The media is biased toward the left. It is most infuriating when they discuss military issues. Although I have to admit that their lack of knowledge on the subject competes with plain bias as the worst offender.
But the bias exists. Sure, you can point to Fox news and the Wall Street Journal editorial page as conservative outlets, but in the vast firmament that is our media universe, the vast majority is liberal. They show it in the topics they cover and the questions they ask (or don't ask) even when they try to be fair. They live and work in an environment where everyone agrees with them so they think that they've covered all the angles. The JournoList scandal was surprising because the left wing herd marches in lock stop 95% of the time, so why conspire to get it up to 99%?
Yet whether it is on issues of dogs (Romney letting one ride on the roof is a story but Obama eating one is not a story) or substance where if a Republican had done it it would have been a lead story with multi-colored charts of connections and influence; yet if a Democrat does something it is just ignored.
Those are annoying. But I'm used to it. I'm just grateful that there are some news outlets to support new media efforts to refute the narrative of the left that used to get its way.
What is really annoying is when the left-wing media tries to pretend to be fair. Heck, they may actually believe they are being fair when they do this, given what they believe. What is really annoying is when someone like NPR has a story about Issue A and how Republicans think about the issue. Then they have a debate with two competing analysts about whether Republicans are evil to think that way--or just too ignorant to know better. I mean, if you can't conceive of the Republican stand being correct, your only two explanations are bad intent or stupidity.
In an election year where the left has to defend their hope and change narrative of 2008, expect a lot of these stories.
UPDATE: If Axelrod thinks something is a scandal depending on the party, you can be sure the media thinks the same way. That isn't an evil-or-stupid debate, but we have time for that to kick into gear.
About Me
- Brian J. Dunn
- I live and write in Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan AB and MA from Eastern Michigan University. One term in the Michigan Army National Guard. Former American history instructor and retired nonpartisan research analyst. I write on Blogger and Substack. Various military and private journals have published my occasional articles on military subjects. See "My Published Works" on the TDR web version or under the mobile version drop-down menu for citations and links.
