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Media Matters
Neutral Objective Facts
Why have the major media become more liberal than ever?
Suppose that you picked up your paper this morning and the top story on the front page began something like this:
Timothy Geithner proved himself as incompetent at political spin as he is at tax evasion, attempting Sunday to convince Americans that President Obama’s economic policies “were incredibly effective.”
In a series of televised interviews on all three major broadcast networks, the bumbling and dishonest Treasury Secretary lamely attempted to defend the failed policies of the incumbent Democrat, while dismissing as “ridiculous” and “misleading” recent comments by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate who hopes to replace the administration’s wrongheaded statist policies with a growth-oriented program of tax reduction and deregulation.
You won’t find such an article on the front page of today’s papers. This is not how the story will be reported by the Washington Post, the New York Times or USA Today, nor will you see this kind of blatant tendentiousness in whatever accounts the Associated Press or other syndicates provide for the major metro dailies. Nevertheless, this story as reported by “mainstream” news organizations will not be entirely free of a perceptible slant, and conservatives have asserted for decades that the media are guilty of a liberal bias, providing ostensibly “objective” reporting that in fact clearly favors Democrats.
Conservative efforts to counterbalance such bias have taken many forms over the years, including the publication of journals such as The American Spectator and the formation of such organization as the Media Research Center. Talk-radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and Laura Ingraham have flourished as part of the conservative pushback against media bias, as have websites like Hot Air, daily papers like the Washington Times and, perhaps most famously, the Fox News Channel. It is interesting to observe, however, that this concerted pushback has had a mixed record of success. The “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy,” as Hillary Clinton dubbed it in 1998, was incapable of persuading a majority of Americans that Mrs. Clinton’s husband should be drummed out of office for his “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Similarly, conservative alternative media could not prevent Democrats from winning control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections, nor prevent Obama’s 2008 election. And, although Republicans took back Congress in a historic 2010 midterm landslide, the prospects for defeating Obama’s re-election bid and unseating Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader are uncertain at best, despite what most conservatives would view as the demonstrable failures of Democratic Party policies. Thus the question arises: “What are conservatives doing wrong in their efforts to expose, correct and offset liberal media bias?”
One answer to that question is to consider the obverse of the problem: What have liberals been doing right? Despite all the changes in the journalistic ecology in recent years, one fact has remained constant: Liberals dominate the “mainstream” media, both in absolute numbers and in terms of power and prestige. Consider the fact that Obama’s White House spokesman, Jay Carney, is a former Time magazine reporter whose wife, Claire Shipman, is employed as a reporter by ABC News. The same network employs, both as anchor of Good Morning America and as host of its Sunday program This Week, veteran Democratic Party operative George Stephanopoulos. From this simple handful of facts, we may conclude that if ABC News should ever be accused of fairness toward Republicans in its political coverage, we would have to classify this as an inexplicable accident or perhaps even a miracle.
How do such things happen? Why would Stephanopoulos be able to go from Democrat operative to “objective” journalist with such ease, while no one seems to blink an eye when Carney goes through the media/politics revolving door the opposite direction? Why is it nearly impossible to think of comparable examples among Republican operatives? As research cited by the Media Research Center shows, the fact is that Democrats outnumber Republicans in our nation’s newsrooms by at least 7-to-1. One survey found that, in 1992, nearly 90 percent of top Washington journalists voted for Bill Clinton, compared to just 7 percent who voted for George H.W. Bush. We have no evidence that Democratic preponderance has declined, and it may have actually gotten worse. The national press corps was so obviously in the tank for Obama in 2008 that even liberals themselves remarked on it.
Why have conservative efforts to rectify or counteract liberal bias so clearly failed? Several answers have been offered. More than 10 years ago, famed ABC anchor Peter Jennings suggested to me that journalism is, by its very nature, a liberal kind of enterprise. This is arguably true, insofar as one has the desire (as do so many in the profession) to “make a difference” by crusading journalism on behalf of the downtrodden and oppressed “victims of society.” Peter Finley Dunne was being sarcastic when he described newspapers as seeking “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” but many starry-eyed idealists in the news business view this as their sacred duty, and conceive of themselves as engaged in a species of humanitarian philanthropy. It is also true that, in the decades since journalism became a career requiring a college education, many in the news business have absorbed in their youth the left-leaning perspective that pervades academia. Thus we might say that selection bias is at work: More liberals than conservatives are attracted to the news business, and the process by which journalists are educated tends to inculcate liberal views. Once the news business became dominated by liberals, conservatives were discouraged from entering the profession and hindered in their advancement if they did seek journalism careers.
If journalists are so much more liberal than the average news-consumer, wouldn’t competition for readers and viewers favor conservative alternatives? This seems logical, but ignores the difficulty of producing such alternatives, given the obvious shortage of conservatives in the news business. As I’ve often remarked, smart liberals go to journalism school, while smart conservatives go to law school. Among young conservatives, there are plenty of wannabe pundits — clever writers who wants to be the next Ann Coulter or the next Charles Krauthammer — but relatively few who want to spend years toiling in relative obscurity as beat reporters covering regular news, working their way up the ranks to become senior editors, producers and executives. Staffing a news organization with an all-liberal staff is a piece of cake in an industry where Democrats so vastly outnumber Republicans. Staffing a conservative news operation is more difficult, as was illustrated by the recent exposure of a “mole” inside Fox News.
In fact, it might be argued that Fox News has become part of the problem it was intended to solve. True, Fox News has been the number one cable network for the past decade, but its viewership is still only a fraction of the national new audience. In January of this year, the nightly audience for the three major broadcast networks’ evening news programs averaged a combined 24.2 million viewers (9.3 million for NBC, 8.2 million for ABC, 6.7 million for CBS). By comparison, the highest-rated program for Fox News, “The O’Reilly Factor,” averages less than 3 million views nightly. The very existence of a conservative-friendly TV news alternative, however, relieves liberals at other networks of any twinge of conscience about bias in their programming. They may well reckon, “If conservatives don’t like it, let ‘em go watch Fox.” And given how liberals have demonized Fox — portraying it as an all-powerful evil force in media — some reporters may even feel the need to slant their coverage more stridently leftward, so as to counteract the exaggerated right-wing news menace.
