Thread: Is there a liberal bias in the media?

yes, overall there is. the media is full of liberal, communist, heathen, gay, pussies

Depends on how you phrase the question, and the answers.

Do you you base it on many news sources are liberal? Do you base it on the ratings?
Fox news has the highest ratings of any other news source. That is because thye don't have to compete with anyone. But, there are a lot of liberal news sources, and each one has to compete with the others. Then there are news sources like NPR which is more moderate with a leaning towards the left.

I think NPR is the source for the most legitimate and unbiased news you can get, but most people find NPR to be boring as hell. That is the trade off for honest reporting. You take the spin off of the news, and nobody gives a shit.

Of course there is, it's hard to find any money driven entity that isn't biased.

Originally Posted by fufu

Of course there is, it's hard to find any money driven entity that isn't biased.

This, 100%.

Every large media outlet it biased by nationalism, political party, special interest, the almighty buck; or all of them.

If you believe a "news" company isn't biased, you're a dumb ass moron.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

I believe there is, but I'd like to hear other peoples opinions on this.

You know, I'm curious as to your reasons for believing that there is an overall liberal bias in news journalism. The state you live is going to have different news programming than other states.

For instance, all there is down here in Alabama is rightwing nuts on both AM and FM radio. I was introduced to politics by Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. It was a few years before I found BBC and NPR and had access to real news.

David Cross said it best:
"You know it's fucked up that I have to tune in to other county's news to find out about what is really going on in my country!"

Originally Posted by KelJu

It was a few years before I found BBC and NPR and had access to real news.

Originally Posted by KelJu

David Cross said it best:
"You know it's fucked up that I have to tune in to other county's news to find out about what is really going on in my country!"

Originally Posted by DOMS

Which are you laughing at? BBC, NPR, or both?

Originally Posted by KelJu

Which are you laughing at? BBC, NPR, or both?

Yeah I gotta admit Kelju, the BBC is pretty shit and it's basically the serving governments puppy dog.

Best online news: www.guardian.co.uk

Navigating the website can take a while to get to grips with and yes some of it can come off as a bit middle-class, but for unbiased and informative news, it can't be beaten.

Originally Posted by KelJu

Which are you laughing at? BBC, NPR, or both?

Both.

They both take a very anti-American slant. I'm not just talking about reporting the shit that the US does, but putting a negative spin on nearly everything they have to say about the US. The NPR also has a pro-Democrat stance.

Originally Posted by KelJu

Which are you laughing at? BBC, NPR, or both?

Don't fret, NPR is a very good news source...I've even heard them give apologies for using biased words or not getting the full scope on a report before. BBC is decent too, don't trust them on world news anymore than US sources...I mean you'll get the gist of what's going on but sometimes they'll try to sway your opinion by presenting a one-sided view; Things like "Militant Rebel's laid siege to the Government Compound in Botswana for the 2nd day today in what can only be described as an illegal grasp for power", (when in reality they are protestors getting rowdy because the gov. has treated them like shit)

We also have to think about who enters journalism, I don't think as many conservatives get into a career like that, it's too much like liberal arts...they want to be lawyers, stock brokers and used car salesmen.....journalism/arts are for hippies....that's why I think there is a more liberal lean to the media....

Originally Posted by DOMS

Both.

They both take a very anti-American slant. I'm not just talking about reporting the shit that the US does, but putting a negative spin on nearly everything they have to say about the US. The NPR also has a pro-Democrat stance.

Fair points. I did say that they lean left, after all. But, they aren't pushing an Americans liberal agenda. The rest of the world fucking hates conservatives, and that is why BBC comes off as anti American. The problem with that thinking is you get locked into the old rhetoric of "you are either with us or against us. They aren't for pushing liberal agendas so much as they just don't like the conservative one.

I see the US as just another country. There are a lot of cool countries in the world. The US is one of those cool countries. But, just because you are cool doesn't mean you won't be called on your shit when you are obviously in the wrong. The US has done a lot of shit in the last decade that I am very ashamed of, and other things that I am very proud of.

