A media bias trade

A media bias trade by William A. Jacobson

While journalists at mainstream media publications regularly tout their professionalism and lack of bias, the people who consume their services see the bias for what it is:

Likely voters hold a dismal view of the news media, generally regarding reporters as biased, unethical and too close to the politicians they purport to cover, according to a new poll for The Hill.

A full 68 percent of voters consider the news media biased, the poll found. Most, 46 percent, believe the media generally favor Democrats, while 22 percent said they believe Republicans are favored, with 28 percent saying the media is reasonably balanced.

The fact that the electorate is wise to the bias does not mean the bias isn’t damaging. It’s just that the damage moves mostly in one direction, leading to differences in perception of bias:

While negative views of the media are common among all sectors of the electorate, some intriguing patterns emerge deeper in the poll’s findings.

Self-described centrists and liberals, for example, tend to hold a less unremittingly harsh view than conservatives.

How about this. Conservatives take control of CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, WaPo, NYT, AP, Reuters, and so on, and liberals get the Murdoch empire? I’d take that trade in a heartbeat.

http://legalinsurrection.com/2011/07/a-media-bias-trade/