Many conservatives, however, do not fully grasp how this phenomenon (which I’ve come to think of as “The Fox Trap”) may actually result in mainstream media coverage that shows a shameless disregard for political fairness. Even if the audience for the major network news broadcasts slowly shrinks, that audience — like the readership of liberal “mainstream” newspapers — is still much larger than the audience reached by conservative alternative media. Yet too many conservatives have been lulled into complacency. Self-selecting their media choices (Fox News, talk-radio, conservative websites, etc.) many conservatives may believe that their viewpoint is adequately represented in the overall media ecology, when in fact the larger news industry is as liberal as it ever was, if not more so.
In this crucial election year, when Republicans are attempting to hold on to the House of Representatives, gain a majority in the Senate and retake the White House, the headwinds of liberal media bias can be expected to blow as fiercely as ever. Thus we return to the sarcastic example cited at the opening of this column: If you believe that the wrongheaded statism of the Obama administration’s policies is harmful to the economy — if you similarly believe that Geithner is dishonest and incompetent — then you should not tolerate journalism that ignores those Neutral Objective Facts. Networks that hire Democratic operatives to anchor important news programs have forfeited whatever claim to “fairness” they ever had.
About the Author
Robert Stacy McCain is co-author (with Lynn Vincent) of Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party (Nelson Current). He blogs at The Other McCain.
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JimP| 4.16.12 @ 7:45AM
I disagree with the statement that Fox News is conservative. It has a some conservatives who work there. Otherwise it is an info-tainment channel. O'Reilly is a moderate statist. Greta is a moderate leftwinger. Hannity of course is a Reagan conservative. The vast majority of the remainder of Fox's programming is middle of the road politically or straight reporting on non political stories, and of course they love the arguing heads format which leads nowhere since Fox allows hacks to spout political propaganda and out and out lies. With no judge to issue a final ruling on which side is telling the truth, the arguing heads/fair and balanced routine is pointless as a means of pursuasion for conservativism.
Jack in Wi.| 4.16.12 @ 8:05AM
There is no real conservative mass media. Fox news just is a just a business that plays to a demographic that hasn't been served. The same is true of talk radio and the conservaative intellectual media. The old line liberal media, time, big city newspapers, and the national networks are all going bankrupt. The internet and reading a wide range of sources is the only way to figure out what is going on.
Dave | 4.16.12 @ 9:40AM
While rare, this morning I tend to side with ol' Wisconsin Jack's comment where he says in part: "The Internet and reading a wide range of sources is the only way to figure out *What's Goin' On." (*Marvin Gaye/'71.)
It is for now.
However, if the goon squads of Obama, Pelosi and the old Hillary Clinton klan had their way, the Internet, talk radio and all things BLOGGED conservative would be blotted-out. Or at least heavily constricted under the steal toed jackboot of a government controlled media. For those already familiar with examples, I'll spare a listing. You probably have one.
Today's query was -- "Why have the major media become more liberal than ever?"
Well, Beaver, they've ALWAYS been liberal. Their selective editing and spoon feed journalism was simply sold to the consuming sheep as accurate, daily reporting, and bought en masse for decades as ... The News According To Uncle Walter.
"And that's the way it waz."
For the rest of us who always had a clue, this recent outing of the mainstream propaganda pushers is like the reaction a lot of us had when it was finally admitted publicly that Liberace had been light in the loafers.
Imagine that.
But today, the Brian Williams, Scott Pelly, and Lil' Davey Gregory group doesn't even bother hiding their liberal lisps. Today, they're ALL stepping out of the closet and announcing: "Call me Chaz!"
And how surprised are YOU? Really??
Pelleas| 4.16.12 @ 3:05PM
".., if the goon squads of Obama, Pelosi and the old Hillary Clinton klan had their way, the Internet, talk radio and all things BLOGGED conservative would be blotted-out. Or at least heavily constricted under the steal toed jackboot of a government controlled media."
VERIFIABLE PROOF of that somewhat "paranoid" statement, if you please???
jstwndring| 4.16.12 @ 4:38PM
The "Fairness" Doctrine is one example. If passed, it would have demanded that all talk radio shows (including Rush's) give equal time to the opposite point of view. In other words, it would have required shows like Rush's to have a co-host with the Democrat Party talking points being forced on the rest of us. Of course, this would have resulted in most of us who listen to his show to just turn it off--which, of course, was the goal of the political left. They can't compete with Rush, so, they want to eliminate him altogether. You see, the Democrat Party doesn't want us to have the ability to chose what we to listen to or read without their blessing.
After that idea got shot down, the Democrats came up with the idea to have the FCC regulate what it didn't have the authority to regulate before--the internet. It's the same idea as the "Fairness" Doctrine in that it would target websites that promoted conservative points of view with the goal of watering down the conservative message. Funny, I thought democrats were all about "choice". I guess that only applies to points of view that agree with theirs.
Joellen| 4.17.12 @ 8:48AM
Pelleas, here's more proof. When OBEYME told the people NOT to watch Foxnews; how about when for the first time ever Harry Reid tried to censor Rush Limbaugh on the floor with a made up accusation. We could go on and on, but me thinks you are a good student of Saul Alinsky, "keep telling the lies and it will become truth" motto.
jstwndring| 4.16.12 @ 4:44PM
By the way, I know you didn't want an actual "verifiable" answer, or, you would have figured it out for yourself. Everything I told you in my above post is old news. My post was for anyone else looking for proof of a verifiable conspiracy by the left against those of us on the right.