In my opinion, mots people tend to ignore when sources outside the US say things about the US that is positive. You know, like that is just how news is suppose to be. But, they zero in on anything negative. Then you get people claiming that a news source is anti American just because they told the truth about something that painted the US in bad light.

Originally Posted by KelJu

You know, I'm curious as to your reasons for believing that there is an overall liberal bias in news journalism. The state you live is going to have different news programming than other states.

I'm doing a project for this Journalism Ethics course I'm taking this summer and this was the issue I was given.

I will be debating the "pro" side tomorrow.

From my research, in short, I now believe there is a liberal bias in the mainstream media.

As manic alluded to, we have to consider who enters the field. It has yet to be done, but I would imagine if you polled the various schools around IU's campus, you'd find some incredibly telling results as the majority of college students in America are liberal.

In general, I'm a journalism major and voted for Obama, something I would imagine a wide majority of my classmates with the same major did as well. I have a buddy in business who stated, and I quote: "I am voting McCain because I'm going to make $250,000 eventually." Minus the douchebaggery of the latter quote, I've hypothesized that many of his classmates with the same major hold a similar stance.

Recognizing how liberal most colleges have become, Obama came to IU and put on a free Dave Matthews concert. His work at IU, among other colleges in the state, is the reason the state of Indiana was blue.

I have a friend who's a girl who works for the Indiana Daily Student and she's told me that on numerous occasions around election time, the editors would have to confront the reporters with "you can't simply present one side of the story, you have to remember, we're the news."

On a much larger, national/international level, the same shenanigans is happening.

John Eberhard:

By mainstream media I mean the major newspapers and the network TV news.

Bernard Goldberg, in his book Bias, reports that a 1996 Freedom Forum and Roper Center survey of Washington media found that 89% voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, compared to 43% of non-journalists. 7% voted for George Bush (Sr.) compared to 37% of overall voters. 61% of journalists characterized themselves as "liberal," compared to 9% that said they were "conservative."

A 1985 Los Angeles Times survey of 3,000 journalists and 3,000 non-journalists nationwide, showed 23% of the general public said they were "liberal," versus 55% of journalists saying they were "liberal."

56% of the general public favored Ronald Reagan; 30% of journalists favored Reagan.

49% of the general public was pro-abortion; 82% of journalists were pro-abortion.

74% of the public was for prayer in public schools; 25% of journalists were for prayer in public schools.

Oh, and the New York Times has not endorsed a Republican Presidential candidate since Dwight Eisenhower. That means they endorsed Kennedy, Johnson, Humphrey, McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Clinton, and Gore. Does that sound balanced and unbiased, or do we detect a wee little trend?

Occasionally I hear about new books or read articles that try to counter the idea that there is a liberal bias in the media. How can you counter statistics like those above?

I went to a strip club when second semester ended with my buddies on a Sunday night a couple weeks ago and we got hammered. With the liquid confidence being guzzled down, and nothing but trashy, tattooed Sunday caliber twat in my face, I was able to make light of the situation and goof around with these whores like Pacman Jones. Then, these two girls got up on stage; one with long dynamite legs that my friends were all in awe of and the other with tiny little breasts, nice nipples, short, brunette and a the most incredible ass I've ever seen bare. Ever. I was jaw dropped and she could tell I was digging her. After a titty in the face dollar bill was placed in her thong, she saw that I had other singles in my hand. I ended up giving her four dollars and she was flirting with me for the majority of her time. We went back to our table, having left the stage and ordered another round of drinks. With her top back on, she came over and pulled up a chair, AC Slater style, in an attempt to work me for all I had. She explained that she was a 22 year old, my age, who was taking classes at the local community college. Drunkenly joking/blatantly making light of the situation with the other dancers, I was baffled as to how this gorgeous girl that I have dreamt about bringing into my bed since I first was able to blow my load would go down this path. It was unfathomable to me. She explained that she just needed money, and convinced me to get a lap dance which were on special for $10 dollars on this particular night. $20 dollars and 10-20 minutes of more communicating, I went back to my friends and she went back up on stage because it was her turn again. She gazed at me while on stage and I sat there, , while playing it off with my friends and being a schmo.

