laugh. This poster acts like every major news outlet is completely right wing. All of the major networks are still left leaning, FoxNews is the only real conservative news outlet. CNN is basically the Communist News Network they are so far left. Don't act like the entire news world is now right wing because it isn't. The NYT is even further left than the major news networks. Anybody who says they are a conservative paper is either blind, illiterate, or just plain ignorant.

Let me get this straight.....I should read a liberal book, written by a liberal writer to tell me that there is no liberal bias in the media.....

You guys are too much!!!!!!!


You should probably look at the dozen or so research projects the last ten years that show that there's a CONSERVATIVE bias in the meia.

Don't let the facts get in the way of a convienent lie though.

Would be out of character if you're that much of a sucker that you think the NYT is liberal.

:whistle: waiting... just waiting... for smash's response.

Is a guy like Smash good for the game?

lol

This post makes me laugh. This poster acts like every major news outlet is completely right wing. All of the major networks are still left leaning, FoxNews is the only real conservative news outlet. CNN is basically the Communist News Network they are so far left. Don't act like the entire news world is now right wing because it isn't. The NYT is even further left than the major news networks. Anybody who says they are a conservative paper is either blind, illiterate, or just plain ignorant.


Again, no.

This is what you've been told.

It's a lie.

Sorry.

Facts say diffrent.

Facts. Remember them?

I nominate Smasharoo for idiot of the day.

Nope. Instead you should read Ann Coultier or Hannity's books, and let them explain how liberals are evil people who are bassically terrrorists.

But seriously.....blah blah blah. This thread belongs on RGP

The funniest part about this is that all you suckers belive it blindly and have no idea why.

OK. Youre right, i can't arugue with a statment like that. It held no information. But yeah, bring facts, not flames like you always do. Oh and ask a few of your friends what they think about this before you emabrass yourself further by posting a deffense.

100 bucks says youre in college, have no idea what your talking about and realize that, and want to look smart.

Do you prefer Bill O'Lielly? Ann Coulter? They lie more that a Persian rug.
It wouldn't kill you to read something liberal to get a different perspective. Or you could just bury your red state head in the sand and believe everything Fox News tells you.
To quote Al Swearengen, C0cksucker (jk)

The Pew research center once conducted a poll of the writers of the NY Times, WSH Post, and La Times and found that 85% of them described themselves as liberal...4% described themselves as conservative and that 79% of them had never voted for a republican in their lives.

That the New York Times is a liberal paper? Not really a point of debate...

Lets debate wether water is wet........

OK. Youre right, i can't arugue with a statment like that. It held no information. But yeah, bring facts, not flames like you always do. Oh and ask a few of your friends what they think about this before you emabrass yourself further by posting a deffense.


I've worked in Democratic politics my whole life.

One of my better freinds used to edit the Washington times.

Even HE laughs at the "liberal media bais" thing as a great peice of marketing.

It's not like I'm unfammiliar with the subject.

On the other hand I actually checked out the facts behind it instead of just blindly believing what ever I was told.

Give it a try some time.

I can link a dozen fact based peer reveiwed studies indicating conservative bais in media if you want. Up to you.

What's the next thing out of smash's mouth? Next he's going to prove that we never landed on the moon and the whole thing is a huge government cover up. And after that, he'll prove with FACTS that George Bush himself flew the plane into the twin towers to do whatever the hell those liberal idiots think he did it for. You can't cite obviously liberal sources to prove that there is no Liberal bias.

Thank You for real numbers!

Anyone who has facts should ad to this tread otherwise smash should really just stand corrected so we can move on.

Sorry, this thread wouldn't make the RGP OT cut; way too mild for Wilhelm, Paul G, etc. :-)

Patrick

The Pew research center once conducted a poll of the writers of the NY Times, WSH Post, and La Times and found that 85% of them described themselves as liberal...4% described themselves as conservative and that 79% of them had never voted for a republican in their lives.

That the New York Times is a liberal paper? Not really a point of debate...

Lets debate wether water is wet........


Hi.

One, how people describe themselves had nothing to do with the content of the paper.

Two, link the study.

thanks.

I don't like reading their stuff....they are just as full of shat as Franken.

