MU researcher finds most mainstream media contain liberal bias

Pundits have long argued about the liberal bias of mainstream mass media outlets, presenting cases on both sides of the issue. Applying a novel approach based on frequently used ratings of the liberal or conservative leaning of politicians, a researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia discovered that most mainstream media outlets do exhibit a strong liberal bias.
"We found that most of the mainstream media view events through a 'lens' that is very similar to that used by Democrats in Congress," said Jeffrey Milyo, associate professor of Economics and Public Affairs. "That is, most major media outlets and Democrats cite similar sources of expertise, such as particular think tanks and advocacy groups. This suggests that popular complaints about a liberal bias in the media are well-founded."
To determine the bias of media outlets, Milyo and colleague Tim Groseclose, a political scientist at UCLA, applied the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) scoring system. ADA scores are used widely in political science to describe the placement of an individual member of Congress on an ideological scale, from conservative to liberal. The researchers examined the patterns by which media outlets cited particular think tanks and policy groups, and then compared these to the citation patterns of legislators with known ADA scores. This research is unique from previous studies because it does not rely upon subjective classifications, Milyo said.
"Up to this time, evidence has consisted mainly of anecdotes, or relied upon highly subjective analyses of news reports," Milyo said. "Ours is a systematic and objective test of the liberal media hypothesis."
The results demonstrate a strong liberal bias. All news outlets examined, except for Fox News’ Special Report and the Washington Times, received a score to the left of, or more liberal than, the estimated position of the average U.S. voter. The scores for CBS Evening News and the New York Times were among the most liberal, while outlets such as USA Today, NPR’s Morning Edition, NBC’s Nightly News and ABC’s World News Tonight were moderately liberal. The most neutral outlets were The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNN’s NewsNight with Aaron Brown and ABC’s Good Morning America. Fox News’ Special Report, while more conservative, was closer to the center than any of the three major networks’ evening news broadcasts.


http://rcp.missouri.edu/articles/milyo_media.html


flame away libbies

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I'm pretty sure the university of Missouri is a bastion of right wing crazies.

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Flame on:
Perhaps the coincidence that media and democrats cite different sources than republicans can be explained by the quality of these sources. Conservatives tend to cultivate sources that amplify their own thoughts in an echo chamber effect. If a source contradicts what conservatives believe then it must be wrong because conservatives have a strong christian faith and therefore their beliefs are divine in origin and beyond reproach. Following this line or logic it becomes abundantly clear why conservatives think it's reasonable and preferrable to outlaw abortion, gay marriage, Darwin and science in general, marijuana, etc. because their primary source of information, the bible, says thats what they should do. Democrats/liberals on the other hand are more likely to read/cite sources that come by their facts objectively and via the scietific method and disregard instructions that have been allegedly delivered by god.
Flame off:

Huh! Why do you think that is then? Doesn't it seem odd that a small number of the largest corporations on earth should be so relentlessly propagating a left-wing political agenda?

Do you have an idea?

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As if Rupert Murdoch (Fox), Michael Eisner, General Electric, Time-Warner AOL, Monsanto, and Viacom are owned and operated by liberals...

Not only are these folks ultra-conservatives, but the people they hire to voice their opinions are so far to the right, they give independent journalism a dirty name. No, my friends, the corporate media is in the hands of right-wing kooks parading as moderates and pushing the political envelope further and further to the right.

Maybe conservative propagandists such as Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Rielly, Robert Novak, Bernard Goldberg, Brit Hume, Sean Hannity, John Stossel, Tony Snow, Pat Buchanan, etc, should start complaining about a liberal public instead of a liberal media.

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If Jesus was running against Lucifer himself, I suppose you'd be whining that the media wasn't running an equal number of positive and negative stories about each candidate.

"Well, Jesus' healthcare plan involves him personally healing all the sick, which isn't good if you want to keep your family doctor. And Lucifer plans to have his hounds kill off all the aged and infirm, which will neatly put an end to these projected Medicare and Social Security deficits!"

ever1 2 left of robert novek is a liberal

you guys are funny, why are you all so mad, lol
just answer the questions ya crazy commies

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What is justice?
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u explain and play the game the way i say or who's mad ??? u idiots

everyone knows there is a liberal bias...even the media admits to it...they are bias and dont care if you know they are bias...LOL.that used to be the very very worst thing a news source could be accused of..now its like they dont even care if you know it..hell they will even admit it..the media not only endorsed obama...the didnt even question any of his ignorant policy statements untill after the election..and here comes obama..mr change himself..every appointment he is making right now are the same ass clowns the fucked up the economy over the last 20 odd years ..and they are supposed to change and fix shit..LOL..they are the ones who fucked it up...one of the men obama appointed is a fannie mae exec..he should be in jail..and hes on obama's cabnet? WTF..where is the media at?another media pass i see..

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..