{SPAM?} RE: [Media-watch] US Survey finds moderates, liberals dominate news - editor and publisher - 15/04/2004

[Mark and Andrea]

The term liberal is an interesting one, being both perjorative and
complimentary depending on where you are standing. It is also a vague and
slippery term that means different things to different people.  I believe
that David Aoronovich, Nick Cohen and Christopher Hitchens might describe
themeselves as being liberal. Their subsequent actions in the light of Iraq
perhaps suggest another political hue.

I am always intrigued by research that relies heavily on the
self-perceptions of those who are being researched. Such research can be
argued to have limited claims to be reliable, and ignores the often very
real gaps between claimed and actual practice. In  the case of journalists
two points must be made:
1. Such people are often by their very position members of the
establishment, having fully internalised the values of those they seek to
report on. People with genuinely liberal credentials can lose their
'liberalism' as time goes by. Apparently Melanie Philips was once known as a
liberal!!!!
2. A cynic might suggest that some journalists gain capital by being seen as
liberal, leading to possible the self-delusion, whether deliberate or not.



-----Original Message-----
From: media-watch-bounces at lists.stir.ac.uk
[mailto:media-watch-bounces at lists.stir.ac.uk]On Behalf Of Julie-ann
Davies
Sent: 24 May 2004 11:38
To: Media-watch
Subject: [Media-watch] US Survey finds moderates,liberals dominate news
- editor and publisher - 15/04/2004


The Poll overview with more information, tables etc is available here:
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=214
-------------------------------------------

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content
_id=1000517184

Pew Survey Finds Moderates, Liberals Dominate News Outlets

By E & P Staff

Published: May 23, 2004 4:00 PM EST

NEW YORK Those convinced that liberals make up a disproportionate share of
newsroom workers have long relied on Pew Research Center surveys to confirm
this view, and they will not be disappointed by the results of Pew's latest
study released today.

While most of the journalists, like many Americans, describe themselves as
"moderate," a far higher number are "liberal" than in the general
population.

At national organizations (which includes print, TV and radio), the numbers
break down like this: 34% liberal, 7% conservative. At local outlets: 23%
liberal, 12% conservative. At Web sites: 27% call themselves liberals, 13%
conservatives.

This contrasts with the self-assessment of the general public: 20% liberal,
33% conservative.

The survey of 547 media professionals, completed this spring, is part of an
important study released today by The Project for Excellence in Journalism
and The Committee of Concerned Journalists, which mainly concerns more
general issues related to newsrooms (an E & P summary will appear Monday).

While it's important to remember that most journalists in this survey
continue to call themselves moderate, the ranks of self-described liberals
have grown in recent years, according to Pew. For example, since 1995, Pew
found at national outlets that the liberal segment has climbed from 22% to
34% while conservatives have only inched up from 5% to 7%.

The survey also revealed what some are sure to label a "values" gap.
According to Pew, about 60% of the general public believes it is necessary
to believe in God to be a truly moral person. The new survey finds that less
than 15% of those who work at news outlets believe that. About half the
general public believes homosexuality should be accepted by society -- but
about 80% of journalists feel that way.

When the question of which news organizations actually tilted left or right,
there was one clear candidate: Fox News. Fully 69% of national journalists,
and 42% of those at the local level, called Fox News "especially
conservative." Next up was The New York Times, which about one in five
labeled "especially liberal."

Not surprisingly, views of how the press has treated President Bush break
down along partisan lines. More than two out of three liberals feel the
press has not been tough enough on Bush, while half the conservatives feel
the media has been too tough.

Still, a little over half of national journalists (53%) give national media
coverage of the administration an A or B rating.

While the sample of 547 interviewees is not large, Pew says that this
selection represents "a cross-section of news organizations and of the
people working at all levels of those organizations." Newspapers were
identified and circulation ranked using the 2003 Editor & Publisher
International Year Book.

In an essay accompanying the survey, the directors of the sponsoring
groups -- Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel and Amy Mitchell --declare that broad
conclusions about the political findings should be tempered by analyzing
some of the details in the findings. For example, they identify strong
"libertarian" leanings among jouurnalists, including doubts about the role
of "big government."



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