CQR Media Bias
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A n 9 1 n 0 9 iv th 2 er 3 sa -2 r 0 y 1 Res earc her 3 Published by CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. CQ www.cqresearcher.com Media Bias Is slanted reporting replacing objectivity? n unprecedented number of Americans view the news media as biased and untrustworthy, with both conservatives and liberals complaining that coverage A of political races and important public policy issues is often skewed. Polls show that 80 percent of Americans believe news stories are often influenced by the powerful, and nearly as many say the media tend to favor one side of issues over another. The proliferation of commentary by partisan cable broadcasters, talk-radio hosts and bloggers has blurred the lines between news At MSNBC, which features left-leaning commentator Rachel Maddow, 85 percent of airtime is dedicated to commentary — rather than straight news — and opinion in many people’s minds, fueling concern that slanted compared to 55 percent at Fox News and 46 percent at CNN, according to the Pew Research Center. Some reporting is replacing media objectivity. At the same time, news - media analysts say the public’s growing perception of media bias is due partly to the rise of opinion- dominated TV and radio talk shows. papers and broadcasters — and even some partisan groups — have launched aggressive fact-checking efforts aimed at verifying I statements by newsmakers and exposing exaggerations or outright N THIS REPORT S lies. Experts question the future of U.S. democracy if American THE ISSUES ....................403 I voters cannot agree on what constitutes truth. BACKGROUND ................409 D CHRONOLOGY ................411 E CURRENT SITUATION ........416 CQ Researcher • May 3, 2013 • www.cqresearcher.com AT ISSUE ........................417 Volume 23, Number 17 • Pages 401-424 OUTLOOK ......................418 RECIPIENT OF SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AWARD FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY ................422 EXCELLENCE N AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SILVER GAVEL AWARD THE NEXT STEP ..............423 MEDIA BIAS CQ Re search er May 3, 2013 THE ISSUES OUTLOOK Volume 23, Number 17 MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas J. Billitteri • Should journalists try to Dizzying Changes [email protected] 403 418 Journalists worry that the de - be objective? ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR: Kathy Koch • Has the rise of media cline of traditional media will [email protected] watchdog groups fostered increase partisanship in news coverage. SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: the perception of bias? Thomas J. Colin • Are the media biased in [email protected] favor of President Obama? SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kenneth Jost STAFF WRITER: Marcia Clemmitt BACKGROUND Coverage of Democrats 404 Was More Negative CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Sarah Glazer, Journalism’s ‘Dark Ages’ Most partisan quotes in 2012 Peter Katel , Reed Karaim, Robert Kiener, 409 Partisanship was the norm election were from the GOP. Barbara Mantel, Tom Price, Jennifer Weeks during journalism’s early SENIOR PROJECT EDITOR: Olu B. Davis days. Most See Media as 405 Politically Biased ASSISTANT EDITOR: Darrell Dela Rosa The Press Transformed More than 75 percent of FACT CHECKER: Michelle Harris 410 Republicans and 54 percent Beginning in the 1830s, EDITORIAL INTERN: Ethan McLeod the “penny press” offered of Democrats see tilt. less partisan news. Negative Views of Press 408 Growing Electronic Media Over 75 percent of Americans 412 The invention of radio in say the press is biased. the 1920s, and later TV, An Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. transformed the media. Chronology VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, 411 Key events since 1690. HIGHER EDUCATION GROUP: Michele Sordi New Media 413 All-news cable channels Media Bias Seen as Threat EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ONLINE LIBRARY AND 412 to Democracy REFERENCE PUBLISHING: such as Fox and CNN “I don’t know if democracy Todd Baldwin changed the face of objec - can survive without an actively tive TV news. free press.” Copyright © 2013 CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Pub - lications, Inc. SAGE reserves all copyright and other Blurring the Lines Fact Checkers Proliferate rights herein, unless pre vi ous ly spec i fied in writing. 