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Originally posted by rmcrobertson
Um...ah...Ender, I'm afraid that the LA Times guy--at least, so far as your quotes would indicate--is talking about a) the public's PERCEPTION of the paper, not whether or not there really is such bias, and b) the mishandling of a particular story to create the IMPRESSION of such bias.
As for the Congressional stats, well, they don't prove jack about what's actually going on. They show that a) the great majority of Republicans, who are hardly impartial observers, PERCEIVE such a bias, and b) that Democrats sorta do and sorta don't agree in that PERCEPTION.
The question of the existence of such bias is a different question, much as the question of the way Americans PERCEIVE crime as increasing is different from the question of whether or not crime actually is.
And as for the notion that the country's about to go down the crapper---where's this coming from? I don't buy that for a second, any more than I buy the notion that we are in so much danger we should suspend civil liberties. Why the anxiety?
Originally posted by michaeledward
I just went digging for some information on Occidental Oil and Gas ... and who did I find an interesting article about ... Al Gore. Seems that the former vice presidents' father served on the OXY board of directors for 28 years (+/-). Never mind that fact that Jr. managed to sell OXY a huge stake in the Naval Petroleum reservers in a closed-bid process.
So let's see if I follow this thread correctly .... Al Gore (Sr. & Jr.), George Bush (Sr. & Jr.) and Lyndon Johnson's family are all involved in this same petroleum company. All appear to have done dastardly deeds to benefit the company.
Hmmm ... Let's cut the tax rate on corporate dividends ... Hmmm
This seems to support the hypothesis that our government is run by a single political party ... Republocrats ... or is that Democans?
I thought we got rid of the hereditary system of governance two centuries ago ... give or take.....
Mike
Originally posted by MACaver
Check this out... a new consipiracy theory... for those who love 'em... geez
http://rense.com/general45/held.htm
Originally posted by upnorthkyosa
Vote Green
Originally posted by michaeledward
I did last time ... and look where it got us .... Ouch!
<chuckle>
Originally posted by michaeledward
I just went digging for some information on Occidental Oil and Gas ... and who did I find an interesting article about ... Al Gore. Seems that the former vice presidents' father served on the OXY board of directors for 28 years (+/-). Never mind that fact that Jr. managed to sell OXY a huge stake in the Naval Petroleum reservers in a closed-bid process.
So let's see if I follow this thread correctly .... Al Gore (Sr. & Jr.), George Bush (Sr. & Jr.) and Lyndon Johnson's family are all involved in this same petroleum company. All appear to have done dastardly deeds to benefit the company.
Hmmm ... Let's cut the tax rate on corporate dividends ... Hmmm
This seems to support the hypothesis that our government is run by a single political party ... Republocrats ... or is that Democans?
I thought we got rid of the hereditary system of governance two centuries ago ... give or take.....
Mike
There wasn't anything to say about the congressional poll. Most Republicans believe there is a bias...and so do the Democrats 53%. Those are the facts...not much else to add...shrug.
Originally posted by michaeledward
It's called 'The Big Lie'. If you just keep repeating it often enough, soon everyone will believe it.
There is no liberal bias in the media. If you look at the run up to the aggression in Iraq, a LIBERAL BIAS in the media would have allowed for opposing points of view on the air. Please think back, research back, do the math; compare the number of stories in favor of the aggression compared to the number of storiesopposing an invasion.
Opinion polls do not measure bias, they measure opinions. If you want to measure bias, measure the stories reported by the media.
Mike
Originally posted by MisterMike
It's always easier to roll the tape of some Democrat bashing the war. But the supporters of the war they bring ON the news are there so they can throw pointed questions at them. War never looks good, and never ends soon enough. So by walking on the set, the war supporters already have that stacked against them.
Never mind the fact we never hear of how many of THEM we are killing, or how many targets we aquire. Just the roadside bombs.
IV. CONCLUSION: BEYOND THE "LIBERAL MEDIA" MYTH
This survey shows that it is a mistake to accept the conservative claim that journalists are to the left of the public. There appear to be very few national journalists with left views on economic questions like corporate power and trade—issues that may well matter more to media owners and advertisers than social issues like gay rights and affirmative action.
The larger "liberal media" myth has been maintained, in part, by the well-funded flow of conservative rhetoric that selectively highlights journalists' personal views while downplaying news content. It also has been maintained by diverting the spotlight away from economic issues and placing it instead on social issues. In reality, though, most members of the powerful Washington press corps identify themselves as centrist in both of these areas. It is true, as conservative critics have publicized, that the minority of journalists not in the "center" are more likely to identify as having a "left" orientation when it comes to social issues. However, it is also true that the minority of journalists not in the "center" are more likely to identify as having a "right" orientation when it comes to economic issues. Indeed, these economic policy views are often to the right of public opinion. When our attention is drawn to this fact, one of the central elements of the conservative critique of the media is exposed to be merely sleight of hand.
This illusion has not been exposed here merely to replace it with an equally false mirror image of the conservative critique. Painting journalists as the core of the "conservative media" does not do justice to the complexity of the situation. Like many profit-sector professionals journalists tend to hold "liberal" social views and "conservative" economic views. Most of all, though, they can be broadly described as centrists. This adherence to the middle is consistent with news outlets that tend to repeat conventional wisdom and ignore serious alternative analyses. This too often leaves citizens with policy "debates" grounded in the shared assumptions of those in positions of power.
Which brings us back to the conservative critique. It is based on the propositions that: (1) journalists' views are to the left of the general public, and (2) that these views influence the news content that they produce. Having now exposed the first point for the myth that it is, we are left with the issue of personal views influencing news content.
There are two important responses to this claim. First, it is sources, not journalists, who are allowed to express their views in the conventional model of "objective" journalism. Therefore, we learn much more about the political orientation of news content by looking at sourcing patterns rather than journalists' personal views. As this survey shows, it is government officials and business representatives to whom journalists "nearly always" turn when covering economic policy. Labor representatives and consumer advocates were at the bottom of the list. This is consistent with earlier research on sources. For example, analysts from the centrist Brookings Institution and right-wing think thanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute are those most quoted in mainstream news accounts; left-wing think tanks are often invisible. When it comes to sources, "liberal bias" is nowhere to be found.
Second, we must not forget that journalists do not work in a vacuum. It is crucial to remember the important role of institutional context in setting the broad parameters for the news process. Businesses are not in the habit of producing products that contradict their fundamental economic interests. The large corporations that are the major commercial media in this country—not surprisingly—tend to favor style and substance which is consonant with their corporate interests; as do their corporate advertisers.
It is here, at the structural level, that the fundamental ground rules of news production are set. Of course, working journalists sometimes succeed in temporarily challenging some of those rules and boundaries. But ultimately, if they are to succeed and advance in the profession for any length of time, they must adapt to the ground rules set by others—regardless of their own personal views.