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The Liberal Media: Myth or Reality?

Article Excerpt
Michael Rowett may be the last Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter anyone expected to leave for a job with the Democratic Party. Just four years ago, Rowett broke the story that several members of a state ethics committee investigating President Bill Clinton had given contributions to either Clinton or the Democrats. "He went after that as a thorough and dogged reporter, not knowing what he would find," recalls Griffin Smith, Democrat-Gazette executive editor.

"He was a stalwart of capital coverage. I had no idea what his politics were." So when Rowett gave up reporting to become communications director for the Arkansas State Democratic Party in May, Smith was as surprised as anyone. "He had strong political views, strong enough to leave journalism for a job with a political party," Smith observes. "But they didn't get reflected in his coverage."

But is this the norm in many other newsrooms? And did Rowett's political leanings really remain completely disconnected from his work? Some might even argue that he dug harder into the Clinton story because he did not want to appear soft on the party he favored.

In today's increasingly divisive political climate -- and highly scrutinized media landscape -- constant attention focuses on the real or potential bias of reporters and editors. As reputable polls continue to suggest that most journalists are moderate or liberal, with relatively few conservatives, questions mount: What effect do political beliefs and social values have on news coverage? Are newsrooms politically imbalanced? And if so, what could or should be done to correct that?

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center, which appeared to uphold the notion of an ideological tilt in newsrooms -- both print and broadcast -- only added fuel to the fire. It suggested that self-described moderates dominate the newsroom, but liberals outnumber conservatives by a ratio of about 5-to-1 at larger print outlets and about 3-to-1 at local papers. National Public Radio ombudsman Jeffrey Dworkin commented that these findings are "likely to follow news organizations around for the rest of the political year like Marley's ghost."

Journalism veterans interviewed by E&P disagree about why an ideological schism exists. Some say fewer conservatives enter journalism because the profession offers modest financial rewards and promotes aggressive questioning of the establishment. As Tribune Media Services columnist Cal Thomas put it, "It's just not the kind of thing conservatives do." But others contend that conservatives feel unwelcome in today's newsrooms because they contradict the "group think," to quote one editor.

But if left-leaning journalists outnumber those on the right in newsrooms, what does that really mean for the end product? Can a reporter or editor be truly objective? Should they even try? What is a liberal or conservative, anyway? Do the historical definitions come even close to describing the mishmash of views many people hold?

E&P sought to probe some of these issues with a fresh eye, and with our particular audience in mind (while recognizing that follow-up reports would be required). In addition to speaking with j-school chairs and media critics, we also interviewed -- at length -- nearly two dozen editors at a cross-section of newspapers, from Tacoma, Wash., to Tampa, Fla. Far too much attention on this issue has focused on a handful of national papers, and even more so, on network and cable news. We wanted to look at how this debate plays out in the wider range of news outlets read by tens of millions of Americans each day.

Yet we are also aware of the outsized importance of the national outlets. Many smaller papers carry wire and news service articles beamed in from afar, and the national media sets the tone for coverage everywhere. Fran Coombs, managing editor of The Washington Times, warns that even papers with balanced ideological staffs often pick up New York Times articles or use syndicates perceived by some to be left-leaning.

Although views, of course, vary, what was most surprising in talking to editors was that, after all the controversy, so few acknowledged that a political imbalance exists at their paper or, if it does, that it was anything they were particularly concerned about or acting vigorously to correct. The majority of editors said they did not care about the ideological makeup of their staffs, and they seemed to sincerely believe that professionalism -- their own, and their reporters' -- regularly overcomes any personal beliefs.

None of the editors said they had ever asked potential reporters about their political leanings, or plan to in the future, and few believe an "ideological affirmative action program" is needed to bring more conservatives into newsrooms.

What the numbers show

While it may seem like a recent phenomenon, the debate over alleged liberal bias in newsrooms has simmered for decades now, going back to the Nixon era when Vice President Spiro Agnew attacked the "nattering nabobs of negativity" in the press.

Evidence from polling was slow to surface until a 1981 survey of 240 journalists at national news outlets by S. Robert Lichter and Stanley Rothman found that 81% of that "media elite" sample said they voted for Democratic candidates for president in every election between 1964 and 1976. Lichter, now president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA), a Washington, D.C.-based research organization, jokes that he became "the flavor of the month for conservatives" when that study was released.

Since then, a wide variety of surveys have probed deeper, though results have generally agreed that the national press skews further to the left than the general public (the local press, somewhat less so). A 1985 Los Angeles Times study of 2,700 journalists at 621 newspapers found this sample to the left of the public on issues relating to abortion, gun control, prayer in schools and defense spending.

Like Lichter's 1981 study, some surveys focused strictly on the...