Oh, so you are in college. I have some rambling papers i wrote years back that make no sense which i could show you too. please just stand corrected and move on

Next thing you'll tell me is that most journalists are conservative types

Am I the only one who thinks that everyone here is misinterpreting Jim McManus' comment. When he said it was a conservative institution, I don't think he was referring to conservative as in liberal = left, right =conservative in a politcal sense. I think he meant that the times organziation is conservative compared to tabloid-esque papers like the NY Post or Daily News which report more on pop-culture, tabloid, and whatever sells. I think the he means that the NYTimes tries to project a high-intellectual seriousness image, and since poker is now a popular cultural phenomeon, it isn't something you would necessarily expect them to write about.

Again, please present facts or just stop embarrissing yourself

You tools are arguing apples and oranges...

Some of you argue that the NYT is liberal, in comparison to the other media outlets.

Smash is arguing that the entire American media is conservative as it is fed by propaganda... and as NYT falls into that group (American media) it is therefore conservative. yes, It may be the more liberal of the conservative propaganda that you guys are all digesting... but on the large scale it is still spineless conservative garbage...

I back Smash on this and add that anyone who blindly trusts what they hear in the news is a mindless twat.

Oh, so you are in college. I have some rambling papers i wrote years back that make no sense which i could show you too. please just stand corrected and move on


Yeah, would if I was wrong. I'm not.

Can't help you. Sorry I'm not a sucker.

Good thing no one's told you people the Earth is really flat yet.

I don't have my facts memorized, so I can just makes some up much like conservative often do. Blind loyalty to the Republican Party is very noble. Maybe the Pope can come run this country. Thats where we're headed now with the moral "majority" and conservativism. You consevative jackweeds just believe everything that is fed to you by the man. Grow a brain and research both sides of the issue.

HOW THE MEDIA VOTE


Elite Media

OVERVIEW

In 1981, S. Robert Lichter, then with George Washington University, and Stanley Rothman of Smith College, released a groundbreaking survey of 240 journalists at the most influential national media outlets — including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS — on their political attitudes and voting patterns. Results of this study of the "media elite" were included in the October/November 1981 issue of Public Opinion, published by the American Enterprise Institute, in the article "Media and Business Elites." The data demonstrated that journalists and broadcasters hold liberal positions on a wide range of social and political issues. This study, which was more elaborately presented in Lichter and Rothman's subsequent book, "The Media Elite," became the most widely quoted media study of the 1980s and remains a landmark today.


KEY FINDINGS

81 percent of the journalists interviewed voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election between 1964 and 1976.


In the Democratic landslide of 1964, 94 percent of the press surveyed voted for President Lyndon Johnson (D) over Senator Barry Goldwater ®.


In 1968, 86 percent of the press surveyed voted for Democrat Senator Hubert Humphrey.


In 1972, when 62 percent of the electorate chose President Richard Nixon, 81 percent of the media elite voted for liberal Democratic Senator George McGovern.


In 1976, the Democratic nominee, Jimmy Carter, captured the allegiance of 81 percent of the reporters surveyed while a mere 19 percent cast their ballots for President Gerald Ford.


Over the 16-year period, the Republican candidate always received less than 20 percent of the media’s vote.



Lichter and Rothman's survey of journalists discovered that "Fifty-four percent placed themselves to the left of center, compared to only 19 percent who chose the right side of the spectrum."


"Fifty-six percent said the people they worked with were mostly on the left, and only 8 percent on the right — a margin of seven-to-one."


Only one percent strongly agreed that environmental problems were ovestated, while a majority of 54 percent strongly disagreed.


90 percent favored abortion.


80 percent supported "strong affirmative action for blacks."


54 percent did not regard adultery as wrong, compared to only 15 percent who regarded it as wrong.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

White House Reporters

OVERVIEW

In 1995, Kenneth Walsh, a reporter for U.S. News & World Report, polled 28 of his fellow White House correspondents from the four TV networks, the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Copley, Cox, Hearst, Knight-Ridder, plus Newsweek, Time and U.S. News & World Report, about their presidential voting patterns for his 1996 book "Feeding the Beast: The White House versus the Press." As reported in the MRC's June 1996 MediaWatch, Walsh counted 50 votes by White House correspondents for the Democratic entry compared to just seven for the Republican.

KEY FINDINGS

In 1992, nine of the White House correspondents surveyed voted for Democrat Bill Clinton, two for Republican George H. W. Bush, and one for independent Ross Perot.


In 1988, 12 voted for Democrat Michael Dukakis, one for Bush.


In 1984, 10 voted for Democrat Walter Mondale, zero for Ronald Reagan.


