Yet Again, Media Bias
By Ryan Walsh (06/01/04)
At the risk of stating the obvious, a mile-wide ideological gap separates the national press from the American public. Journalists and other public figures not limited to conservatives have complained about a liberal bias for years, pointing to studies, polls, and confessions of former "mainstream media" reporters, such as CBS’s Bernard Goldberg. Since a biased press is unlikely to report on its own bias, many people probably haven’t heard about an important new Pew Research poll on the media.
According to the poll, 54 percent of the national press describe themselves as "moderate," 34 percent "liberal," and 7 percent "conservative." And it gets worse: while some journalists hold opinions that are truly considered "moderate," most of the 34 percent avoid the "liberal" description because they’ve grown weary of these polls. Others prefer the "moderate" label because, as CBS ex-anchorman Goldberg explains, the cocktail-party, wine-and-dine culture of the elite media suggests that the views of most journalists -- while clearly liberal -- are actually "middle of the road." Here are some cases in point.
Virtually every public opinion poll shows that around 60 percent give Bush an unfavorable rating on the economy, despite the strongest growth in 20 years. What could possibly explain this? Some say growing disapproval over Iraq has lead to stronger disapproval of Bush in all areas, but this explanation goes only so far. The problem is coverage, or the lack thereof.
Instead of reporting good economic news, the media cling to reports of a rising inflation-gauging Consumer Price Index, which is still at a historically low rate. Instead of reporting 4.4 percent growth in the first quarter of this year, the press naturally gravitates toward doom-and-gloom stories of "record high" gas prices. Contrary to media-induced uncertainty, economists expect this to be the beginning of long-term economic growth, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Journalists consider themselves vehicles of unimpeachable honesty; thus, when somebody asks the media to show restraint during a particularly sensitive situation, the honorable fountains of truth object. "The people have a right to know," they instruct.
When released photos incriminated U.S. soldiers in a prisoner abuse scandal, the media immediately showered the public with these offensive pictures of bizarre sexuality and human depravity. But on March 31, when a mob of violent Iraqis brutally murdered, charred, and hung four American contractors from a bridge, the media felt these pictures were too distasteful to show or print. I don’t know if the double standard gets more obvious than that.
Here is an example that typifies the militant rigidity with which the media reacts to accusations of bias:
When Bernard Goldberg decided to write an op-ed on the bias he encountered at CBS, his colleagues, including Dan Rather, were furious. As Goldberg calmly explained to a fellow reporter at the time, "My intent is not to hurt you or anyone else."
The reporter responded, "Okay, Bernie, here’s my response: you’re full of (expletive deleted)."
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