I regress...

Why was I able to treat this one big titted dancer like the whore she is and yet this other girl make me so smitten?

Bias.

Everything humans do is done with bias, illustrated by the story above.

NBC, ABC, and CBS are all owned and operated by Liberals.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal openly admit their stance. Outside of South Park, the top two shows on Comedy Central are hosted by outspoken liberals. Even ESPN now has Obama on their telecasts regularly.

Fucking of course there is a liberal bias in liberally owned media organizations. Just as there is a conservative bias in conseratively owned media organizations (Fox News, etc.).

By default, meaning that because the main media organizations in America are liberally owned, it can be said that in the mainstream media there is a liberal bias.

With that said, I took a business of journalism class this past semester and we were asked to create a business model/outlook for what the state of journalism will be in ten years. A classmate of mine thought outside the box and said that it would be "government owned and operated," which is simply preposterous and perhaps even unconstitutional. Though I did make a lot of unique points, mine was rather similar to my peers overall. If I thought I could get a better grade doing it this way, I would have but that wasn't the case:

I don't know about ten years from now, but I truly, honestly believe that some day the journalism industry will grow to incredible lengths and though they'll be the pinnacle, NBC, for example, will be just another news organization. Among hundreds upon hundreds of blogs online, radio shows, podcasts, sirius, more cable channels, etc.

Which will be a good thing, because then money won't be distributed to people who don't deserve it.

Katie Couric makes $15 million per year and the ratings after her switch initially hindered CBS' ratings.

Sirius payed Howard Stern $500 million over five years and millions of viewers instantly purchased subscriptions, including myself.

Although a unique situation, I think that it will be pay as you go and the advertisers will advertise on the most popular/viewed source of media, whether it be newspaper, blog, radio, podcasts, etc.

Lets be honest, if Stern was on a national AM radio station, advertisers would be pleading to be aired on his show.

Even more importantly, however, is that this method will promote the ethical side of the industry with journalism becoming incredibly extensive yet filled with integrity. Viewpoints from all angles and facets of life - it's the only way for journalism to be ethical.

Bob Schieffer:

What all of us have to remember is, if we want to be truly informed, we're going to have to rely on multiple sources of information.

Though he also went on to say, so maybe I've just got it all wrong:

"The Internet is the only vehicle that we have to deliver news where we have no editor," Schieffer said. Speaking about Twitter and other social media tools, he said, "I think they're great, but I don't think it's journalism."
Thomas, always good for a sound bite, punch-lined, "Everyone with a laptop thinks they're a journalist."

Denying the liberal media bias is like denying the holocaust: it is a sign of complete delusion.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

I'm doing a project for this Journalism Ethics course I'm taking this summer and this was the issue I was given.

I will be debating the "pro" side tomorrow.

From my research, in short, I now believe there is a liberal bias in the mainstream media.

As manic alluded to, we have to consider who enters the field. It has yet to be done, but I would imagine if you polled the various schools around IU's campus, you'd find some incredibly telling results as the majority of college students in America are liberal.

In general, I'm a journalism major and voted for Obama, something I would imagine a wide majority of my classmates with the same major did as well. I have a buddy in business who stated, and I quote: "I am voting McCain because I'm going to make $250,000 eventually." Minus the douchebaggery of the latter quote, I've hypothesized that many of his classmates with the same major hold a similar stance.

Recognizing how liberal most colleges have become, Obama came to IU and put on a free Dave Matthews concert. His work at IU, among other colleges in the state, is the reason the state of Indiana was blue.

I have a friend who's a girl who works for the Indiana Daily Student and she's told me that on numerous occasions around election time, the editors would have to confront the reporters with "you can't simply present one side of the story, you have to remember, we're the news."

On a much larger, national/international level, the same shenanigans is happening.

