What liberal media?


If there is a bias in the media, it comes from the right, not the left, according to Bill Moyers. This opinion is based on a study, not merely his impressions. Also, Sheldon Rampton, who runs PR Watch, responds to the "liberal media" charge on a discussion board hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists.

From an article in Texas Monthly:

How valid is the criticism that the media are biased?

Since the eighties, when Ronald Reagan vetoed the continuation of the fairness doctrine, we've seen the rise of an ideological press. A study we cited on the air last fall of the 45 top-rated radio stations in the country found that there were 310 hours of right-wing talk and 5 hours of non-right-wing talk. If there isn't a vast right-wing conspiracy, then there's a vast right-wing echo chamber, and you can track it from the Republican National Committee through Rush Limbaugh and on to the talk-radio wannabes around the country, then right up to Sean Hannity in the afternoon and Bill O'Reilly in the evening and on into the night with Michael Savage. It's designed to attack anybody who challenges the right-wing mentality. That's why they come after me or Rather or anybody who dares to tell the opposing view of reality.

And consider this from Sheldon Rampton, author of Toxic Sludge is Good For You. Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry, writing in a discussion forum hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists , responding to a post querying the list about the alleged 'liberal bias' in American media. (I found this on the weblog, "North Coast Cafe", which is written by a professional journalist):

The reason one hears constant complaints about "liberal bias" in the press is the same reason that there were constant complaints about "Jewish control of the newspapers" in Hitler's Germany: because someone wants to exterminate them.

Back in Hitler's day, the newspapers were not "run by Jews," and the news media today are not "run by liberals" either. What we have in reality is a media system that is owned by large corporations, and which derives most of its profit from other large corporations that buy advertisements.

Within that system, a range of viewpoints appear, some of which (a minority) challenge the assumptions and preferences of the corporations that own and finance the system.

The myth of "liberal bias" serves as useful rhetoric to to keep those elements in check. Anyone who challenges the real powers that dominate the media gets attacked almost instantly for "liberal bias," which (1) provides a convenient way to dismiss their reporting, and (2) puts pressure on them to knock it off.



Posted: Fri - May 21, 2004 at 11:39 AM          

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