Bubba T. | 4.16.12 @ 6:38PM
Let's try this: In an early effort to redesign the Fairness Doctrine, the anti-conservative politicos tried floating the idea of a (so-called) Community Standards Act for broadcasters to knuckle-under to. It didn't get the necessary traction, but like Dracula needing a fix, it'll be back for another nibble. Count on it.
Actually that little revised scam attempt would have been little more than the same 'ol Fairness Pig; just painted-up with some fresh lip stick. See, it's like the ACORN bunch getting busted red handed while doing their no-no stuff, but quietly allowed to slip out of Dodge, and keep on scamming under a new logo. I think it's covered under Obama's Supporters Protection Program. But that's just a guess.
More?
OK, how about, so-called, hate speech? When's the last time anyone other than a member of the righteous NAACP, LaRaza or (choose other) designated minority franchise could open their mouths in public without fear of a Reverend Al, Jessie or some arm of Eric Holders' Division of Double Standards at the Attorney General's Office filing federal charges against anyone not duly recognized as being of the proper hue?
tick-tick-tick ...
Oh yeah, Dilbert, the examples are out there, but I suspect the drones don't like to see them listed. Tends to bunch up the undies.
And that's the way it iz.
Occam's Tool| 4.16.12 @ 1:08PM
Smart Conservatives go to Medical School. Sorry. I know too many Ivy-Trained lawyers---went to TCU with them. I'm smarter.
Journalists are idiots, by and large. I've known my share of them as well. Comes from watching them mess up the reporting of the Alabama Chain gang story, where I was the Psychiatrist.
Junius| 4.16.12 @ 8:13PM
Journalists and teachers are tied for last place in comparing SAT/ACT scores by profession.
Explains a lot.
Soljerblue| 4.17.12 @ 12:56AM
Occam -- you can thank the Birmingham News and the Mobile Press-Register for that hatchet job, which was meant more as a way to hamstring Fob James than it was to report a story. Oh, and AP's state bureau based in Birmingham, too.
W| 4.16.12 @ 8:22AM
I agree with JimP that Fox News is not conservative. It seems conservative compared with the rest of the media. The news reporting is objective, especially Brett Baer. Shep Smith is annoying. There are commentators from left to right. O'Reilly says says he is not coservative but some of his views are, Hannity says he is conservative. Greta is a moderate to liberal but she does the best job of asking questions and most of her questions are not tainted by her politics.
Von Mises Jr| 4.16.12 @ 9:07AM
Jim and W are correct that Fox News is not as conservative as advertized. But Fox Business News features Cavuto, Dobbs and Varney that I find very fair and conservative in principle. We also see Judge Napolitano on both channels often, and if you read his posts at www.jewishworldreview.com, there is no closet liberalism in the good Judge.
Stop whining and complaining. Rush had 20 million listeners and it is apparently increased by astounding amounts since the Fluke debacle. Hannity and Levin have strong audiences. Conservative and classic book sales are dominating the charts. Conservative blogs are abounding. We have TAS, AT, JWR, Breitbart, etc....The new stars in media have been Breitbart, O'Keefe, Klavan and Jason Mattera.
The left panders to the stupid people. The thinkers today are conservatives and libertarians. Your kids will figure out the right choice if you educate them. Some of your neighbors will as well. And there are TEA Patties abounding, at least in the Northeast. So join in and speak up!
Gary B| 4.16.12 @ 9:20AM
Good post...
Gary B| 4.16.12 @ 9:27AM
What I find revealing is GOP opposition to the Tea Parties. I suppose you can consider Fox News as a mouthpiece for the GOP establishment, as you would the MSM for the liberal establishment.
Tea Partiers are true conservatives, feared by the entire DC establishment. Anything from DC, whether Democrat or Republican, is anti-freedom.
W| 4.16.12 @ 9:43AM
Excellent post, Von. We don't need Fox to be a cheerleader like MSNBC and the rest of the media.
All we ever asked for and needed was for fair reporting of the news without the Dem slant.
JimP| 4.16.12 @ 2:03PM
Agreed about Fox Business. Thanks for that point VMJr. It in effect corrects my comment.
Thanks to everyone else as well for adding to the discussion. It was enlightening as well confirming of my own experience and analysis.
Bob S| 4.16.12 @ 10:52AM
Sometimes I think O'Reilly pains himself to portray a "fair and balanced" appearance. Someone as hotheaded as he is either is very liberal or very conservative. You don't see hotheaded moderates. Oh well, he'll probably keep faking it as long as he keeps his audience.
Von Mises Jr| 4.16.12 @ 11:33AM
O'Reilly is a liberal. The dead giveaway is his arrogance, condescension and talking over his guest. I cannot even stand to watch him when he occasionally has a good guest.
Gary B| 4.16.12 @ 12:48PM
I agree. He's a pompous gasbag.
As you say, he talks over his guests, draws conclusions before they're finished talking then ends the topic. I have no idea why his ratings are to high.
Von Mises Jr| 4.16.12 @ 12:57PM
Maybe the same reason Obama is still over 40%. Some people have no taste.
scotchieguy| 4.16.12 @ 1:29PM
He seems moderate at best. He is a bully, and no one interrupts more than O'Reilly. I watch him for the same reason I like Chris Christie. There IS something refreshing from a guy who cuts right to the chase. Unfortunately, he doesn't play fair. Witness when he and the blond babe (well, they are all blond babes) Monica Crowley tag-team against poor Alan Colmes. You almost feel sorry for the poor guy since he really seems like a gentleman. O'Reilly is a jerk. Hannity is a Rush-wannabe lightweight who thinks he is a QB. He throws like a girl!! What is the deal with the football. He looks like a complete buffoon.
JimP| 4.16.12 @ 2:06PM
Sorry, 'scotchie', but I can't feel sorry for Colmes. He must be playing for sympathy or just can't figure out what to say in the segments you reference. Colmes is one of the most annoying individuals on television.
