Some studies….
http://www.mrc.org/biasbasics/pdf/BiasBasics.pdf
That study proves liberal bias, not by looking at the work product (the news produced) but by innuendo. Why look at these surveys....there are reporters that claim to be liberal....thus their work product must be biased. I don't think that's good enough. I also think that innuendo is dead wrong.
Proof of bias…
http://www.mediaresearch.org/archive/nq/welcome.asp
This 'liberal media' nonsense started with Spiro Agnew defending the criminal Nixon administration. I guess he needed a punching bag to divert attention from the fact that Nixon was a crook, so he invented the liberal media.
Unfortunately this plays to the right wing notion that any opinion at odds with the right wing opinion is liberal. In the rightwing universe, there is no moderate. You are either with them or against them. And as we've seen, that's a fatally flawed perspective.
To me, it makes no sense to have a slavish uniformity of opinion. That's what the rightwing wants. Any straying from the party line must be the work liberally biased reporting influencing public opinion.
The way I see it, the media are lazy and incompetent. The media play to the bottom line. And for bias, there is a definite conservative media apparatus, namely the Rupert Murdoch/Clearchannel entities which cheerleads unashamedly for conservatives instead of reporting.
Does liberally biased reporting happen? Sure. Is it the industry standard? Not even close.
I also don't think that corporate control is suspended for Big Media. That rule of top down control is a key feature to the modern corporation....except in the Media where reporters are allegedly really running the business. Every other corporation (outside of employee owned corps) follows the rule of top down control....the CEO calls the shots ala Jack Welch and GE....except with the US's media.
Can you see how someone might have a problem believing the liberals run the media with just that information?
