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>I think NPR is seen as having a liberal slant. NPR has done some very in depth studies of this, counting liberal stories vs conservative, and determined that t
by tsotha 14y ago
>I think NPR is seen as having a liberal slant. NPR has done some very in depth studies of this, counting liberal stories vs conservative, and determined that there was no bias.
The NYT does the same thing, occasioning much laughter and derision from the right. We can't decide if they're being dishonest or if their frame of reference is such that they really believe they're being evenhanded.
As a conservative, I'm convinced NPR is biased. I listen to it every day on the way to work, since it's still preferable to commercial radio (even donated a couple times), but there's no doubt in my mind whoever is calling the shots would love to see the president reelected.
It's not so much how the news gets covered but what gets covered. If this week's DNC talking point is Bain Capital, NPR is covering decades-old events at Bain. If it's "War on Women" then we get to hear from hoary old feminists spouting questionable statistics. If Romney raised more money than Obama this month we get stories on Citizen United, but when Obama raises more money we get stories on just how motivated his supporters are. Benghazi was a big news story until it became apparent the ambassador died in an actual planned attack instead of a mob pissed off about a movie. Then the story disappeared completely.
I don't have any problem with the way they cover stories, for the most part, though occasionally I wince at the way things are described. The big problem is the selection.
- stinkytaco 14y agoI'm always curious if perception of bias is due to bias in and of itself. Does simply hearing a story that is negative to your side automatically make one think "bia" whereas hearing one that accords with your views makes you think "good reporting." I'm not sure anyone's opinion of bias can be trusted, because in our own minds we're not biased.
- tsotha 14y agoIt isn't so much that hearing a story that's negative to my side makes me think "bias". It's that I hear predominately stories that are negative to my side and positive to the other. Also, pretty much every conservative you meet will tell you the same thing, so it's not just me.
- stinkytaco 14y agoBut every conservative you meet is also conservative. That's my point. We're all biased and thus totally unqualified to judge bias. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to, by the way, but we also need to be mindful of our own biases. I think that thought process, more than any change in the press, would go a long way to fixing politics in America. The other issue is that we assume that stories that are predominately negative means bias, when it doesn't necessarily. Impartiality does not necessarily mean that we think both sides are equally valid. It's sort of like following this abortion/birth control debate. No matter what you're opinion, there is no bias in thinking that Joe Walsh and Todd Akin are full of shit. They are, period. It would be a disservice to say otherwise.
- tsotha 14y ago>We're all biased and thus totally unqualified to judge bias. I have to disagree. I'm pretty sure if I wanted to put in the time I could show that NPR reports, say, 90% of the national stories that hurt Romney but only 60% of national stories that hurt Obama. Sure, stories about Joe Walsh and Todd Akin should be there. But so should stories about Benghazi and gunwalker.