Soljerblue| 4.17.12 @ 1:00AM
Annoying isn't the word for Colmes. He's -- deep down -- as vindictive and nasty as all left/libs. Witness his crack about Rick Santorum bring his dead infant child home. Smarmy, scumbag, sumbeech is a better description.
sotto voce| 4.16.12 @ 9:06PM
Don't feel too sorry for Alan Colmes. He knows what he's up against: Monica Crowley is his sister-in-law. I wonder what Thanksgiving is like in their family? Anyway, Colmes is the personification of an annoying lefty ideologue.
SUBVET| 4.16.12 @ 9:26PM
It proves the point that you don't have to be smart or good looking to be a pundent, but just like judas you will sell your sole for $$$.
martin j smith| 4.16.12 @ 8:03AM
The answer to your question is this: They were always committed Communist operatives on the take playing pay for play. Of this I have no doubt.
Appleby| 4.16.12 @ 8:04AM
I agree that Fox News is becoming a collection of young(ish) people screaming at the top of their lungs even when they are screaming about such exciting topics as "Should men wear skirts?" amd "Do you have an 'office spouse'" which gives the host and hostess on the "curvy couch" (gag) to use various adolescent phrases and most of all to scream.; And just as the people who are their ostensible guests begin to settle into the discussion, one of the hosts shrieks "We gotta go, we're on a Hard Break (commercials coming up!) gotta go gotta go gotta go thanks for coming gotta go!" And "on the other side of the break" comes another screaming guest, probably talking about dance steps or cooking.
And don't get me started on "The Five" or that Saturdey business report that follows "Fox and Friends." I cannot stand more than five minutes of everybody screaming "Let Me Speak!" at once before I turn them off.
Indy| 4.16.12 @ 9:49AM
The have hired several Leftists recently, including Jessse Jackson's daughter. I'll watch Special Report at 6 and some of Fox Business but that's it, I prefer to get my news from the internet where I can read several pieces on one topic in hopes that I can filter my way to the facts and read the proper context. I don't trust edited videos.
Journalism died long ago, I'm amazed at how many people have no knowledge of Fast and Furious or Solyndra...
Anthony| 4.16.12 @ 4:59PM
The fact that Obozo and Holder have not been indicted, let alone impeached, for being accessories to murder, for the criminal deaths of two American agents under Fast & Furious, tells us all we need to know about the media.
America is dying by the day, and the left are the cancer that is killing us.
Bob S| 4.16.12 @ 10:55AM
It's what happens when you give liberals a voice to try and be "fair and balanced". Shouting down is a classic liberal tactic, and it doesn't get much worse than what you see on The Five.
A. Fox| 4.16.12 @ 8:18AM
Case in point...Shepard Smith a closet leftwinger!
DG in GA| 4.16.12 @ 9:50AM
Fox, Shep isn't in the closet. Hasn't been for a really long time. He's a lib and proud of it!
gearjammer| 4.16.12 @ 8:21AM
Fox has news all the time. 3 million of O'Reily are not same who watch other things. Somebody might watch " The Five " and read WSJ and use internet for news. TV not whole deal. Anyhow it is 2 things-these news networks are indeed " state run media" and thus work for democrats. They are corporate conglomerates and are the only corporations' liberals and dems and other crazy radicals want enjoying free speech and they protect their revenue streams in very complicated non free market laws and regulations. They have their media " stars" like Lauer who just inked for 25 million-some overpaid aholes are just wonderful-anyhow the GOP platform shoild include turning over one of the networks who will move it out of a 22 sq mile looney bin called NEW YORK< NEW YORK. But, of course all the so called conservative media types would not live anywhere else. In the end technology will bring em down. Oh yes, their audience, what is left will never ever not vote Democrat. Also, cut into their money. Kill their ratings. Cancel cable. Sit out one NFL season-say 10 million conservative homes. That'd shake their sorry asses up !
scotchieguy| 4.16.12 @ 1:32PM
I just canceled cable. This time for good. I need a nice hi-def TV antenna. Any recommendations?
gearjammer| 4.16.12 @ 7:01PM
Good for you. 9 million 999k more and we cripple the liberal democrat party machine media money stream big time. Money is their ammo=no bullets from us for them.
numbatdog| 4.16.12 @ 8:41AM
"Peter Jennings suggested to me that journalism is, by its very nature, a liberal kind of enterprise".
Maybe this is true of the classic definition of liberals as wanting a more open and free society but nothing can be further from the truth with the hard left libs we have today.
Instead of openness the MSM lies, distorts and ignores news that doesn't support their ideology.
Instead of more freedom they openly support a regime that wants to control and restrict every aspect of your life including your thoughts.
The result is a communication industry which is slowly dying for lack of viewers and a huge rise in Fox network, talk radio and internet forums - All of which they and the government are desperately trying to close down.
TLP| 4.16.12 @ 8:46AM
What am I missing?
is the Author of this piece trying to warn us that the Far Left Media is about to go out there and do their damnedest for their Liberal Lord, and Master?
No way.
Everybody already knows that: The most Trusted Man in America, was a Flaming Lib, who HATED Nixon, while going out his way to "comfort" the Impeached RAPIST, and Serial Misogynist/Molester/Groper/Indecent Exposer, and the man who signed the Waiver (despite being advised NOT TO, by every Natinal Security Alphabet Agency in the land) that allowed the #1 Contributor to the Democrat Party - Bernard Schwartz - to sell the Red Chinese the Navigational Systems that allow them to TARGET their ICBMs at American Cities. And, his Fat Assed, Congenital Lying, slut wife and pail of worms looking kid.
We already know that the chain smoking POS - Peter Jennings - called us a bunch of "Children, throwing a Temper Tantrum" when we Drained the Swamp of it's 40 Year infestation of Crooked, Thieving Democrats.
We know that it was The Vietnem War, as long as it was Kennedy or Johnson, behind the desk, in the Oval Office. That lasted until Day#1 of the new Republican President's Administration, whereby it was forever after proclaimed by the "Unbiased Media" as Nixon's War.