In 1980, eight voted for Democrat Jimmy Carter, two voted for Ronald Reagan.


In 1976, 11 voted for Carter, two for Republican Gerald Ford.


1976: Carter (D), Ford ®; 1980: Carter (D), Reagan ®; 1984: Mondale (D), Reagan ®;
1988: Dukakis (D), Bush ®; 1992: Clinton (D), Bush ®.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Washington Bureau Chiefs and Correspondents

OVERVIEW

In April 1996, the Freedom Forum published a book by Chicago Tribune writer Elaine Povich titled, "Partners and Adversaries: The Contentious Connection Between Congress and the Media." Buried in Appendix D was the real news for those concerned about media bias: Based on the 139 Washington bureau chiefs and congressional correspondents who returned the Freedom Forum questionnaire, the Washington-based reporters — by an incredible margin of nine-to-one — overwhelmingly cast their presidential ballots in 1992 for Democrat Bill Clinton over Republican incumbent George Bush.

KEY FINDINGS

89 percent of Washington-based reporters said they voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. Only seven percent voted for George Bush, with two percent choosing Ross Perot.


Asked "How would you characterize your political orientation?" 61 percent said "liberal" or "liberal to moderate." Only nine percent labeled themselves "conservative" or "moderate to conservative."


59 percent dismissed the Republican's 1994 Contract with America "an election-year campaign ploy." Just three percent considered it "a serious reform proposal."





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newspaper Editors

OVERVIEW

In January 1998, Editor & Publisher, the preeminent media trade magazine, conducted a poll of 167 newspaper editors across the country. Investor’s Business Daily reporter Matthew Robinson obtained complete poll results, highlights of which were featured in the MRC's February 1998 MediaWatch.

KEY FINDINGS

In 1992, when just 43 percent of the public voted Democrat Bill Clinton for President, 58 percent of editors surveyed voted for him.


In 1996, a minority (49 percent) of the American people voted to reelect Clinton, compared to a majority (57 percent) of the editors.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Major Newspaper Reporters

OVERVIEW

In 1982, scholars at the California State University at Los Angeles asked reporters from the fifty largest U.S. newspapers for whom they voted in 1980. In that election, Republican Ronald Reagan won with 50% of the vote, compared with 41% for Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter and 8% for liberal Republican-turned-independent Jon Anderson.

KEY FINDINGS

51 percent of big city reporters cast a ballot for Democratic President Jimmy Carter, 24 percent for liberal independent candidate John Anderson, and 25 percent for the Republican winner, Ronald Reagan.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE MEDIA'S POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS

Reporters Disproportionately Identify with Democratic Party

OVERVIEW

In 1992, the Freedom Forum commissioned two Indiana University professors to survey journalists about their political affiliations. They interviewed more than 1,410 journalists and found the percentage identifying themselves as liberals had grown since the first such poll in 1971, which found a 38-25 percent tilt toward the Democratic side. The results were published in the MRC's December 1992 MediaWatch.

KEY FINDINGS

44 percent of journalists identified themselves as Democrats, compared to only 16 percent who tagged themselves as Republican.


Journalists are 5 to 10 percentage points more likely to be Democrats than the general population and 10 to 15 points less likely to be Republicans.


The study authors found "minorities are much more likely to call themselves Democrats than are white journalists, especially blacks (70 percent), Asians (63 percent) and Hispanics (59 percent)."


Women journalists (58 percent) are much more likely than men (38 percent) to prefer the Democratic Party.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conservative Reporters Few...and Getting Fewer

OVERVIEW

In 1996, as a follow-up to a 1988 survey, the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) surveyed 1,037 reporters at 61 newspapers of all sizes across the nation, asking "What is your political leaning?" Results of the survey were published in ASNE's 1997 report The Newspaper Journalists of the ‘90s, highlights of which appeared in the MRC's May 1997 MediaWatch.

KEY FINDINGS

In 1988, 62 percent of journalists identified themselves as "Democrat or liberal" or "lean to Democrat or liberal." In 1996, 61 percent said they were liberal/Democrat or leaning that way.


In 1988, 22 percent identified themselves as "Republican or conservative" or "lean to Republican or conservative." By 1996 that figure had declined to 15 percent.


Those identifying themselves as independent jumped from 17 to 24 percent between the two years.


At newspapers with more than 50,000 circulation, 65 percent of the staffs were liberal/Democrat or leaned that way. The split at papers of less than 50,000 was less pronounced though still significant, with 51 percent of staffs identifying as liberal/Democrat compared to 23 percent who identified as conservative/Republican.


