The Myth of Pro-Obama Media Bias

Little evidence for self-proclaimed 'lovefest'

As noted by FAIR's Peter Hart in Extra! (5-6/08) and Eric Alterman and George Zornick in the Nation (7/7/08), it is difficult to find even one subject where the press has truly held McCain's feet to the fire while giving Obama a break from scrutiny. If corporate media are in love with Obama, they sure are picking a funny way of showing it. Full Story »

Posted by Patricia Blochowiak

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Review

Michael Bugeja
3.4
by Michael Bugeja - Oct. 1, 2008

I admire John K. Wilson as an advocate for press freeom, from the high school level and beyond; but he comes with an agenda, from his books about Obama to his blog, ObamaPolitics.com. In this qualitative article, in which he googles and evaluates sources, he analyzes intelligently, although with a singular goal in mind: to prove his thesis. In doing so he makes common errors associated with advocacy, such as criticizing the Project for Excellence in Journalism and Shorenstein Center study and observing that "such positive/negative studies" are "a flawed measure of media bias" because "rely on researchers’ interpretations of what is positive and negative." First of all, there is a research pedagogy employed by those conducting these studies; the interpretation is based on a scientific protocol. But Wilson misses the point that his entire article is based on his own interpretation. Fact is, no one can measure "media bias" in a multiple platform age. Fox News is conversative and MSNBC liberal, for a reason: stockholders. The margins are too low in the objective middle. The Internet tends to be liberal; radio tends to be conservative. Local newspapers tend to be conservative, too; metro newspapers, liberal. The Constitution doesn't mandate objective, fair, balanced news; the First Amendment relies on the education of the U.S. public so that citizens will be able to tell hype from truth and fact from factoid. The Constitutional framers never foresaw a marketing age where everyone has an affinity group based on consumer psychographics. As such, we seek affirmation, not information. And we're going to get the leaders that we deserve.

Nor did many media figures—Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman being a notable exception (5/4/08)—raise concerns about G. Gordon Liddy, a donor and fundraiser for McCain. On his radio talk-show (11/8/07), Liddy featured his “old friend” McCain, who declared: “I’m proud of you. . . . Congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.” Liddy’s criminal past during Watergate never bothered McCain, nor did his 1994 comments (8/26/94; Extra! 7–8/95) that his radio listeners should murder federal agents: “Go for a head shot.”

Explain the political bias of each media platform.
Radio has played a key role in promoting ideas about liberal bias. In doing so, their station owners are appealing to a market whose users perceive that they are not being adequately served by other platforms. This is “niche journalism,” carving out an audience and then appealing to its tastes over and over again.

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Michael's Rating

Overall
3.4

Average
from 8 answers
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3.4
Fairness
3.0
Information
4.0
Sourcing
4.0
Context
3.0
Popularity
3.5
Recommendation
4.0
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3.0
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