denverdoc said:
Russ we really are on different planets--the myth of the liberal press. My friend, I know its a matter of perspective, but the press is anything but "liberal" in the US.
We could likely devote an entire thread to this subject alone, maybe you could give me an example...USA Today, CNN, MSNBC, the wire services, Newsweek, NY times, Wash Post, US News..., Fortune 500, Wall Street Journal, SF Chronicle? None of these come anywhere close to what I would consider a progressive viewpoint, much less liberal, but instead tend to be mealy mouthed, don't offend anyone too much, etc.
People tend to see themselves as moderate - perhaps there are few that are more liberal than you or, at least, more liberal than how you wish the US was, but several of those that you listed have very strong reputations for being left of the actual center of the country. In order from most to least, SF Chronical, NY Times, MSNBC. These are certainly to the left (SF Chronical, very far left - heck, that paper is just plain nutty) of center in the US. And you forgot a biggie for TV: CBS. It has likely improved somewhat with the marginalization of Dan Rather, but his strong and vocal liberal slant got him and the station in some trouble last year, if you remember.
Please check out this resource:
http://www.fair.org/index.php
See, that is
exactly the point. It isn't just you: the media defines "fair" or "unbiased" as
liberal! It says so right in the "about us":
We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.
Uniquely, FAIR works with both activists and journalists. [emphasis added]
Heck, they are essentially arguing that the media needs to be
more liberal and that pushing the media in that direction is their reason for existing! "minority and dissenting viewpoints" means anti-government/anti-"establishment".
What's even worse is publications that should be, by their nature, apolitical. But publications like Wired and Rolling Stone are among the worst, largely because they can sneak their political commentary in under the guise of apolitical news.
Another good indicator is what candidates get endorsed by newspapers. It's funny, but whenever the Philadelphia Inquirer calls to ask if my boss wants a subscription (we used to work out of his house), he says 'sure - as soon as you endorse a Republican candidate just once'. And that's a paper that I consider relatively fair. That just means they do a reasonably good job of keeping their bias in check - but it is still there and still comes out especially at election time when for some reason papers decide it is ok to wear their bias on their sleeve.
There are a few in the media who are open about their and the media in general's bias. I respect that a great deal - to be biased without being open about it is dishonest. And
everyone has a bias. Here are some quotes pulled from an anti-Rather site:
"I think Dan is transparently liberal. Now he may not like to hear me say that. I always agree with him, too. But I think he should be more careful."
--CBS 60 Minutes Commentator Andy Rooney on Larry King Live, July 28, 2002
"Everybody knows that there's a liberal, that there's a heavy liberal persuasion among correspondents."
--Walter Cronkite, former CBS anchor, at the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner, March 21, 1996.
"I believe that most of us reporters are liberal...we are inclined to side with the powerless rather than the powerful. If that is what makes us liberals, so be it."
--Walter Cronkite in his syndicated column, August 6, 2003.
Here's a general study of the phenomena that quantifies it: http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=6664
The bias can be detected with a simple survey:
http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/biasbasics.asp
Look, I don't blame the media for being biased. We have discussed this before (not recently...), that different mindsets go with different professions. People who join the military tend to be conservative, for example. Academics tend to be liberal. As Cronkite said, the media will always be, by its very nature, liberal.