Women were more likely than men to identify as liberal/Democratic. Only 11 percent identified themselves as conservative or leaned that way.


Minorities tend to be more liberal/Democrat with a mere three percent of blacks and eight percent of Asians and Hispanics putting themselves on the right.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liberals Outnumber Conservatives in Newsrooms
by 4 to 1, 2 to 1

OVERVIEW

The "National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking" [full report in PDF], completed by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, a magazine published by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, was released in late June 2001.

The poll questioned 1,206 members of the public, 300 "policymakers" and 301 "media professionals, including reporters and editors from top newspapers, TV and radio networks, news services and news magazines." Significant findings from the survey of media professionals appear below.

KEY FINDINGS

The Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that members of the media were four times as likely to identify themselves as "liberal" than as "conservative:"


Source: National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking [report in PDF], The Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, page 27 question D4, June 2001.

Similarly, the survey found that members of the media were more than seven times more likely to identify themselves as "Democrat" than as "Republican:"


Source: National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking [report in PDF], The Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, page 27 question D3, June 2001.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most Recent Data: Five Times More Journalists
Are Liberal Than Conservative

OVERVIEW

In May 2004, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press surveyed 547 journalists and media executives, including 247 at national-level media outlets. The poll was similar to one conducted by the same group (then known as the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press) in 1995. The actual polling was done by the Princeton Survey Research Associates and the report was released May 23, 2004.

KEY FINDINGS

Five times more national outlet journalists identify themselves as “liberal” (34 percent) than “conservative” (just 7 percent). Just over half of the journalists (54 percent) say they are “moderate.”
The percentage of national reporters saying they are liberal has increased, from 22 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 2004. The percentage of self-identified conservatives remains low, rising from a meager 4 percent in 1995 to a still-paltry 7 percent in 2004.


Local reporters are also more liberal than conservative. Pew found that 23 percent of the local journalists they questioned say they are liberals, while about half as many (12 percent) call themselves conservative.


Most national journalists (55 percent) say the media are “not critical enough” of President Bush, compared with only eight percent who believe the press has been “too critical.” In 1995, the poll found just two percent thought journalists had given “too much” coverage to then-President Clinton’s accomplishments, compared to 48 percent who complained of “too little” coverage of Clinton’s achievements.


Reporters struggled to name a liberal news organization. According to Pew, “The New York Times was most often mentioned as the national daily news organization that takes a decidedly liberal point of view, but only by 20% of the national sample.” Only two percent of reporters suggested CNN, ABC, CBS, or NPR were liberal; just one percent named NBC.


Journalists did see ideology at one outlet: “The single news outlet that strikes most journalists as taking a particular ideological stance — either liberal or conservative — is Fox News Channel,” Pew reported. More than two-thirds of national journalists (69 percent) tagged FNC as a conservative news organization, followed by The Washington Times (9 percent) and The Wall Street Journal (8 percent).






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The American Journalist in the 21st Century

OVERVIEW

The decennial survey, The American Journalist in the 21st Century by David Weaver, Randal Beam, Bonnie Brownlee, G. Cleveland Wilhoit and Paul Voakes in collaboration with the Indiana University School of Journalism and sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, surveyed 1,149 print, radio and television journalists in the fall of 2002. The book, The American Journalist in the 21st Century, is not expected to be available until the summer of 2004, but some key findings have already been reported.

KEY FINDINGS

In American newsrooms, Democrats outnumber Republicans by two-to-one (37.1 percent to18.6 percent).


One third claim to be Independents.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Business Reporters Are Reporters, Too

OVERVIEW

A 1988 poll by the Journalist and Financial Reporting, a New York-based newsletter, surveyed 151 business reporters from over 30 publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times and Chicago Tribune to Money, Fortune and Business Week. The survey found that newspaper and magazine business reporters are as liberal as their colleagues covering politics.

KEY FINDINGS

54 percent identified themselves as Democrats, barely 10 percent as Republicans.


76 percent reported they opposed school prayer and 75 percent were against aid to the Contras, rebels fighting the Communist-backed Nicaraguan government. An overwhelming 86 percent favored abortion.


More than half, 52 percent, evaluated President Reagan's performance in office as "poor" or "below average." Only 17 percent gave him an "excellent" or "good," while 19 percent considered him "average."


