Poll: If you are a Democrat, what is your view of mainstream media?

[Erica in PA]

I have been wondering about this for *so long*, and with so many thoughtful, intelligent people on this board of varying perspectives, this seems the perfect place to ask: If you are a Democrat, do you believe that the mainstream media is slanted toward a liberal perspective? Please exclude Fox News and talk radio from consideration on this particular poll, if you would. I'm particularly interested in hearing your perspective on news/reports/analysis from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, magazines, newspapers, etc. Do you think more negative stories are run about Republicans than Democrats? Or vice versa? Or is it equal? Those are the kinds of perceptions I am interested in, for the purposes of this poll.

[Mrs Mungo]

I think the media is best described as lazy. I don't believe anything I hear or read just because the media says so. Being a military wife, I probably have an *extremely* different view of this than most people.

 

But when it comes to politicians, I think equal time is given to negative stories about both sides of the aisle.

[hsmamainva]

My biggest gripe about the mainstream media is that everything is so short!! How can you form an opinion when it's only given 2-3 minutes of coverage?

 

I can't tell you how many times I've turned on one of the big 3 TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) because I hear that they're covering a certain topic, only to find that the segment could be measured in seconds.

 

It's like watching Sesame Street. It drives me crazy. I guess that's the attention span of the average adult viewer.

 

CNN is just as guilty -- not to mention that trying to read the ticker on the bottom of the screen makes my eyes hurt.

 

That's why I watched both conventions on C-Span...so I could form my own opinion without Wolf Blitzer's input.

 

I MUCH prefer newspapers...but they're a dying breed, unfortunately.

[Stacia]

I think most of the mainstream media does a lousy job these days of dispensing actual news. Imo, many of the news stories (of which there are actually very few) are copied from each other, non-news and sensationalism are hyped, and there is a terrible decline in the quality and quantity of coverage in general of 'news'. I think the decline can be attributed to cultural mores, laziness, censorship, etc....

 

As far as whether the 'news' is weighted one way or the other.... I think I have to agree with Mrs. Mungo that the bad/sensationalized stories (oops, I mean the 'news' stories) are generally distributed among various groups, regardless of political leaning.

[TeacherZee]

I think the media is best described as lazy. I don't believe anything I hear or read just because the media says so.

 

:iagree: Which is why I try and get my news from as many sources as possible. Tv and newspapers from three different countries plus I hang out here and on other message boards because I feel I get a much more balanced and honest view on "news" stories.

[momzilla333]

I'm just wondering. Why exclude Fox and talk radio? They certainly have a significant following, for whatever reason. And yes, I'm in agreement that so many stories don't get covered in depth. It's insulting to be treated as if we have the attention span and IQ of a gnat! Very frustrating!:angry:

[hsmamainva]

How could I have forgotten NPR! I like that ALOT!!

 

And my kids have learned to like it!!! Especially my 14yo who loves politics!! We'll be in the driveway and he'll tell me, "Wait, Mom. Don't turn off the car! I'm still listening to this!" :)

[momzilla333]

How could I have forgotten NPR! I like that ALOT!!

 

And my kids have learned to like it!!! Especially my 14yo who loves politics!! We'll be in the driveway and he'll tell me, "Wait, Mom. Don't turn off the car! I'm still listening to this!" :)

 

Oh yeah:hurray: Us too! And they have a great website...

[Karen in CO]

I agree. lazy.

You forgot to have an option, that I think they are biased towards the Republicans. The only news I can stomach is BBC or PBS or NPR. I never really noticed it until all of the news reporters were embedded during the Iraq war. When did the media quit asking questions? How did we get so far into debt as a nation without someone "breaking" a big story about how much of our debt is owned by China? What about a big story about poor regulation in the housing industry? What about political firings in the justice department? Surely there should have been some kind of uproar. Why does most of our news sound the same? Why do news stations repeat "talking points" instead of reporting?

 

Okay rant over. It just irks me when the Rupert Murdoch news stations, news papers, and magazines talk about liberal bias and call themselves fair and unbiased.

[Jennifer3141]

I agree. lazy.

You forgot to have an option, that I think they are biased towards the Republicans. The only news I can stomach is BBC or PBS or NPR. I never really noticed it until all of the news reporters were embedded during the Iraq war. When did the media quit asking questions? How did we get so far into debt as a nation without someone "breaking" a big story about how much of our debt is owned by China? What about a big story about poor regulation in the housing industry? What about political firings in the justice department? Surely there should have been some kind of uproar. Why does most of our news sound the same? Why do news stations repeat "talking points" instead of reporting?

