February 17, 2004
NEW YORK (Talon News) -- An article authored by the ABC News Political Unit appears to give credence to the ongoing allegations by conservatives of bias in media coverage.
A recent edition of "The Note," (web site) authored by ABC's Political Unit, reads, "The worldview of the dominant media can be seen in every frame of video and every print word choice that is currently being produced about the presidential race."
The report continues, "Like every other institution, the Washington and political press corps operate with a good number of biases and predilections. They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared sense that liberal political positions on social issues like gun control, homosexuality, abortion, and religion are the default, while more conservative positions are 'conservative positions.'"
The report says that press bias also includes a belief that government can solve the country's problems and that increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations are good ways to decrease the deficit, raise money for social spending and do not have a negative impact on economic growth. In addition, the report states that stories of suffering such as those provided by unions or consumer groups are good ways to illustrate economic statistics.
"The press, by and large, does not accept President Bush's justifications for the Iraq war -- in any of its WMD, imminent threat, or evil-doer formulations," the report states. "It does not understand how educated, sensible people could possibly be wary of multilateral institutions or friendly, sophisticated European allies. It does not accept the proposition that the Bush tax cuts helped the economy by stimulating summer spending. It remains fixated on the unemployment rate. It believes President Bush is 'walking a fine line' with regards to the gay marriage issue, choosing between 'tolerance' and his 'right-wing base.'"
The report continues, "[The press still have] a hard time understanding how, despite the drumbeat of conservative grass-top complaints about overspending and deficits, President Bush's base remains extremely and loyally devoted to him -- and it looks for every opportunity to find cracks in that base."
Commenting on ABC's remarks, Scott Libin from the Poynter Institute, a journalistic think tank, told Talon News, "First, everybody has opinions. 'The Note' acknowledges that when it prefaces its argument with the phrase 'Like every other institution.' Nobody's truly objective. It's still possible to be fair, to be even-handed, and to report responsibly."
Libin added, "Even if 'the Washington and political press corps' do lean left, how much of the working news media do those groups actually represent? They are a subset of the national press corps, and discrete from the local news media, which comprise the individual newspapers."
The ABC News Political Unit commented that in light of what they had presented, the president's communications advisers have a choice, "Try to change the storyline and the press' attitude, or try to win this election without changing them."
A request made by Talon News for comments from the ABC News Political Unit was not immediately returned.
Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
FOUR MORE YEARS!
NEW YORK (Talon News) -- An article authored by the ABC News Political Unit appears to give credence to the ongoing allegations by conservatives of bias in media coverage.
A recent edition of "The Note," (web site) authored by ABC's Political Unit, reads, "The worldview of the dominant media can be seen in every frame of video and every print word choice that is currently being produced about the presidential race."
The report continues, "Like every other institution, the Washington and political press corps operate with a good number of biases and predilections. They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared sense that liberal political positions on social issues like gun control, homosexuality, abortion, and religion are the default, while more conservative positions are 'conservative positions.'"
The report says that press bias also includes a belief that government can solve the country's problems and that increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations are good ways to decrease the deficit, raise money for social spending and do not have a negative impact on economic growth. In addition, the report states that stories of suffering such as those provided by unions or consumer groups are good ways to illustrate economic statistics.
"The press, by and large, does not accept President Bush's justifications for the Iraq war -- in any of its WMD, imminent threat, or evil-doer formulations," the report states. "It does not understand how educated, sensible people could possibly be wary of multilateral institutions or friendly, sophisticated European allies. It does not accept the proposition that the Bush tax cuts helped the economy by stimulating summer spending. It remains fixated on the unemployment rate. It believes President Bush is 'walking a fine line' with regards to the gay marriage issue, choosing between 'tolerance' and his 'right-wing base.'"
The report continues, "[The press still have] a hard time understanding how, despite the drumbeat of conservative grass-top complaints about overspending and deficits, President Bush's base remains extremely and loyally devoted to him -- and it looks for every opportunity to find cracks in that base."
Commenting on ABC's remarks, Scott Libin from the Poynter Institute, a journalistic think tank, told Talon News, "First, everybody has opinions. 'The Note' acknowledges that when it prefaces its argument with the phrase 'Like every other institution.' Nobody's truly objective. It's still possible to be fair, to be even-handed, and to report responsibly."
Libin added, "Even if 'the Washington and political press corps' do lean left, how much of the working news media do those groups actually represent? They are a subset of the national press corps, and discrete from the local news media, which comprise the individual newspapers."
The ABC News Political Unit commented that in light of what they had presented, the president's communications advisers have a choice, "Try to change the storyline and the press' attitude, or try to win this election without changing them."
A request made by Talon News for comments from the ABC News Political Unit was not immediately returned.
Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
FOUR MORE YEARS!
