Media Leanings

In the Al Gore, the Internet, and the Gullibility of the Populace thread, it has been suggested that the news media in general and CNN in particular has begun a trend towards conservative or right wing viewpoints. In other words, organizations such as CNN are attempting to put forth an image that is more supportive of conservative viewpoints because they wish to improve their market share.This has not always been the case. But due to the success of Fox News, which many consider (including myself) to be a conservative news outlet, the strategy is to move right. I disagree with this claim as it pertains to CNN and that CNN has an overall neutral approach to expressing political ideologies.That is not so say CNN does not have journalist and commentators on staff who tend to support right wing viewpoints, they do. But I believe they also have sufficient left wing representation to balance out.So my question is this:Do you believe certain news media outlets are attempting to resolve their market share problem by appearing to support conservative or right leaning positions? If so, does this represent a true change in ideology or is it merely expediency for the sake of corporate profits?There are numerous media watchdog groups who claim to expose bias in the news media.Here are a few: Media Research Center (conservative site which claims to expose liberal bias) Accuracy in Media (conservative site which claims to expose liberal bias) Pew Research Center For the People and the Press (non-partisan organization which studies attitudes towards the press) Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (liberal site which claims to expose conservative bias) Media Matters for America (liberal site which claims to expose conservative bias)

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I think CNN is trying to rewrite a formula that has worked on FOX, namely trying to make news interesting by making it controversial.

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Yes, but don't you think they can do that without necessarily moving towards the right? If anything, I would think they could create more controversy, (translate that to ratings), by replicating FOX's formula except with a more left wing slant.FOX has already staked claim to the right wing, how can CNN hope to succeed by imulating a "me too" strategy? What will happen when everyone rushes to the right? Won't that leave a void that begs to be filled?This message has been edited by Monk, Tue, 04-12-2005 03:59 PM

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I have to ask the same question others are asking: just what do you consider "left wing"? Whenever I hear people complaining about "liberals" or "left wing" bias, it always seems to me that they are really complaining about moderate, even right-of-center opinions.

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It is relative isn't it? It's true that labels are misleading. Many wrong assumptions are made when using labels that represent broad sterotypes.In regards to CNN and the use of left wing or liberals, I would point out the show "Crosstalk" on CNN as an example. I believe the views of Paul Begala and James Carville to be from the "left". They describe themselves that way and I agree.But again, it's all relative. Both of these gentlemen seem to be right wing in contrast to Ward Churchill.

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I think a bigger issue has to do with labeling. In the past, news reporting and editorial comment were clearly marked and deliniated. That has been dropped infavor of making news "Interesting". It is much harder to seperate reporting and editorial on ALL of the media.

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I agree and believe the format and success of FOX News coupled with the decline of the evening news on the "big 3" networks, (ABC,CBS,NBC) are the main reasons.I wonder if the line between reporting and editorilizing has been permanently blurred. Print media is a different story though.

Then give some examples that you consider to be "left wing". I'm curious because this ties into my other posts regarding labels as being relative.This message has been edited by Monk, Wed, 04-13-2005 09:20 PM

C'mon, you don't think Paul Begala and James Carville represent liberal viewpoints?

Ok, maybe I will, and you might check out these "conservative" sources Washington Post and National Review.BTW, am I the only conservative on this board?

ooh.. fascism is harsh. That's like saying 99.999999999% of liberals are communists.Fascism and communism are opposite far extremes. IMO most folks fall somewhere in between.

Ok, lets get back to bias in the media. US House of Representatives majority leader Tom Delay, a conservative republican, has been under fire lately because of recent stories questioning the financing behind a few of his overseas trips.Newt Gingrich, also a conservative republican and former Speaker of the House, criticized Delay during an April 12 interview on the CBS Evening NewsSo how did the media watchdogs and CNN cover this story? Media Matters, which is a liberal site claiming to expose conservative bias accurately quotes the exchange between Gingrich and Gloria Borgia on CBS but complains that no other media outlets reported the story implying that the right leaning media ignored it. Media Research Center which is a conservative site claiming to expose liberal bias also accurately quoted the exchange which was later reported by CBS news anchor Bob Schieffer. MRC complains that Schieffer only reported the story because Gingrich was critical of a fellow conservative and routinely fails to report Gingrich’s comments when he is critical of liberals. CNN did not report the Gingrich interview (as of this date) but did include what I consider a balanced article on the Delay situation that had both republican support and democratic criticism.

That's absolutly true. I don't know why this guy isn't more in the public eye other than I notice most media often conduct interviews when there is a recent reason to, i.e a new book coming out, new movie, etc. Has this guy done anything lately to draw attention to himself?I'd love to see Chomsky and O'Reilly go at it. Sparks would fly!.