 

Okay rant over. It just irks me when the Rupert Murdoch news stations, news papers, and magazines talk about liberal bias and call themselves fair and unbiased.

 

I agree with you, Karen. I'm outta rep already though. Darn it!

 

There is an entire cable TV "news" network that's only agenda is to fight the "liberals." I just don't see the liberal equivalent of that on TV. Jon Stewart is as close as we get and he's a half hour!

 

I am a NPR junkie. And it fascinates me to listen to the BBC late at night. I find out more about America there than I do on any television news program.

 

Jen

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

I'm not registered as a Democrat, but I am a liberal, so I felt compelled to answer here.

 

http://www.freepress.net/resources/ownership

 

This is a good starting point for research into who actually provides the news you read and hear.

[momzilla333]

Jon Stewart is as close as we get and he's a half hour!

 

I am an NPR junkie. And it fascinates me to listen to the BBC late at night. I find out more about America there than I do on any television news program.

 

Jen

 

Don't forget The Colbert Report:001_smile:

 

What, Fox isn't "fair and balanced"??? :lol:

 

Yes, we really love NPR too.

We do try to get different sources (Limbaugh, OReilly, Olbermann, Fox, CNN, CSPAN MSNBC etc) sometimes because I think it's important to hear different points of view. Makes for some interesting discussions even if you don't agree. Our local paper is sadly lacking. And gosh I miss Tim Russert!

 

"You may have hoodwinked everyone else in this backwater town, but you can't fool me. I listen to public radio. " Squidward

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

I love Bill Mahr. I am so glad he is back on again. I also love Colbert and Stewart.

[Jennifer3141]

I love Bill Mahr. I am so glad he is back on again. I also love Colbert and Stewart.

 

Are you as excited for, "Religulous" as I am?? We have a film festival up here and we got to see some teeny scenes from the movie and the entire theatre was laughing hysterically.

 

Jen

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Are you as excited for, "Religulous" as I am?? We have a film festival up here and we got to see some teeny scenes from the movie and the entire theatre was laughing hysterically.

 

Jen

 

Very much! I'm not an atheist either- but yes I am looking forward to it very much! All I have seen is the trailer and I was LMAO. :lol:

[danielle]

Every time I open the Chicago Tribune, they're endorsing the Republican candidates. However, I do distinguish between news coverage and editorial, and I think the news coverage is generally fair, although there's still a bias toward consumerism, define yourself by what you wear, glorify big business and its leaders, and always be against taxes, no matter what.

 

I'd classify myself a left wing liberal with libertarian tendencies, so most media have good opportunity to offend me!

Danielle

[Krista in LA]

I'm not a registered democrat so I didn't take the poll but I'd still like to express my view. I recently read a poll that showed a majority of people in the press identify themselves as being liberal while a much smaller amount called themselves conservative. I don't think anyone can truly write a news story or decide which news story should be printed/broadcast without letting some of their own views affect it. How can an any biased person report unbiasedly? Yes, you can try to make it more even by having stories from opposite viewpoints, but in the end, there is always going to be bias. The fact that so many journalists identify themselves as liberal would point to a more liberal media. I think perhaps some liberals don't see it as much because the liberal leaning media tries to make it seem more fair while the conservative media just puts it out there. Just my thoughts on it. And I just want to say I'm not voting Republican either.

[Carrie12345]

 

I'd classify myself a left wing liberal with libertarian tendencies, so most media have good opportunity to offend me!

Danielle

 

Ditto. The first time I found myself disagreeing with Bill Maher, I thought I might cry. There isn't a single outlet that will ever reflect my views perfectly, but he probably comes the closest.

[Saille]

My view is that a lot of news programs are lacking in detailed hard data. Lots of rhetoric, not so much nitty-gritty. I listen to NPR for the detail, I read several news magazines, and I like the satire on The Daily Show and Colbert. They frequently inspire me to go digging for more information. Actually, I'd say WTM has influenced me in that sense. I'm always wanting primary source quotes now. :001_smile:

[Erica in PA]

I'm just wondering. Why exclude Fox and talk radio? They certainly have a significant following, for whatever reason. And yes, I'm in agreement that so many stories don't get covered in depth. It's insulting to be treated as if we have the attention span and IQ of a gnat! Very frustrating!:angry:

 

I just wanted to exclude Fox News and talk radio, because those are predominantly conservative news sources. Few people would consider those as having a liberal slant, which is what I was wondering about. For the purposes of this poll, I was interested in seeing how Democrats view "mainstream media," i.e. the networks I mentioned, NPR, newspapers, etc.