John Eberhard:


I went to a strip club when second semester ended with my buddies on a Sunday night a couple weeks ago and we got hammered. With the liquid confidence being guzzled down, and nothing but trashy, tattooed Sunday caliber twat in my face, I was able to make light of the situation and goof around with these whores like Pacman Jones. Then, these two girls got up on stage; one with long dynamite legs that my friends were all in awe of and the other with tiny little breasts, nice nipples, short, brunette and a the most incredible ass I've ever seen bare. Ever. I was jaw dropped and she could tell I was digging her. After a titty in the face dollar bill was placed in her thong, she saw that I had other singles in my hand. I ended up giving her four dollars and she was flirting with me for the majority of her time. We went back to our table, having left the stage and ordered another round of drinks. With her top back on, she came over and pulled up a chair, AC Slater style, in an attempt to work me for all I had. She explained that she was a 22 year old, my age, who was taking classes at the local community college. Drunkenly joking/blatantly making light of the situation with the other dancers, I was baffled as to how this gorgeous girl that I have dreamt about bringing into my bed since I first was able to blow my load would go down this path. It was unfathomable to me. She explained that she just needed money, and convinced me to get a lap dance which were on special for $10 dollars on this particular night. $20 dollars and 10-20 minutes of more communicating, I went back to my friends and she went back up on stage because it was her turn again. She gazed at me while on stage and I sat there, , while playing it off with my friends and being a schmo.

I regress...

Why was I able to treat this one big titted dancer like the whore she is and yet this other girl make me so smitten?

Bias.

Everything humans do is done with bias, illustrated by the story above.

NBC, ABC, and CBS are all owned and operated by Liberals.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal openly admit their stance. Outside of South Park, the top two shows on Comedy Central are hosted by outspoken liberals. Even ESPN now has Obama on their telecasts regularly.

Fucking of course there is a liberal bias in liberally owned media organizations. Just as there is a conservative bias in conseratively owned media organizations (Fox News, etc.).

By default, meaning that because the main media organizations in America are liberally owned, it can be said that in the mainstream media there is a liberal bias.

With that said, I took a business of journalism class this past semester and we were asked to create a business model/outlook for what the state of journalism will be in ten years. A classmate of mine thought outside the box and said that it would be "government owned and operated," which is simply preposterous and perhaps even unconstitutional. Though I did make a lot of unique points, mine was rather similar to my peers overall. If I thought I could get a better grade doing it this way, I would have but that wasn't the case:

I don't know about ten years from now, but I truly, honestly believe that some day the journalism industry will grow to incredible lengths and though they'll be the pinnacle, NBC, for example, will be just another news organization. Among hundreds upon hundreds of blogs online, radio shows, podcasts, sirius, more cable channels, etc.

Which will be a good thing, because then money won't be distributed to people who don't deserve it.

Katie Couric makes $15 million per year and the ratings after her switch initially hindered CBS' ratings.

Sirius payed Howard Stern $500 million over five years and millions of viewers instantly purchased subscriptions, including myself.

Although a unique situation, I think that it will be pay as you go and the advertisers will advertise on the most popular/viewed source of media, whether it be newspaper, blog, radio, podcasts, etc.

Lets be honest, if Stern was on a national AM radio station, advertisers would be pleading to be aired on his show.

Even more importantly, however, is that this method will promote the ethical side of the industry with journalism becoming incredibly extensive yet filled with integrity. Viewpoints from all angles and facets of life - it's the only way for journalism to be ethical.

Bob Schieffer:


Though he also went on to say, so maybe I've just got it all wrong:

holy shit...all I was going to say was, "Who gives a shit who gives a fuck."

As Hunter S. Thompson pointed out Objective Journalism is a myth, he also believed attempts at it are the reason corruption is rife in politics....
to quote "Objective journalism is one of the main reasons American politics has been allowed to be so corrupt for so long. You can't be objective about Nixon." nor Bush, nor Obama.....He didn't pull punches in his writing and I think that is more effective than trying to lay out just the facts. To me that is true "liberal media" free to say what you want, not whitewashed so as not to offend. The most objective journalism I ever saw was the news copy we used to receive in the Navy over the broadcast...if you ever saw Good Morning Vietnam with the twins blacking out portions of the news, that is exactly how the news we got was edited. So bare and to the point you couldn't try to develop your own opinion, all you knew is what happened....it reminded me of 1984 Propaganda or something.....

Check this out:Propaganda model - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia