Media bias continues to support Republicans and hurt Democrats

Decades ago, Republicans and other conservatives created the myth of the “liberal news media.”  They kept harping on alleged “liberal” bias by newspapers and broadcasters.  This was their strategy to bully journalists and news media companies and push them farther toward the conservative and Republican orientation.  And it worked!  News coverage has significantly shifted in that direction.

But actually, mainstream news media are OWNED BY GIANT CAPITALISTIC BUSINESS CORPORATIONS, and even NPR and public TV get significant funding from capitalist businesses, so they reflect that bias too.  They reflect the same kinds of biases that capitalist-owned media promote.

Major newspapers have a “business” page that supports business-oriented news and supports a business-friendly bias.  How many newspapers have a “labor” page that reports from workers’ viewpoints and labor unions’ viewpoints?

Media biases when reporting crimes and prosecutions are well known, so I won’t repeat them here.

In order to appear neutral, mainstream media use a “he-said, she-said” method that treats each side as equally credible, with equal time for each.  So when an article or broadcast discusses the climate, they invite climate deniers to give their side of the story.

A VERY MAJOR EXCEPTION to that is news related to foreign policy and U.S. militarism.  Typically, they interview high-level military officers and governmental hawks (hawkish Republicans and also hawkish Democrats) and hawks from hawkish “think tanks” (often without disclosing that those “think tanks” are funded by military weapons manufacturers.  THEY ALMOST NEVER INTERVIEW PEOPLE FROM PEACE ORGANIZATIONS or “doves” who serve in Congress.

Now (in January 2019) when they report on Trump’s ridiculous, totally unnecessary shutdown of the federal government, mainstream media BLAME DEMOCRATS TOO because Trump blames Democrats for not yielding to his bullying.  I’ve noticed that, and here is an article about the Associated Press blaming “both sides” for Trump’s shutdown because Democrats refused to fund his wall:  https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/9/1824793/-The-Associated-Press-pipes-up-with-a-both-sides-Trump-take-so-dumb-it-may-redefine-the-genre?detail=emaildkre

SIGN THIS PETITION to mainstream media.  Tell them to STOP blaming “both sides” for Trump’s shutdown:  https://act.credoaction.com/sign/media_both_sides?t=2&akid=31165%2E8825164%2E-jj7es

TV networks showed partisan bias in airing Trump’s and Bush’s speeches about immigration, but in 2014 they refused to air President Obama’s immigration speech because it was deemed too “partisan.” But in January 2019 they did air Trump’s speech on his racist border wall and on immigration.  See this information:   https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/8/1824357/-Why-TV-networks-caving-to-Trump-is-so-much-worse-than-you-think?detail=emaildkre  

When TV networks were planning to air Trump’s speech to our nation on January 8, 2019, about immigration and his border crisis, a non-profit organization that’s pretty savvy about media bias (www.freepress.net) issued these ideas:  “Trump routinely lies to and misleads the public. He has a long record of racist comments and inhumane policies directed toward immigrants. He regularly attacks and ridicules the work of journalists who try to hold him accountable.  We’re calling on these broadcasters to take the following actions tonight:
• Fact check Trump’s statements in real time, on screen.
• Cut away if the speech fails to provide critical information on border security. Do not air xenophobic propaganda.
• Provide sufficient airtime for context before and after Trump’s speech from independent experts on immigration and security — not just from pundits critiquing the president’s performance.
• Include diverse voices, especially those of Central American immigrants, in your coverage.”

For many years I have read the excellent information provided by a non-profit organization that researches and exposes bias in news media.  That organization is Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (www.FAIR.org).  I support them financially and encourage other people to read their reporting.  You can sign up to receive their postings by e-mail, and you can subscribe to their printed publication, EXTRA!

 

 

 

About GlenAnderson 1498 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org