We already know about "What's the frequency" Dan Rather, with his dead air, and his Forged Documents".
We all know that it was Georgey Boy Stephanopoulas, that was regailed by our really, really, way over the top, Christian President with a serenade of the Muslim Call to Prayer, right after our New Messiah got done telling him that: "The Muslim Call to Prayer is the most beautiful sound in the world", because that's what Christians do, right? They remenice on how much they love the Call to Worship of a Religion of Murder. (That's what we do at our Church, right before we nail a dead rat, with the word "JEW" on it, to the bathroom door, in solidarity to our President's Alma Matter.)
We all know about the Puke, that is anything owned by NBC. We all know about the Liberal Publications and their Ideological plunge in to Madness, as they have made the "Business Decision" to spit in the faces of half of the population with their Unbelievable Slant, in the favor of the FAR LEFT.
But, did you ever hear of a Gal named: Susan Molinari? No? She was a former Congresswoman, from Staten Island, who was given an itsy bitty, tint little Morning Slot on CBS, a loooooooooong time ago. When she was announced, you woulda thought that Hitler, had just been hired for the Saturday Morning Synagogue Report. Every liberal talking points reader, at every liberal station went Ballistic. CBS was accused of hiring a Political Hack, who's proximity to the Republican Party, flew in the face of UNBIASED JOURNOLISM. (Or, JournOlism, as it's spelled thes days, in Honour of the Messiah.)
She was made to feel Unwelcome, by the Self-Professed People of Diversty, and subsequently run out of town.
What was the question, again?
Oh, right. The story by Mr. McCain.
I don't get it.
Brad9883| 4.16.12 @ 8:49AM
I love the Other McCain's writing, and this is yet another good read.
However, I disagree with the main point of the article. Yeah, ratings, readership, yada yada.
Question: 20 years ago, would we have found out about Fast and Furious? 10 years ago, even?
That's just one example, granted, but a powerful one showing the increased competition the so-called mainstream media (to include Fox) is getting from what should no longer and never again be called the "unconventional" sources of media, namely the internet.
The internet is the growing domain of conservatism and truth. Mainstream media (again including Fox) is legacy media.
The American Hitman| 4.16.12 @ 9:23AM
Faux News ain't conservative. Neither is the American Hitman. Both are GOP mouthpieces and hostile to conservatives.
Bob S| 4.16.12 @ 10:58AM
Well now we know you're on the Media Matters payroll, Mr. Faux News.
The American Hitman| 4.16.12 @ 11:19AM
typical GOP hackery. Hey Faux Noise Fan: Boo!
The American Hitman| 4.16.12 @ 9:27AM
A more interesting article would be, Why Have Conservative Media Become More Liberal?
loco| 4.16.12 @ 9:43AM
Do local reporters make any difference? Many local personalities in my area have second jobs. How about a debate using small station reporters who have the guts to ask questions like how do you defend costly and numerous vacations in this economy?
Frank Drackman| 4.16.12 @ 10:03AM
Sean Hannity couldnt carry Michael Savage's Jock Strap.
Moe Blotz| 4.16.12 @ 12:03PM
Could he carry his Wiener?
albert constantine jr.| 4.16.12 @ 5:44PM
I see your Michael Savage and raise you one Mark Levin.
Support Functions Are Relative| 4.16.12 @ 6:03PM
Who does more to combat liberalism and tyranny:
Drackman or Hannity?
Who is fixated on the language of the gutter reminiscent of liberal trolls:
Drackman or Hannity?
Alice Moore| 4.16.12 @ 10:05AM
Robert Stacy McCain, your article is food for thought. My father was a journalist in the 1950s and 1960s. His journalism was of the old school. That would be as close to Objectivity as possible.
Even pre Woodward/Bernstein journalists have tended to statist sympathies. My father admitted to this and said it was difficult to keep perspective. News stories that are man bites dog variations are what sells papers. If one covers this day in and day out it's easy to come to the conclusion that if the human race did not have their collective heads attached they would lose them. It's easy to forget that the majority of the populace is only mentioned in the papers at birth, marriage, and death. They also live their lives with competence. That is not newsworthy. My father always kept this in mind. Many journalists lost that perspective, though. It was easy to think that only if there were a law, a program, different educational methods...
Most reporters of today do not even start with that perspective. They are journalists because of beliefs and ideals. A conservative may not be willing to be a beat reporter because of probable hostility to their ideals.
On the positive side Liberals do poorly in the large Talk Radio market. NPR wouldn't exist on a national scale without subsidies.
We have to concede that it will be a long process for conservatives to develop that Secret Sauce as a true alternative to the MSM. Right now, there is only a niche.
I consider my father the best of old school journalists. He was a Liberal Democrat(voted for McGovern in 1972) until his death. He did encourage me to have independence in thought. I do not know what he would have thought of today's propagandistic journalism.
Russel| 4.16.12 @ 10:11AM
Agree with JimP about Fox , they may be " fair " but not balanced by any stretch . Their radio news with Lisa Brady stink with liberal think . Interesting how OReilly picks up so much favoritism ; are there that many fence sitters out there ? . And the socilist's complain about it . The only sliver of conservatism left and they want its head . Goebbels would be proud .
Phil Byler| 4.16.12 @ 10:29AM
Good question posed by Robert Stacy McCain.
Another good question: why is the GOP establishment intent on nominating a Northeast liberal who has never walked the walk of being a conservative?
Mike| 4.16.12 @ 10:46AM
Phil. Because the voters have voted for him.
Martin | 4.16.12 @ 3:59PM
The GOP Establishment was in the tank for Romney long before any votes were cast.
Mike| 4.16.12 @ 9:31PM
You still have to win the primaries.