415 Talk radio and Internet- 412 — and So Do Their Critics No part of this publication may be reproduced based websites and blogs Services expose deception; electronically or otherwise, without prior written offered a variety of ideo - partisans often ignore them. permission. Un au tho rized re pro duc tion or trans mis - logical slants on the news. sion of SAGE copy right ed material is a violation of 417 At Issue: federal law car ry ing civil fines of up to $100,000. Do the mainstream media CQ Press is a registered trademark of Congressional have a political bias? CURRENT SITUATION Quarterly Inc. New Entities CQ Researcher (ISSN 1056-2036) is printed on acid- 416 FOR FURTHER RESEARCH free paper. Pub lished weekly, except: (March wk. 5) Agenda-driven nonprofit (May wk. 4) (July wk. 1) (Aug. wks. 3, 4) (Nov. wk. news organizations are on For More Information 4) and (Dec. wks. 3, 4). Published by SAGE Publica - the rise. 421 Organizations to contact. tions, Inc., 2455 Teller Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Annual full-service subscriptions start at $1,054. For Twitter and More Bibliography pricing, call 1-800-818-7243. To purchase a CQ Re - 416 Journalists increasingly use 422 Selected sources used. searcher report in print or electronic format (PDF), Twitter, Facebook and visit www.cqpress.com or call 866-427-7737. Single blogs to reach readers. The Next Step reports start at $15. Bulk purchase discounts and 423 Additional articles . electronic-rights licensing are also available. Periodicals postage paid at Thousand Oaks, California, and at 423 Citing CQ Researcher additional mailing offices . POST MAST ER: Send ad dress Sample bibliography formats. chang es to CQ Re search er , 2300 N St., N.W., Suite 800, Cover: AFP/Getty Images/Karen Bleier Wash ing ton, DC 20037. 402 CQ Researcher Media Bias BY ROBERT KIENER 2013, 40 per cent were either THE ISSUES Republicans or conservatives, and only 29 per cent were De - total embarrass - mo crats or liberals, complained ment.” “A fawn - the left-leaning media watch - “A ing interview.” “A dog group Media Matters. Cen - targeted barrage of softballs.” trist, nonpartisan and ideo - A wide variety of jour - logically neutral guests made nalists and media critics used up 31 per cent . 7 those disparaging terms to at - The claim that the main - tack CBS reporter Steve Kroft’s stream media — or as former Jan. 27 “60 Minutes” i nterview vice presidential candidate and with President Obama and out - Alaska governor Sarah Palin going Secretary of State Hillary calls them, the “lamestream” Rodham Clinton . 1 media — lean to the left has The Atlantic compared it been a favorite theme of the to Scott Pelley’s earlier, much y Republican Party for years. a tougher “60 Minutes” interview K “As a conservative I’ve long c M with President George W. Bush believed that there is an in - s i r and proclaimed “a glaring h herent media bias, and I C / double standard” favoring s think that anyone with ob - e 2 g Democrats. The Washington a jectivity would believe that m I Post called Kroft’s sit-down with that’s the case,” vice presi - y t Obama and Clinton a “soft-as- t dential candidate Rep. Paul e premium-tissue” interview. 3 G Ryan, R-Wis., said last Sep - Conservative talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity have Fox News claimed the in - found huge audiences — mainly among Republicans — tember. “I think most peo - terview “totally epitomizes at Fox News. Some media critics trace the rise of ple in the mainstream media liberal media bias in the partisan programming to the government’s 1987 are left of center.” 8 modern era.” 4 The Wall Street decision to abandon the Fairness Doctrine, which The media are “out of Journal ’s editorial page required broadcasters to devote airtime to policy debates control with a deliberate and and offer contrasting views on those issues. dubbed it “embarrassing” The government said the rapid growth of unmistakable leftist agenda,” evi dence of “the mainstream cable outlets made the rule unnecessary. the Media Research Center, a media fawn-a-thon toward conservative media watch - the current president.” 5 the plan, while some have even taken dog group in Alexandria, Va., charged The complaints are only the latest to actively soliciting the public to con - in an August 2012 “open letter” to the in a rising chorus of charges that the tact [the senators] directly” to express “biased” news media during last year’s nation’s mainstream media — major their displeasure, reporter Dylan Byers presidential race. “To put it bluntly: newspapers, newsweeklies and broad - wrote in Politico. “The decision by you are rigging this election and tak - casters — lean either to the left or to some members of the media to come ing sides in order to pre-determine the the right. And polls show that the per - down so firmly on one side of a pol - outcome.” ception of media bias is growing, and icy debate has only served to rein - During the 2012 presidential elec - that it comes from both sides of the force conservatives’ longstanding sus - tion, however, Democrats received more political spectrum. picions that the mainstream media has negative coverage than Republicans, For example, some mainstream a deep-seated liberal bias.” 6 according to the 4thEstate Project, which media outlets were accused of slanting The Sunday talk shows also are criti - examined three months’ worth of 2012 their coverage of the Senate’s recent cized for hosting Republican and election coverage. It found that 37 per - refusal to mandate background checks conservative guests more often than cent of Obama’s coverage was nega - on gun purchases.