Study: Vast Majority Says News Reporting is Biased

[UpInArms]

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000900706

NEW YORK A national survey conducted by the Missouri School of Journalism's Center for Advanced Social Research has found that 85% detect bias in news reporting. Of those, 48% believe it is liberal bias, 30% conservative -- and 12% both.

Almost two out of three said journalists too often invade people's privacy. About three in four feel the news is too negative. The same number said reporters tend to favor one side over the other when covering political and social issues.

At the same time, however, nearly two in three call journalism credible. More than half rate newspapers and television news as trustworthy. And a robust 83% say it is vital for journalists to keep pushing for access to information when officials resist.

By 62% percent to 18%, respondents said they agree with the statement, "Journalism in the U.S. is mainly a force for good." By the same 3-1 margin, respondents agreed, "I personally benefit from what journalists provide." And by 75% to 12%, they agreed, "Journalism helps me understand what is going on in America."

...more...

Too negative? What do these people want; happy happy joy joy? sheesh!

[saigon68]

1. THE SHEEP WANT WARM FUZZY KITTENS TO PET.

And nothing but smiling faces in the Town of Perfect.

AND FOR SURE !!!! None of those nasty Black Rap Guys either

[rodeodance]

3. fox et al will be all over this.

[saigon68]

28. KICK

[BillZBubb]

2. The sheeple are confused.

The right wing has convinced them that the journalists and thus the media are a bunch of wacky liberals. But at the same time some have figured out that journalists need to keep pushing for information. Maybe one day the truth will dawn on them, but we need to keep informing people that it's the owners who call the shots, not the reporters.

That too negative thing is absurd. Maybe they want "Oh what a wonderful news day. Only two US soldiers were killed in Iraq, this is so nice, because yesterday three died. Things are improving!"

[meganmonkey]

5. Mind-boggling, isn't it?

48% think there is a liberal bias? What f*cking planet are they on?!
I can't even fathom...

:wtf:

[jojo54]

4. I feel sorry for the sheeples

they are so empty headed. At least we, who REALLY know what is going on, will challange, debate and fight like hell to discount the lies and trickery.

Your last comment reminded me of the movie "Demolition Man". Damn, I don't want a society like that one. 'Greetings and salutations' AAAAGGGGGHHHHH. :banghead:

[progressivebydesign]

6. This only proves that 48% of those polled are completely stupid. N/T

[nolabels]

18. How about the 12% ? Can we ponder that # also?

This naming and categorizing the general population. Promoting the idea of them needing to take sides etc. is just game that is played. It's all about needing others to take on battles that the rich and privileged people can't take on them selves. The rich and privileged are part of a ever diminishing number in the population. As much as we can ignore that vicious cycle they want us to be in and embrace our commonality, the more we be able to see in ways we can all gain..

The minute we get off the boat and see that we are no better than any other person is that time that power gets released. I hate to preach but I only consider myself a person, the rest of what I am is all subject to change. In time everything is eventually broken apart in one way or another, so why give it any help?

Really I think we should invent some new words and terminology to describe what is taking place here. If we can all figure out how we can have commonality and work together on things then the perpetrators of these myths will be the odd ones out

[alcuno]

29. Yeah, what is 12% bias both ways?

What on Earth does that mean?

[bettyellen]

31. that some shows are biased liberal and other shows are bias conservative..

[agincourt]

7. 48% of americans surveyed,

believe the sun spins real fast around the floating disc called earth, and that angels dancing on pins power the whole thing.

[demokatgurrl]

8. This just in- vast majority starting to wake up. Oh maybe not

if they really think U.S. journalism is a "force for good". And that there is a liberal bias. Even the Village Voice is turning right.

[Wright Patman]

9. Perhaps the answer

is for even the avowed liberal journalists to write and report everything from now on as if they were hard-right Faux network maniacs.

If people see the entire media giving out the message that * is God, they will (perhaps) finally begin to question the regime. Then we could have a latterdays-of-the-Soviet-Union scenario develop wherein everyone realizes that the truth is the opposite of what the media say it is. This led to "samizdat" publishing, which is analogous to today's blogs.

In truth, a larger percentage of journalists vote Democratic than not. That cannot be denied. They also tend to be more socially liberal (e.g., gay rights, abortion rights). This subject matter is not popular with flyover country and is a reason for the continuing resentment and labeling of media as "liberal."

Economic issues are hardly ever addressed by any stripe of journalist, so that is not why journalists are being called liberal. Of course, that is just fine with the people at the top of the wealth pyramid.

[BiggJawn]

12. I'm there already.

"Then we could have a latterdays-of-the-Soviet-Union scenario develop wherein everyone realizes that the truth is the opposite of what the media say it is."

If the forecast is for sunny, I carry a bumbershoot.

"If people see the entire media giving out the message that * is God, they will (perhaps) finally begin to question the regime. "

You really think so? I believe they'll come to the conclussion that everything's just hunky-dory with the world because The Boy-King has Gawd's face shining on him.

[dbt]

10. SHOW ME THE LIBERAL BIAS!

Point it out. Underline it, highlight it, hyperlink it. WHERE IS IT???

:argh:

[peterh]

21. Ya see….here’s the problem….

Wingnuts figure that if ya can’t say anything positive about their king or their policies or about them in general….then you’re obviously bias…..and the fact that one can no longer find a place to apply the lipstick is irrelevant….


Sidebar: my apologies for using a wingnut graph.

[OneBlueSky]

25. it's in the minds of the public . . . planted there by the right . . .

over the past 30 years or so . . . say something often enough, and people will actually come to believe it . . .

that's why we should be referring to the "corporate media" every time we on the left refer to the MSM . . .