C. S. P. Schofield| 4.16.12 @ 10:40AM
Part of the problem is the myth that unbiased media are even possible. Fox's "We report, You decide" fell into this trap. Media seeking to combat the pervasive Liberal bias should come out and say "All media are biased. We admit it. They don't. Here's our slant on things."
Peppermint Tea| 4.16.12 @ 11:10AM
I listened to Geithner's lies on the radio last night. He even was questioned about the debt, and it was either a softball, or the interviewer didn't dare follow up when Timmy said it was only a problem in the long term.
WAKE UP America, the long term is about 10 months from now.
Too bad the "Journalist" didn't mock his rose-colored glasses, after all, Timmy was mocking his real concern over debt. Or was it real? With this media you never know. It may have been a setup to assuage the fears of the Tea Party sympathizers.
martin j smith| 4.16.12 @ 11:17AM
The problem concerning Fox's " We report you decide is problematical because it rests on their report. Here is why: If they treat every view as the "truth" then for Fox you chose your "truth" based on what ? What is missing in many cases is what is called investigative journalism. Now this means some one who questions both sides truth.
Their lies the problem. Even in Fox the "news" or the " We report " lacks the questi0oning at least some of the time. But then again "You can fool some of the people some of the time" ( or is it all of the time ) but you cannot fool all of the people etc. And right now the main reason why people cannot be so easily fooled is because they must buy stuff and also thusly look at their pocket books and thusly have a job or some cource of enough money.
physicsnut| 4.16.12 @ 11:18AM
what a waste of time blabbering about "bias" and having a "double standard" and "more liberal". How about exposing their tactics and what to do to counteract them.
Mattled| 4.16.12 @ 11:40AM
I agree physicsnut---- I have been asking someone to start an ad campaign and run just one billboard with George Stephanopoulos , Matt Liar and Brian Williams faces on them with YOU LIE underneath.
Or BIASED DEMOCRAT JOURNALIST --- it costs around 3k for a billboard along an interstate. Take pictures, go viral and let them defend themselves instead of us constantly on defense. Love Newsbusters, but 99% of their biz plan is defense. I have not the resources to get this done, but if RSMcCain will buy it and place it, I will send $250.
Russel| 4.16.12 @ 9:39PM
Right on , do you recall the " Miss me yet ? " w Bush ? . No one knew where they came from , but they went viral . Excellent way to squeeze the Lames where it counts .
martin j smith| 4.16.12 @ 11:20AM
On Geithner I would say if he actually meant that Obama's policies are working exactly as they are supposed ,to meaning to say destroying our nation he is then absolutely correct. Destroying our economy and thus our nation.
Bob K.| 4.16.12 @ 11:35AM
There has always been a Government/Media Axis. the Democrats have just been more crassly open in how they use it and exploit it. Stephanopoulos is one of the most recent, and best, examples.
Multi-media owners and publishers are big time intimates with the political powers that be. The more powerful the politician is the more of these moguls you will see at the parties he or she throws.
albert constantine jr.| 4.16.12 @ 5:48PM
One upon a time, though, the Republican or Democrat newspaper called itself "the Arkansas Democrat" or "the Cheyenne Republican". It is when the pretense of objectivity crept in during the mid-20th century that journalism came to be seen as something other than a mouthpiece for one political organization or another.
martin j smith| 4.16.12 @ 11:54AM
Is it not time to ask the question: Why bother with TV ? Why support what amounts our "enemies" and why watch "News" that are truly lies. You know voting with ones pocket book is not such a bad idea.
I believe it will have to come to that. Complaining and reporting about the media is limited in scope it is action that counts. Its about MOOOOOOONey. Ding --Do you get it? Does the light bulb light up ?
1ConservativeUSA| 4.16.12 @ 12:11PM
Fox News is conservative compared to the utterly liberal networks and cable channels.
However, O'Reilly is a big disappointment to me when he rails against "Big Oil" and demonizes profits in that industry. No conservative should demonize capitalism, free markets, and least of all, profit.
When he does this, O'Reilly is not "looking out for the folks", he is looking out for his ratings and sponsorship. He is playing to a lower denominator, much like the populist, Obama.
I believe O'Reilly is intelligent and on point with most issues, but he says he is a protector of the folks as a result of his Catholic upbrining.
In the end, the American people will decide what the important issues are and the type of country America will be. If we are smart and value our freedom, we will know to read between the lines of the media bias.
David| 4.16.12 @ 12:17PM
The huge advantage in viewership and readership of the lamestream is the reason I believe Bam Bam has an excellent chance to be re-elected.
Add to that the fact that many voters will NOT want to turn out the first black prez.
And add to that that I firmly believe Hillary will be his running mate this time. Does anyone think any repub has a chance against a Bam Bam/Hillary ticket?
Lynn| 4.16.12 @ 12:24PM
As a recent journalism college grad, I did not have one conservative professor because in the entire journalism department, not one was to be found. I remember in one class the professor, a former reporter, told me "Seriously, how can there be any Republicans left?" Another used class time to "train our brains" by having us critique a Benetton ad on deathrow inmates and the unfairness of the death penalty. Another used my tuition dollars to lecture us on capitalism's evils. (I would have appreciated learning instead what his syllabus said I would.) If I didn't breast my cards that I was a Republican, my grades always suffered. But turnabout was never fair play.
albert constantine jr.| 4.16.12 @ 5:53PM
Much of what Mr. McCain wrote in this article is directed at someone in your position. There are not enough conservatives in journalism, education or other fields of study where the indoctrination of youth is occurring. I hope that you are able to get out there and practice your chosen profession in a way that reflects credit on your ideology (i.e. bring us the full array of objective facts and let us determine what they mean).
David| 4.16.12 @ 12:30PM
The biggest problem of all is that even when the libs/dems are exposed such as with Fast and Furious, ACORN debacle, and when their politicians are exposed such as Clinton's sexual antics, Anthony Weiner, William Jefferson of refrigerator freezer fame, Marion the Crackhead Barry, Barney the Pimp Frank, etc, etc, etc, the libs/dems ALMOST NEVER pay any price whatsoever.
