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Does the American media have a liberal bias?
It is odd how often this question gets tossed around by conservative political commentators and how much the answer is avoided considering the answer is very simple, and not all that controversial. It can probably be assumed that the journalistic community is reluctant to admit a bias since the foundation of journalism is predicated on the direct presentation of facts or descriptions of events without an attempt at interpretation. It can probably also be assumed that liberals wish not to admit a bias in their favor. This means that the decline of liberalism puts more weight on their own political incompetance.
In reality, there exists a liberal bias by design. More accurately, there is an "anti-conservative" bias. The conservative ideology is based on maintenance of the status quo, the moderation of change and the preservation of traditional ideals. Journalism is based on reporting news. The status quo is simply not news, nor, of course, does it sell papers. If there is no news there is nothing to challenge the existing order, regardless of what that order might be. "A slow news day" is really the only conservative journalism. Consequently, all reporting will challenge the status quo and function to disrupt the existing order. Reporting on crime is a challenge to order, as is reporting air pollution or government scandal. Any war reporting that even hints that success isn't 100% is anti-conservative since war is by its common definition is a government operation aimed preserving or improving the ideals of the warring country.
Numerous studies have shown that during the political process neither Democrats nor Republicans have received a significant edge in either the number or nature of the stories printed or broadcast. This indicates that the media is conscious of remaining politically unbiased without understanding that their bias is ideological rather than political. A true measure of the bias involves measuring how well the government viewpoint is presented in any story involving government action. In comparison to many countries the American media challenges the government enough to be considered "anti-conservative" but is not even in the same ball park as the British media.
Viewed from the outside, the American media appears very supportive of government positions. The government viewpoint rarely has difficulty finding a voice within the media and it typically requires a significant time delay before the media actually challenges what is provided by the government. It took nearly 3 years for the American media to report that the stories of patriot missile success during the Gulf War were in fact inaccurate. In fact, stories about the Gulf War continue to discuss the role of the patriot missile even though the U.S. military admitted nearly 10 years ago that there is no evidence that any patriots actually intercepted an incoming scud. Stories about American military abuses in Iraq have been circulating for months prior to the story finally breaking with the presentation of photographic evidence. Viewed from within, the American media is anti-conservative. Viewed from the outside, it does a very good job as a mouthpiece for the American government.
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