 

Erica

[Erica in PA]

I knew including "other" as an option would be a bad idea! ;) Thank you for everyone for voting. I was interested to hear whether Democrats perceive the media in the same way that conservatives do-- but with all the "other" votes, it's hard to get a picture of people's take on this particular issue (regarding whether there is a liberal bias in media). I do understand, though, that sometimes one's opinion just doesn't fit any of the other categories.

 

To most conservatives, the mainstream media seems slanted to the left. I was wondering how much of this perception Democrats share, and how much they differ. I was very surprised to see one view that the mainstream media is slanted to the right! I didn't see that one coming at all. But I appreciate hearing all of your views.

 

Erica

[Jumping In Puddles]

There are 32 Democrats here? :eek: I would have put that number between 6 and 10. :blink:

[kokotg]

 

To most conservatives, the mainstream media seems slanted to the left. I was wondering how much of this perception Democrats share, and how much they differ. I was very surprised to see one view that the mainstream media is slanted to the right! I didn't see that one coming at all. But I appreciate hearing all of your views.

 

Erica

 

That's why I find this issue so frustrating (but also kinda funny). I read a lot of lefty blogs, and there is absolutely every bit as much of a perception that the media is biased toward the right (or, at the very least, biased toward John McCain) as the opposite point of view on the right. I can't tell you how many times I've read someone quoting Chris Matthews saying, of the press and John McCain, "We're his base, I think." So I find it really amusing that that idea is SO foreign to people coming at it from the other side that there's not even an option for that in your poll. Like, really--amusing as in I think it's funny. Not in a snarky, sarcastic way :). I don't even try to argue about it with anyone, really, because everyone's so dug in on their own side.

[Jill- OK]

There are 32 Democrats here? :eek: I would have put that number between 6 and 10. :blink:

 

32 Democrats *responded*.

 

There may be many more who aren't taking the poll, or just not responding/reading.

 

There may also be liberals that don't consider themselves Democrats who aren't responding.

[Slartibartfast]

There isn't an option for a Conservative Bias :lol:

 

IMO, some channels are more Liberal than others MSNBC seems more Liberal to me as does NPR, but that is it. The others seem much more conservative. Does no one else remember the last election and them playing Dean shrieking over and over and over again? I don't buy the Liberal Media Bias stuff, I just don't.

 

But with all honesty I barely watch any TV at all and if I do watch it I am not watching the news, especially around my kid, it just seems so smutty and vulgar.

 

I do listen to NPR. :)

[PariSarah]

. . . even perceptibly left-leaning media like NPR is that they are "in the pocket of corporations." (How a public radio station can fall prey to this is a little beyond me, but there it is.) The incident where 60 Minutes yanked an anti-tobacco story at the behest of an advertiser several years ago would be a prime example.

[Melinda in VT]

I'm not a registered Democrat, and my votes tend to be pretty evenly divided between the two parties, so I didn't vote.

 

But I heard two things this week that tie into the question.

 

One was that although journalists tend to be more liberal, the owners of the media outlets (TV and radio stations, newspapers, etc) tend to be Republican.

 

The other was while watching NBC coverage of the RNC. The group of four commentators included two Republicans (I think one was Joe Scarborough, whom I really like, but I don't remember who the other one was) and they commented that NBC had done a good job of being fair in their election coverage. (Yes, I know, they are probably biased because they are being paid by NBC, but I still found the comment interesting.)

[kalanamak]

Whatever you think of Micheal Moore, I loved it when he dropped a hint there was a clue found in the OJ case and the place was suddenly mobbed by the media (it was an empty lot near the crime). His complaint was that they all acted like a pack of hens when a worm is thrown into the pen (my metaphor) rather than any serious investigative reporting going on. Lazy is certainly how I'd characterize it.

 

There is something very lowest-common-denominatorish about big media. Just as in ******** (the P word: p*lit*cs), we get what we are willing to accept.

 

BTW: I didn't answer the poll. I'm an independent.