In fact, in most cases, they are REWARDED. They get re-elected, get their own televsion or radio shows, and are viewed by other libs as heroes.
They don't pay a price, whereas, any little slip by any conservative and they are shunned for life.
The best example is Dan Quayle and his misspelling of a word that we still hear about to this day, but Bam Bam can refer to all 57 states and he is considered brilliant.
tadcf| 4.16.12 @ 12:31PM
Perhaps Stacy McCain would prefer to practice censorship of contrary opinions like his blog---The Other McCain---did.
csj1960| 4.16.12 @ 12:58PM
Good article. I would add that the media is a business. The key to the success of any business is long term relationships. The geographic location, educational background and longevity of employment of all the players affirms the liberal mindset.
Much as Washington DC needs to be split up with various agencies moved to different parts of the country... the media needs to be broken up or outsourced as well. When CNN opened in Atlanta it had somewhat of a rebellious nature... when it was bought and the corporate office was moved back to New York... it was assimilated back to the north east and the Ivy league feeder chain.
Move the department of the interior to the interior... agriculture to the plains... etc. This will also help shift the power and the money out of DC and into other parts of the country that are not doing as well economically as the thriving cesspool metropolis.
This break up of Washington might be the only thing that prevents secession by those parts of the country that have had enough and have less and less in common with the Washington/New York corridor.
Vox Pop.| 4.16.12 @ 1:03PM
Cinservativbes don't actively support conservative culture. Suppose you read a good conservative book. Will YOU post a supportive review on Amazon.com or even give it a favourable vote? Of course not, It would be too much trouble. Easier just to whine, until one day you find yourself or your kids in a labor camp.
Occam's Tool| 4.16.12 @ 1:10PM
The J schools are run by Libtards, of course. Questions?
Jobe| 4.16.12 @ 1:17PM
As a teacher of two languages (English and Spanish) for four and a half decades, I have drawn several conclusions about the processing of words by the American public. The first, and also the most important is the inability of the average American to "read phrases". I have noticed it ever since the educational geniuses in the elite colleges and universities threw away phonics and replaced it with the ridiculous "whole language" approach to reading.
My students will read a passage aloud, and when asked to explain what they have just read, they will find themselves at a loss. English (and Spanish for that matter) is a language of phrases that must be processed as such. If they are not, the meaning is easily lost.
The other conclusion I have drawn is that having given themselves over to so much video, modern Americans' ability to parse paragraphs has atrophied into uselessness. The generation which I am presently teaching seems to be as receptive to education as they would be to having root canal done. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in for a bumpy ride, indeed.
ansonheath| 4.16.12 @ 1:39PM
Whoever controls the schools - controls the culture. When the schools and colleges graduate students whose critical thinking ability is at a level of a 14 year old we have 'arrested development'. This audience is the sponge for the dribble coming from their 'developmentally arrested' colleagues in the media, thus a perfect match.
KennesawJack| 4.16.12 @ 2:01PM
Robert, I have never understood why the Fox broadcast network hasn't fielded a nightly news program to compete directly with ABC, NBC, and CBS. Granted, it would compete with the 6 PM Brett Bair program but it seems to me it would put a serious dent in the big boys' numbers.
Bill| 4.16.12 @ 2:29PM
Veep Music:
1. Gov. Chris Christie: Born this way
2. Gov. Bob McDonald: Sweet home south, all summer long
3. Rep. Paul Ryan: Someone like you
4. Sen. Marco Rubio: Dreaming in Disney Land
5. AG Pam Bondi: Hips don't lie
6. Rep. Allen West: Hello, is it me you're looking for............
7. Gov. Bobby Jindal: It ain't nobody conservative enough
8. Sen. Kelly Ayotte: Rumor has it she's the one be the VP
9.Sen. Rob Portman: Drop-dead penny saver
10. Sen. Pat Toomey: All the anti-tax men's king
11. Gov. Jeb Bush: W's Careless whisper
12. Gov. Mitch Daniel: Rolling in the deep of the Rust-Belt
Citizen Jerry| 4.16.12 @ 2:41PM
Journalism isn't something that requires much higher eduction. You find out what happened and write it down. For those who "want to make a difference," they should run for office, not bring their bias into the news world.
No, we shouldn't tolerate big media that are dishonest and incompetent. We should all become Andrew Breitbart and get in their faces and call them out for the hacks they are. This is not the time for true conservatives to throw up their hands in disgust and let these toads continue to lie to the American public.
Oldefarte| 4.16.12 @ 2:41PM
I'll take exception with Robert's '....As I've often remarked, smart liberals go to journalism school, while smart conservatives go to law school....', in that law schools are as liberal or more so than are journalism schools. In combination with others, as Robert indicates, it's adademia in general that is liberal [from the professors/teachers that they hire]. If segregration of state universities occurs, you have a situation where a state's TAXPAYERS are paying the salaries of liberal professors at their state universities who are liberally indoctrinating their own attending children along with those of their fellow [and probably mostly conservative ] taxpaying citizens-parents. It all begins and ends with these university professors! Why are not the tea party movement and individual conservative citizens of each and every state demanding that conservative and/or moderate professors be only hired at their state universities? Why? For the same reason that conservatives allow themselves and their families to be liberally brainwashed nightly from Hollywood produced TV shows/programming and by spending their hard earned money on Hollywood produced movies subliminally messaging their liberal content......laziness and stupidity, that why! Want to solve the problem that conservatives gripe about constantly? Simple, turn off the GD television [at least the major networks], quit attending movies, cancel the subscription to the hometown newspaper and instead start watching FOX TV, reading news online from alternative conservative news outlets [ieTAS] for a start!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Richard| 4.16.12 @ 2:50PM
Once media was considered to be a tool to inform a self-governing electorate so it could make informed decisions. Now the media governs the electorate by manipulating information.