Asked who they wished to see become President, 27 percent named liberal New York Governor Mario Cuomo (D), trailed by 20 percent for Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and nine percent for Senator Paul Simon (D-Ill). Senator Bob Dole was the most "popular" Republican, garnering a piddling eight percent.


Rev. Pat Robertson, then a GOP candidate, topped the list — at 44 percent — of those the reporters would "least like to see as President," followed by 19 percent who named the eventual winner that year, George Bush.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WORLDS APART:
MEDIA AND PUBLIC BELIEFS

Massive Majority of Media Hold Strong Liberal Beliefs

OVERVIEW

In 1985, the Los Angeles Times conducted one of the most extensive surveys of journalists in history. Using the same questionnaire they had used to poll the public, the Times polled 2,700 journalists at 621 newspapers across the country. The survey asked 16 questions involving foreign affairs, social and economic issues. On 15 of 16 questions, the journalists gave answers to the left of those given by the public.

KEY FINDINGS

Self-identified liberals outnumbered conservatives in the newsroom by more than three-to-one, 55 to 17 percent. This compares to only one-fourth of the public (23 percent) that identified themselves as liberal.


84 percent of reporters and editors supported a so-called "nuclear freeze" to ban all future nuclear missile deployment; 80 percent were against increased defense spending; and 76 percent opposed aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.


82 percent of reporters and editors favored allowing women to have abortions; 81 percent backed affirmative action; and 78 percent wanted stricter gun control.


By a margin of two-to-one, reporters had a negative view of then-President Ronald Reagan and voted, by the same margin, for Walter Mondale in 1984.

The landmark Lichter-Rothman study found similar results among the media elite. While some of the issues of the day are no longer current or expressed in dated phraseology, the results remain relevant:

Media Elite Opinion on Political, Socio-Cultural and Economic Issues


Political Alienation
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

Structure of society causes alienation
12%
37%
32%
20%

Institutions need overhaul
10
18
31
41

All political systems are repressive
4
24
26
46

Socio-Cultural
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

Environmental problems are overstated
1%
18%
27%
54%

Strong affirmative action for blacks
33
47
16
4

Government should not regulate sex
84
13
3
1

Woman has right to decide on abortion
79
11
5
5

Homosexuality is wrong
9
16
31
45

Homosexuals should not teach in public schools
3
12
31
54

Adultery is wrong
14
32
34
20


Foreign Policy
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

U.S. exploits Third World, causes poverty
16%
40%
25%
20%

U.S. use of resources is immoral
19
38
27
16

West has helped Third World
6
19
50
25

Goal of U.S. foreign policy is to protect businesses
12
39
28
22

CIA should sometimes undermine hostile governments
26
19
36
19


Source: Lichter, 1981, as reported in "And That's The Way It Isn't" by L. Brent Bozell and Brent H. Baker, published by the Media Research Center.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Media Elite: Liberal on Homosexuality,
Abortion and Big Government

OVERVIEW

In 1995, Stanley Rothman and Amy Black polled the news media elite — “reporters and editors at major national newspapers, news magazines and wire services” as part of a larger examination of nine elite groups in the U.S. The results were published in the Spring 2001 issue of The Public Interest. They found the media elite held strongly liberal views on abortion, homosexuality, and a range of economic issues. “Despite the discrediting of centrally planned economies produced by the collapse of the Soviet Union and other Communist regimes, attitudes about government control of the economy have not changed very much since the 1980s,” the authors marveled.

KEY FINDINGS:

Nearly all of the media elite (97 percent) agreed that “it is a woman’s right to decide whether or not to have an abortion,” and five out of six (84 percent) agreed strongly.


Three out of four journalists (73 percent) agreed that “homosexuality is as acceptable a lifestyle as heterosexuality,” and 40 percent agreed strongly.


Seven out of ten journalists (71 percent) agreed that “government should work to ensure that everyone has a job,” and 30 percent said they strongly agreed with that statement.


Three-fourths (75 percent) agreed that “government should work to reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor,” and more than a third (34 percent) strongly agreed.


Relatively few journalists (39 percent) agreed that “less government regulation of business would be good for the economy,” and just five percent strongly agreed with this sentiment.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public Beliefs Much More Conservative

According a 2001 Gallup poll, 41 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservatives, 38 percent as moderates and 18 percent as liberals. On three of four cornerstone political issues, the public overwhelmingly supports the conservative position:

Americans support the death penalty by 70 to 17 percent, with 53 percent believing it should be imposed more frequently and more than twice as many opposing a temporary moratorium as favoring one (53 vs. 23 percent).


