Wiston Papers

How Biased Are The Media, Really?

I assume that headline in today’s Washington Post is rhetorical.

Are the media biased?  Of course. 

But so are people.  So the media are a reflection of ourselves.

The problem is not that there are both liberal media and conservative media resulting in a "net effect of zero," in the words of Professor David D’Alessio of the University of Connecticut.   The problem is that we as consumers attend only to those media that reinforce our ideological predispositions.

We fail to scan the spectrum of ideological media to seek alternative viewpoints.  If we did so, we would more likely arrive at something approaching truth, fairness and balance than what we see, read, and hear by consuming content only from a single medium.

Compounding the issue is what Professor Robert Lichter of George Mason University correctly describes as the increasingly edginess and opinioned journalist--the reporter or blogger who makes little pretense to be balanced or fair.

Especially telling is the Pew Research Center conclusion that many of us believe that our media are fair and objective.  It's the other media that are not.

Interestingly, that's exactly the opinion expressed by  Americans  when asked about their view of Congress...another institution frequently and highly criticized.  "My guy is good; it's the other people there who are the problem."

Steve Coon

April 28, 2012