We're unbiased. Really.

I know it's a topic I hit over and over again, but it's always nice when you find out professional researchers agree with you.

Yet another study has concluded that America's major media outlets tend to exhibit a political lean to the left. And this is not some tiny survey run by a right-wing website, but instead a major study led by UCLA professors.

"I suspected that many media outlets would tilt to the left because surveys have shown that reporters tend to vote more Democrat than Republican," said Tim Groseclose, a UCLA political scientist and the study's lead author. "But I was surprised at just how pronounced the distinctions are."

"Overall, the major media outlets are quite moderate compared to members of Congress, but even so, there is a quantifiable and significant bias in that nearly all of them lean to the left," said co‑author Jeffrey Milyo, University of Missouri economist and public policy scholar.

I'm interested to read the full study, since I find this second statement to be very compelling: we constantly hear left-wing politicians tell us that George Bush, Dick Cheney, Samuel Alito, etc., are "out of the mainstream"; and if the media inform their view of what constitutes mainstream values, I can see where they might be lost.

Another bias report was released from a far less scrupulous source, Brent Bozell's Media Research Center. This is his annual
Notables and Quoteables project, in which the most egregious and ridiculous examples of bias are recognized. It makes good reading, especially since this year's installment has copious links to actual video clips. It's good to have Mary Mapes' absurd "It's not my job to authenticate sources" comment about Rathergate on the record:

Mapes: "I’m perfectly willing to believe those documents are forgeries if there’s proof that I haven’t seen."
Ross: "But isn’t it the other way around? Don’t you have to prove they’re authentic?"
Mapes: "Well, I think that’s what critics of the story would say. I know more now than I did then and I think, I think they have not been proved to be false, yet."
Ross: "Have they proved to be authentic though? Isn’t that really what journalists do?"
Mapes: "No, I don’t think that’s the standard."

My personal favorite comes from Today Show host Matt Lauer (partial .wmv clip here) who comes this close to telling US soldiers on the ground that they're lying about Iraq (emphasis mine):

Matt Lauer in Baghdad: "Talk to me...about morale here. We’ve heard so much about the insurgent attacks, so much about the uncertainty as to when you folks are going to get to go home. How would you describe morale?"
Chief Warrant Officer Randy Kirgiss: "In my unit morale is pretty good. Every day we go out and do our missions and people are ready to execute their missions. They’re excited to be here."
Lauer: "How much does that uncertainty of [not] knowing how long you’re going to be here impact morale?"
Specialist Steven Chitterer: "Morale is always high. Soldiers know they have a mission. They like taking on new objectives and taking on the new challenges...."
Lauer: "Don’t get me wrong here, I think you are probably telling me the truth, but a lot of people at home are wondering how that could be possible with the conditions you’re facing and with the attacks you’re facing. What would you say to those people who are doubtful that morale can be that high?"
Captain Sherman Powell: "Sir, if I got my news from the newspapers also, I’d be pretty depressed as well."

I think that Capt. Powell deserves some kind of reward for that comment.

Tags: Mainstream Media, Media Bias, Media, Bias, Video,