Americans support gun ownership by 66 to 20 percent, with 58 percent agreeing with the statement that "If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns." Almost twice as many believe a ban on guns would make the country more dangerous rather than more safe (55 vs. 27 percent).


Americans support lowering taxes and government spending by 58 percent, compared to 4 percent who support increasing them and 33% who support the tax and spending status quo.


When it comes to abortion, 52 percent of Americans support the Roe vs. Wade decision compared to 37 percent who oppose it. Exactly half of Americans identify themselves "pro-choice," compared to 42 percent who identify themselves as "pro-life." Nonetheless, 50 percent believe abortion is "too easy" to obtain, compared to only 16 percent who believe it’s "too hard" to obtain.
Not surprisingly, when it comes to political ideology, Americans are almost twice as likely to identify themselves as conservative than liberal.



Source: Gallup Organization




Source: Gallup Organization





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Media and Public Beliefs Differ Dramatically

The data above are even more striking when represented in chart form:



Source: Los Angeles Times, 1985




Source: Gallup Organization, 2000

Additionally, in February 1985, the Los Angeles Times asked nearly 3,000 members of the general public a series of questions about the economy, society, and politics. The researchers categorized separately the responses of college-educated professionals. The Times then posed the same series of questions to 2,703 news and editorial staffers at 621 newspapers. The sampling of newspaper staffers was weighted by circulation, so larger newspapers were given greater representation in the Times poll. Slightly more than 22 percent worked for the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times or Chicago Tribune. At 587 of the top newspapers, the poll included the top editor. Consistent with the data presented above, this Los Angeles Times poll showed a dramatic divergence of opinion between the media and the public on contemporary issues.


Media and Public Worlds Apart on Economic, Foreign Affairs
and Social Issues

Journalists vs. Public and College Educated Professionals
Journalists
Public
College Educated

Consider self/newspaper liberal
Consider self/newspaper conservative

Favor President Reagan
Oppose President Reagan
55%
17

30
60
23%
29

56
27
38%
30

57
33

ECONOMIC ISSUES
Journalists
Public
College Educated

Sympathize with business
Sympathize with labor
27
31
33
32
52
27

Favor government regulation of business
Oppose government regulation of business
49
41
22
50
26
57

Favor government aid to those unable to support themselves
Oppose government aid to those unable to support themselves
95
3
83
11
81
12

Favor government reducing income inequality
Oppose government reducing income inequality
50
39
55
23
56
24

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Journalists
Public
College Educated

Favor U.S. withdraw investments from South Africa
Oppose U.S. withdraw investments from South Africa
62
29
31
27
48
27

Favor verifiable nuclear freeze
Oppose verifiable nuclear freeze
84
13
66
22
79
17

Favor aid to Nicaraguan contras
Oppose aid to Nicaraguan contras
17
76
19
44
27
53

Favor increasing defense budget
Oppose increasing defense budget
15
80
38
51
32
63

SOCIAL ISSUES
Journalists
Public
College Educated

Favor abortion
Oppose abortion
82
14
49
44
68
28

Favor prayer in public schools
Oppose prayer in public schools
25
67
74
19
58
36

Favor affirmative action
Oppose affirmative action
81
14
56
21
67
20

Favor death penalty for murder
Oppose death penalty for murder
47
47
75
17
67
26

Favor hiring homosexuals
Oppose hiring homosexuals
89
7
55
31
68
24

Favor stricter handgun controls
Oppose stricter handgun controls
78
19
50
41
63
34


Source: Los Angeles Times, 1985



The most recent data comparing political beliefs of the public to those of the media was included in a larger study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
OVERVIEW

The "National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking" [report in PDF], completed by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, a magazine published by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, was released in late June 2001.

The poll questioned 1,206 members of the public, 300 "policymakers" and 301 "media professionals, including reporters and editors from top newspapers, TV and radio networks, news services and news magazines." This section looks at survey results relative to members of the public and media professionals.

KEY FINDINGS

Members of the public were six times more likely than journalists to consider themselves "conservative:"

Source: National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking [report in PDF], The Kaiser Family Foundation in collaboration with Public Perspective, page 27 question D4, June 2001.


Members of the public were seven times more likely to identify themselves as "Republican" as were members of the media:

Source: National Survey of the Role of Polls in Policymaking [report in PDF],The Kaiser Family Foundation
in collaboration with Public Perspective, page 27 question D3, June 2001.