[halobeam]

11. Bull

that's all, just bull.

[City Lights]

Don't want to be an American idiot.

Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mindfuck America.

Too late, apparently, for 48% of 'Muricans.

These idiots must not realize that the conservatives were the ones spewing liberal media all these years. If the media is liberal, how did this conservative lie become entrenched in their little brains?

:wtf:

[ewagner]

13. I'd like to see the details

of that poll....like what method they used, questions asked in sequence, sample size and demography....

In other words...I think it's a scam.

[XemaSab]

14. The problem is

that the conservatives have managed to push the "liberal bias" meme and highlight examples that could be percieved as liberal bias, while we have just completely failed to do the same. People don't even recognize it when they see it, in part because it is all-pervasive and in part because we haven't pushed it.

On edit: for example, when the news talk shows get two speakers, one from each side, it's often like John McCain versus Joe Lieberman, or Colin Powell versus Ron Reagan or Al Franken or someone else who is more of a commentator than a policy expert. The people picked for "our" side are either outgunned or they aren't really defending "our" side at all.

Another example is when, in talking about the Iraq war and how the Iraq war is going, they have some suit from the Bush administation, some general in Iraq, some woman waiting for her husband to come back from combat, and some puppet from the Iraqi government talling us everything is fine. And then they make it like we've heard from a wide variety of sources, when all the people they've talked to are trying to push the same message.

[daleo]

16. How do you get this message out, though?

If most of the mainstream media has a rightwing bias (which I agree with), how do you let the public know this? Clearly the corporate media won't expose itself. It is quite a conundrum.

[XemaSab]

23. Refuse to play their game

Don't go on shows like O'Reilly's where the goal is to make the Liberal look stupid instead of letting him air his perspective, for starters.

Also, don't put up with shit, like O'Reilly and Al Franken at the book fair. If they do something retarded, call them on it.

I don't know what we can do about supposed "hard" news pieces other than have a team of liberal attack dogs flooding the station with letters every time they air something that shows bias, like the Christian right does.

That's actually not a bad strategy.

[daleo]

24. The part about the "entertainment" news might be good

Showing up for pretend debates could be thought of as a form of enabling I suppose. They will always be able to dig up a pretend liberal, but the facade would get pretty obvious.

[bvar22]

15. Poll itself is biased.

It perpetuates the meme of left vs right, liberal vs conservative!

I wonder how these poll question would be answered:

Do you think that American news is biased in favor of Big Business?

Do you think that the NEWS represents the views of the average American Working Family or the views of RICH career politicians?

[Kolesar]

17. If you are picking apart the establishment, then you have to be liberal

What does a journalist do but criticize the status quo, the power elite? Well it just so happens that the power structure is a conservative, pro business party. For the press to do their job, they must present a position contrary to the status quo, and that means they are going to sound liberal.

[enki23]

19. on the brighter side...

48% think the news has a leftward slant...
30% think it has a rightward slant...

another recent poll has noted that about 34% of americans are self-described 'conservatives' while around 18% are self-described 'liberals'. (note: i'm going on memory here, and i may have the percentages off by a little).

now... for a moment assume it's true that all self-described conservatives will say the news has a leftward slant, while all self-described liberals will say it has a rightward slant. that would mean, of the folks who don't identify as either conservative or liberal, about 14% believe the news is left-slanted, and 12% believe it's right-slanted. pretty much a wash.

and that's pretty close to how it would actually break down, i'd wager.

anyway, all this completely misses the real problem with the media. the real problsm is really damned simple. the job of the news media is to expose the bullshit of those in power. when it doesn't do its job, it is functionally slanted in favor of the policy and ideology of those in power. today, in america, that means the media is radically reactionary in function, if not in form.

[booksenkatz]

20. News too negative?

If Americans want better news, they need to elect a better president.

[Cobalt Violet]

22. I'm surprise 30% can see a conservative bias.

[mmonk]

26. Since 48% believe

the media is liberal biased, it just shows you how powerful this cult is and how the American people are the most ill informed, backassed hillbillies on the planet. This country just drips in an absolute ignorance.

[TorchTheWitch]

27. I'm curious as to why

such a poll was conducted in the first place. Is Bush&Co interested in seeing if the propaganda is working? If we actually did have an unbiased media, there would be no purpose for such a poll.

Unfortunately, with all countries that push heavy propaganda, the general public isn't going to be aware of it until the news is SO contrary to the real life of the general public and/or until it's SO overwhelmingly biased that there is hardly a drop of truth at all. So far, the right wing has been successful with the propaganda because they DO allow a small percentage of news that is at least perceived of as "the other side".

And as for that percentage of folks that are tired of "bad news"... screw 'em. They're not watching/reading news for information, they're watching/reading for entertainment or to have their fears eased... and those are the ones that would turn in their own family and neighbors to a rampant SS killing machine and feel patriotic about it -- not because they're evil or sadistic or feel THAT strongly in favor of the regime, but because they are too STUPID to ever finally come to the realization that for years they have been sytematically slowly and stealthily trained to reject EVERYTHING they used to cherish about being an American and what America used to stand for. For those people, it will not be until long after the revolution is over before they may FINALLY ask themselves "My God, what have I done?"

[0rganism]

30. *shrug* we believe what the newsmedia tells us about itself

"It's six o'clock, did you know the news is liberally biased? In other news, wanton faggotry will soon become illegal and our righteous president has promised to invade the middle east again, in the name of our lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Now here's Bob with today's market numbers..."