Petronius| 4.16.12 @ 3:22PM
Who goes to journalism school? Weenies.
Next question: What ever happened to Arthur Kent? Scud Stud's contract wasn't renewed because he upstaged Brokaw. And he was blackballed to boot.
albert constantine jr.| 4.16.12 @ 5:56PM
He was working on the History Channel a few years back until they went on their UFO kick.
Marc Jeric| 4.16.12 @ 3:44PM
ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, NPR, NY Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, LA Times, Associated Press, Reuters, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, are spreading this communist - racist drivel constantly.
Anthony| 4.16.12 @ 4:39PM
To say that the media suffer from liberal bias, is akin to saying cancer can lead to complications.
The MSM are not just biased liberals, they are propagandists for the cause.
Anybody who still watches NBC, MSNBC, ABC, and CNN, after they have been exposed for either audio, visual, or other deliberate editing of various Zimmerman tapes, continues to feed the cancer.
We are at war with the left, and they with us. It's time to stop pretending otherwise.
W| 4.16.12 @ 5:45PM
I agree, the MSM does not suffer from liberal bias, it is liberal bias.
Pat| 4.16.12 @ 7:00PM
Over at the New York Times or Washington Post websites you will never see the following headline: “Some Nasty Comments about Republicans, Our Usual Twaddle”. But you definitely would see a headline reading: “Republicans Declare War on Blacks”. And this headline might be a follow-up to last week’s: “Republicans Declare War on Women”. Previous headlines in past months referred to Republicans declaring war on Eskimos, Gays, the transgendered and Albanians.
Pretty belligerent folks those Republicans but after reading the story following the headline you find out the media doesn’t like some comment a noted Republican made recently or the fact that some Republican politicians didn’t vote for the most recent Obama giveaway package, that one containing the usual keep a little of the money for myself and some of my Democratic friends funding provision. The headline was dramatic bait but the story was simply more confusing Liberal propaganda written in a murky prose style by a zealot with a degree from Columbia’s School of Journalism and a personal problem finding girls who will date him.
Ok, you took the Leftist bait but besides stoking the fires of your righteous indignation, what did you actually accomplish? The Times and the Post write this stuff for their core readers, local and national Liberals and a few students being forced to read their drivel by a 10th grade teacher with a political ax to grind.
After reading the story, you feel you an irresistible compulsion to “set the record straight”, so naturally you respond in the website’s comment section, listing your objections and supporting facts. But the only record you are setting straight is the circulation numbers the mainstream media provides to their advertisers. You’re a loyal reader according to the media, the advertisers believe it. If you don’t want to help the Liberals and their media servants pick your pocket, then don’t hand them your wallet.
Elle| 4.16.12 @ 7:49PM
I don't consider O'Reilly a newsman. If you compare the actual newscasts of Fox vs the networks I think you might get a different picture than the result of comparing the opinion/personality shows. My hunch is that more people turn to Fox when they are looking for actual news as opposed to editorial content.
ggoblue| 4.16.12 @ 8:34PM
i had to stop reading when you said the chaces of toppling harry reid are 'uncertain at best'.
maybe you need to step back. reid is a dead man walking. just as certain as pelosi was 2 years ago.
sack up. obama is toast too. maybe that msm is in your head?
Liberal Bias | 4.17.12 @ 1:38AM
Great article. Keep up the good work!
Bob Grant| 4.17.12 @ 1:55AM
The ONLY way republicans can get their message out is via FOX news, talk radio, web outlets, and PAC ads. That's it.
All other media outlets have fire walled republicans from effectively getting their message out.
It's like we all now live in parallel universes, messages moving past, behind, and around each other but never to - or through - one another.
Unless viewers watch them live, committee hearings, campaign speeches, townhall meetings, debates, or other important political events serve as raw film footage to be edited as according to whatever agenda (or narrative) each media outlet is pushing, with most important news events of the day never presented to the viewer.
For instance, if you were watching NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN, or pick a local news telecast, you would have never known the grilling the GSA was getting at the congressional oversight committee today. You would have if you were watching FOX news, read Drudge, Hotair, AmSpec, or NRO...
Imagine all the "stuff" consumers of those outlets are aware of but consumers of the larger mainstream media are completely clueless about?
Pretty scary!!!
Worse yet, the firewall created over the past few years is practically impenetrable, and the consumers of mainstream media will be stuck on stupid permanently. Many of them are registered to vote!
Jessy Smith| 4.17.12 @ 3:00AM
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David C| 4.17.12 @ 3:08PM
I don't think there's any "Fox Trap." The leftists in the news biz have simply circled the wagnons since they lost their monopoly.
Owen K| 4.17.12 @ 10:26PM
Got to disagree here. I think Mr. McCain is a little too negative regarding the GOP and its chances to take back the White House and the Senate. (Read Dick Morris comments) I also think that Mr. McCain is selling alternative media short. I no longer watch TV news other than FOX Business and FOX News. But my primary source is from conservative publications and websites online. I listen to Conservative talk Radio when I can. I am not the only one. If the New York media is enjoying so much power, why was there a GOP landslide in 2010? Who was it who informed the public about Obamacare? No, Mr. McCain, I don't agree with your position. If anyone wants to know the real reason that the New York media is so liberal, read the books by Bernard Goldberg. There is a guy who really knows these people.
POST American| 4.18.12 @ 11:43PM
"---In this, the UNDENIABLE 11th hour
of the long, long, long engineered and shepherded, CFR--RED China handover,
sellout, TREASON and FINAL EUGFENICS
OP ---"
-POST American
ALLLLLLL we need to know. . .
----------------HUAC/ Nuremberg 2012--------------
albert constantine jr.| 4.18.12 @ 11:52PM
POST;
I haven't seen much from you in a while. I figured maybe now that baseball season has started, and hockey and basketball are coming to a conclusion, you were busy checking out all the sports action.