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PUBLIC'S OPINION OF MEDIA COVERAGE

Are the Media Biased?

The issue of public opinion on media bias is comprised of two subparts: Do Americans believe the news media are biased and, if so, what type of bias is it? The answer to the first subpart is clearly yes.

Overview OF THE PEW STUDY

One of the most comprehensive surveys of the public's general opinion of the media was done in 1997 by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press, formerly known as the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press. This research compared poll results from the mid-1980s with the late-1990s, (using identical questions) and determined a growing percentage of the public realize the media are biased. This information was also reported in the MRC's April 1997 MediaWatch.


KEY FINDINGS OF THE 1997 PEW STUDY

67 percent said that "In dealing with political and social issues" news organizations "tend to favor one side." That was up 14 points from 53 percent who gave that answer in 1985.


Those who believed the media "deal fairly with all sides" fell from 34 percent to 27 percent.


Republicans "are more likely to say news organizations favor one side than are Democrats or independents (77 percent vs. 58 percent and 69 percent, respectively)."


The percentage who felt "news organizations get the facts straight" fell from 55 percent to 37 percent.


Of respondents with an unfavorable view of network TV news, 50 percent couldn’t give a reason for their dissatisfaction, leaving "news is biased" as the most cited reason at 14 percent. Another seven percent listed "give opinions not facts," and three percent offered "too liberal" as their response. Those three reasons totaled 24 percent while conservative bias didn’t make the list.



OTHER KEY FINDINGS



Source: American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE)
Journalism Credibility Project Survey 1998 via the
Roper Center at University of Connecticut, April 1998.




Source: Pew Research Center for The People and The Press survey,
reported in the April 1997 MediaWatch.



Source: The Pew Research Center for The People & The Press,
"The Tough Job of Communicating with Voters; Audiences Fragmented & Skeptical,"
conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, January 2000.



Source: The Pew Research Center for The People & The Press,
"Media Seen As Fair, But Tilting To Gore," October 2000.





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Most Americans View Bias as Liberal

OVERVIEW

In 1997, the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) retained the Lou Harris Organization to poll 3,000 people about their attitudes toward the press. According to the poll, those who saw a liberal bias outnumbered those who perceived a conservative bias by two-to-one. The results of the poll were published in the May/June 1997 Media Monitor, the CMPA’s newsletter and in the MRC's October 1997 MediaWatch.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE CMPA/HARRIS Survey

CMPA reported: "Majorities of all major groups in the population, including 70 percent of self-described liberals, now see a ‘fair amount’ or ‘great deal’ of bias in the news. In general, perceptions of bias rise along with levels of education and political participation."


"Those who see a liberal tilt outnumber those who detect a conservative bias by more than a two to one margin. Forty three percent describe the news media’s perspective on politics as liberal, compared to 33 percent who see it as a middle of the road, and 19 percent who find it to be conservative."


"Even self-described liberals agree: 41 percent see the media as liberal, compared to only 22 percent who find the news to be conservative. Among self-designated conservatives, of course, the spread is even greater: 57 percent say the media are liberal and 19 percent see them as conservative."
Other studies show similar findings:

66 percent agree strongly or somewhat that the news media "favor a liberal point of view." Only 26 percent disagree strongly or somewhat that the news media "favor a liberal point of view." (Yankelovich Partners Poll, July 1996.) This is consistent with an earlier poll that found 65 percent agreed strongly or somewhat that the "mass media seem to favor liberal views on politics and issues." Only 28 percent disagreed strongly or somewhat that the "mass media seem to favor liberal views on politics and issues." (Barna Research Group, August 1993.)


39 percent think national network TV news is biased against conservative political groups such as the Christian Coalition, National Rifle Association, National Right to Life Committee, compared to only 14 percent who believe it is biased in favor of such groups. 41 percent believed TV news was even-handed toward conservative political groups. (ABC News, January 1997.)


32 percent believe the news media coverage of the 1996 presidential campaign was biased to the liberal point of view, compared to only eight percent who believe it was biased to the conservative point of view. (Roper Center, Institute for Social Inquiry, October 1996.)

Source: The Pew Research Center for The People & The Press,
"Media Seen As Fair, But Titling to Gore," October 2000.

