toldailytopic: Why does the mainstream media lean so far to the left? What's the root

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
I consider entertainment media to be more left, but news media is definitely more varied, with most of it being moderate or right.

As a branch of the topic, what specific mainstream media outlets do you consider to be left?

TV: all of it except FOX left of center to one degree or another. FOX is more centrist, certainly not far right.

Radio: In my local market, right dominates.

Internet: All the media that matters - is right. :)
 

Alate_One

Well-known member
When you're as hard left as some of you, anything that's not in line with your belief systems looks right. :)

Did I say EVERYTHING is right? No. Several of the news outlets I mentioned are farther left than I, others are right, some way off the deep end. Your ilk, however, would tell us everything is left leaning.

The only interesting thing is if you go far enough left and right, eventually the two sides meet, both hating government and the "establishment". The difference being one wants an anarcho syndicate commune and the other wants to just shoot everyone that tries to take their stuff.

I don't want anything to do with either extreme, we need government and reporters that actually report what's going on. And what's going on is the right is going off the deep end.
 

This Charming Manc

Well-known member
OK that tells me that your that far right you distinguish anything that isn't what you believe as left.

Fox is far right when you consider the spread of mainstream media.

Have you considered listening to stuff that challenges your world view?


TV: all of it except FOX left of center to one degree or another. FOX is more centrist, certainly not far right.

Radio: In my local market, right dominates.

Internet: All the media that matters - is right. :)
 

Angel4Truth

New member
Hall of Fame
The root is the lack of real journalism anymore.

Back in the day they used to teach them to remain completely unbiased and just stick to the facts - check sources etc.. and not spin stories to their own view and let the reader/hearer decide, thats not the case anymore.
 

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
OK that tells me that your that far right you distinguish anything that isn't what you believe as left.

I'm far enough right that anything that isn't what I believe is likely to be wrong. :)


Fox is far right when you consider the spread of mainstream media.
Are you basing it as far right relative to the rest, or do you have a fixed scale you're using?

Have you considered listening to stuff that challenges your world view?
I have.
 

Buzzword

New member
All you have to do to see that the American media is not nearly as far in EITHER political direction as some here believe is watch another country's news.

Sweden's is faaaar more "leftist" than American media.
Iranian.....yeah, you guessed it, faaaaar more "rightwing" than American media.

Of course, both terms are relative to cultural context.
 

zoo22

Well-known member
When you're as hard left as some of you, anything that's not in line with your belief systems looks right. :)

Of course, that swings both ways. :plain:

Though I do believe the media generally leans to the left. Not in all regards, but generally.

I'm fascinated by the studies showing that different folks watching the same news reports will consistently say that they are biased in the opposite direction of their own views.

Here's an article from a few years ago on a UCLA study regarding media bias (it says the media leans left):

Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist

[Lame title, but] I think it's a pretty interesting article, particularly method and some of the specific news sources they look at.
 

Alate_One

Well-known member
Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist

[Lame title, but] I think it's a pretty interesting article, particularly method and some of the specific news sources they look at.
That's from 2005 though, I think the slant on both sides has gotten more intense in recent years.

Totally agree with this bit though: "The most centrist outlet proved to be the "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer." Though now titled the PBS newshour I have always thought it was one of the most balanced news shows.
 

annabenedetti

like marbles on glass
Of course, that swings both ways. :plain:

I know it does, zoo.

I was just giving a little tweak to the original post to show exactly that.
Left? Since when was the mainstream media left? :rotfl:
When you're as hard right as some of you, anything that's not in line with your belief systems looks left.

However, as it went over like a lead balloon, I wasn't planning to add any more to the thread than I already had. Probably shouldn't have even said what I did. I'll just answer your one post here.




Very good link, thanks. I'm glad to have it to bookmark.

It actually supports another comment I made earlier in the thread pretty well:

As a branch of the topic, what specific mainstream media outlets do you consider to be left?

TV: all of it except FOX left of center to one degree or another. FOX is more centrist, certainly not far right.
 

zoo22

Well-known member
That's from 2005 though, I think the slant on both sides has gotten more intense in recent years.

I agree.

I think it's a lot to do with rapidly increased source, speed of information exchange. Once a journalist/reporter would have to do an immense amount of involved legwork. That's changed. A tweet becomes news. Pressure on media to break a story has completely changed (increased) and continues to. Bloggers becoming "news source. There are goods in the new dissemination of information, but also many bads.

Also I see an increasing desire for biased "news," and an entertainment crossover. Folks complain about bias, yet they (we) obviously want it. Otherwise, Glenn Beck, Rush, Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart wouldn't be as immensely popular as they are. Complain as we might, we don't just want the facts, we want confirmation (or clear dispute, which essentially amounts to confirmation).

Also, I believe there's a sense in the viewer that they (we) actually fully understand, when we don't. I mean, this Walesa thing that's in the news... I'd be surprised if 10% of folks reading the stories previously had any idea whatsoever of who Walesa is. But immediately, everyone is an expert. Within hours, everyone's an expert. Egypt. Greece. The Euro. The recession rate of Greenland glaciers. Lech Walesa. And in a few days, we'll be experts in something new. It's interesting looking through TOL news-related threads from a few years ago, to get a sense of our being experts on topics and dropping them within weeks.
 

voltaire

BANNED
Banned
It's a profit deal, it's just as simple as they have money and money controls the media. Some of you are stark raving mad conspiracy theorists aren't you?

If it were really about profit, they would put folks like rush limbaugh and shaun hannity and other big name conservatives on the air more often and not in a negative harassing light. Better yet. let someone like rush take over cnn. It would immediately start bringing in a huge profit. As it stands now, left wing media outlets like the New York Times are struggling and are shrinking in readership. I could cite many other examples. Clearly, profits are not what is driving these media companies; ideology is.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
Obviously you mean educated as in having a college degree, not educated as in having common sense.
Yeah, he likely means in the objectively measurable sense of the word and not in the self authenticating and subjectively vested sense. :plain:

As to the subject at hand, I don't see that it matters given how few people trust the media to begin with. Left, right, Fox, MSNBC, they're all corporate shills anyway, whatever the rhetoric.
 
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