Media bias

STUDY: ALL MAJOR NEWS OUTLETS HAVE LEFT-LEANING BIAS THAT ‘DISTORTS’ MINDS

• Posted on August 1, 2011 at 11:57am by Billy Hallowell

Story Highlights:

• UCLA political scientist Dr. Tim Groseclose pens new book about liberal media bias
• Groseclose claims he has scientifically proven that mainstream outlets are biased
• Liberal media bias, he says, impacts Americans’ perspectives on important issues

Charges of media bias have existed for years. Explicit examples — and there are many — showcase journalists’ inability to hide personal perspective. But, are the mainstream media biased on the whole? Many would answer affirmatively.

In America, conservatives tend to believe that national outlets favor Democratic candidates and politicians over their Republican counterparts. But, can this be proven? UCLA political scientist Dr. Tim Groseclose says “yes.”

In his new book, Left Turn — How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind, Groseclose not only sets out to showcase that the media are biased, but he also seeks to expose the profound influence liberal bias has had on the American public. Below, CBN sheds light on some of his findings:

- All mainstream news outlets in the United States have a liberal bias.

- The Drudge Report is the most fair, balanced and centrist news outlet in the United States.

- Fox News’ “Special Report,” which is usually characterized as conservative, is not biased as far right as typical mainstream outlets are biased to the left.

Below, watch Groseclose discuss his research:

Last week, the political scientist also appeared in an interview with Fox News’ Lou Dobbs to discuss this important subject. During the interview, he said, “If you’re looking for bias, you’re not going to find it in false statements…the way that the media perpetrates bias is usually in what they don’t report.” Watch his comments, below:

Groseclose also recently took to The Washington Times opinion page to both explain and defend his research:

For the past several years, I have researched this question, trying to solve the following thought experiment: What if media bias were suddenly to disappear? In such a world, how would America look and act politically?

The answer is, approximately like Texas.

More specifically, if media bias were to disappear, according to the analysis, then America would think and vote like any region that voted around 56-43 percent for Republican John McCain in the last presidential election. Besides Texas, such regions include Kansas, North Dakota, Kentucky, Salt Lake County, Utah, and Orange County, Calif.

That the media has such an influence is a strong claim but is backed up by the science.

You can read the rest of his opinion piece here.

One of the main expectations of American media is that journalists can and will remain non-partisan and objective in their coverage of events, political campaigns and the like. Over the years, though, Republicans and conservatives have claimed that this hasn’t been the case. They point to a number of examples to back up their bias claims.

There was the 2004 controversy involving CBS’s Dan Rather and George W. Bush’s faux military documents. Back in June we reported on CNN Money‘s Jeanne Sahadi and her article callingthose opposed to raising the debt ceiling “wingnuts.” And, of course, there was the media’s alleged favorable treatment of candidate Obama during the 2008 campaign.

While there are arguments to be made that these instances, among others, constitute bias, each simply serves as an anecdotal example. Unfortunately, anecdotal happenings don’t necessarily reflect what is occurring across the board. Thus, using a few examples to say that the media are all liberally-biased is not valid. To make such a claim one — like Groseclose — must undertake scientific research. Interestingly, he has done just that.

Groseclose concludes his op-ed with the following words: “It’s time the public wakes up. Media bias is more significant, complex and pernicious than people realize.” Regardless of where one stands on the level of media bias present in mainstream outlets, Groseclose’s trumpet call for a more informed and curious public is certainly a healthy quest. After all, knowing how the information we consume is crafted helps us better comprehend complex issues.