Most Recent Data:
by 3-to-1 Americans Think Media Too Liberal

OVERVIEW:

In February 2003, The Gallup Organization polled 1,002 adult Americans about the media’s accuracy and objectivity. The results were released in March, 2003, in "News Media Get Good Marks for Terrorism Coverage; But public generally skeptical about media accuracy and objectivity." According to Gallup, a "the poll also shows that, more generally, Americans are skeptical about the...objectivity of the ‘fourth estate.’" Archived Gallup polls are only available to subscribers.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE GALLUP POLL:

By three-to-one, more Americans say that the media are too liberal (45%) than too conservative (15%).


63% of conservatives think the news media are too liberal, as do 43% of moderates and even 18% of liberals.


OVERVIEW:

In the summer of 2003, Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted a poll of 1,201 American adults regarding the media for The Pew Research Center For The People & The Press. Pew released the report, “Strong Opposition to Media Cross Ownership Emerges: Public Wants Neutrality and Pro American Point of View” on July 13, 2003.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE GALLUP POLL:

Twice as many Americans believe news organizations are liberally (51 percent) rather than conservatively biased (26 percent).


Not only do a majority of Republicans (by three-to-one) and independents (by two-to-one) see the news media liberally biased, Democrats do as well. Forty-one percent of Democrats perceive the media as liberally biased compared to 33 percent of Democrats who see it as conservatively biased.

All established newspapers favor the establishment. It is in their monetary and social self interest. This is conservative thinking.

You guys just don't know what real liberals are. Otherwise, this thread is a waste of time. I really don't care what you all believe or if you think I'm foolish for this belief.

Please just facts or end it. You relize conservitism is about privacy? Do you think the Media is then by nature, left? The only people ever heard complain about right media bias, are clueless ,Wide-eyed, hippies (or homeless people as there called in some parts of the country)

The part in bold has to be the worst support for an argument I've read in a long time... here's my rebuttal:

A poll was done among poker players recently... 100% said that they were winning players...

You debate people lose at poker? Well using this evidence it's not really a point of debate...

lets debate whether NYT is conservative...

now, individual reporters and say a group like college professors. They tend to be liberals in large numbers. but, that is another subject.

Even if this study is true, which I highly doubt, do you really think that the authors are the ones making the decisions about what is reported? All these news stories are dispatched by newspaper EDITORS which have been shown to have an overwhelmingly Conservative bias.

To everyone who was ragging on me for talking about one right wing news outlet, do you really believe there is a large liberal media bias. Granted, CNN has a left bias but look at the degree. Fox News and others attack every left or moderate cause and refuse to let left wing pundits speak their mind. Sure, theres Alan Colmes, an incompetent punching bag put on the air to make Hannity look good. Look at CNN where competent conservatives such as Robert Novak are featured prominently. Nearly every right winger who comes on CNN to talk about their trash books, such as Ann Coulter, are given a free pass and allowed to express their views. Putting a left winger on Fox News and letting him engage in debate is unheard of. All it ends up being is O'Reilly cutting off peoples mic's when hes getting schalacked. I can't believe so many people believe the right wing lie of the liberal media bias. I suggest Joe Conason's book "Big Lies" in which he debunks the liberal media myth. Granted this writer is a liberal but his facts are well researched and all verifiable.

Platonic Logic Says Syllogisms are not sound arguements. NEXT!

I posted several studies. Case closed...not that it was really ever opened anyway.

Honestly, a link would have been sufficient. Not only does it save a ton of space, but it allows us to see where you are getting that from. I'm not doubting it was an unbiased source, but it could very well be from allmediaareliberalsandtheyshoulddie.com for all I know. If I missed the source (not who did the study, the source) listed somewhere in all of that, I apologize.

Patrick

Please just facts or end it. You relize conservitism is about privacy? Do you think the Media is then by nature, left? The only people ever heard complain about right media bias, are clueless ,Wide-eyed, hippies (or homeless people as there called in some parts of the country)


Yeah, conservatism is all about protecting privacy. By constantly attacking the 4th amendment, supporting the Patriot Act, etc.etc.

Hey what's that that just vanished?

Oh. Just your credibility.

Nothing to worry about.

For the first time in the history of the forum I agree with elkang...

For the umpeenth time I agree with Ron Mexico (class act!) and Smash...

Just end this with with everyone has their own opinion and nobody is going to convince anyone to change it today. Back to the forum.

Read the STUDIES (plural) I posted....and Joe Conason?....come on...I'll read Fidel Castro's opinion on the matter before his.