Just a couple of weeks ago, I turned on Meet the Press and found a familiar sight: a journalist panel that was pretty clearly titled in one direction. Viewers saw two conservatives (Roger Simon, Byron York), a neutral White House reporter (Kelly O’Donnell), and a pox-on-both-houses moderate (David Broder).
It’s a familiar sight. There was another Meet the Press episode late last year in which the journalist roundtable featured two conservatives (William Safire, David Brooks), a neutral reporter (Judy Woodruff), and the same pox-on-both-houses moderate (David Broder).
This isn’t balance. And according to a brilliant new study conducted by Media Matters, it’s not usual either.
The Sunday-morning talk shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC are where the prevailing opinions are aired and tested, policymakers state their cases, and the left and right in American politics debate the pressing issues of the day on equal ground. Both sides have their say and face probing questions. Or so you would think.
In fact, as this study reveals, conservative voices significantly outnumber progressive voices on the Sunday talk shows. Media Matters for America conducted a content analysis of ABC’s This Week, CBS’ Face the Nation, and NBC’s Meet the Press, classifying each one of the nearly 7,000 guest appearances during President Bill Clinton’s second term, President George W. Bush’s first term, and the year 2005 as either Democrat, Republican, conservative, progressive, or neutral. The conclusion is clear: Republicans and conservatives have been offered more opportunities to appear on the Sunday shows – in some cases, dramatically so.
This is one of those must-read documents. For every liberal who watches these shows and asks, “Doesn’t it seem like conservative voices are dominating?” this report makes clear that it’s not our imagination.
It’s important to note that one of the principal problems — more commentators/analysts/pundits from the right than the left — is getting worse as time goes on.
* The balance between Democrats/progressives and Republicans/conservatives was roughly equal during Clinton’s second term, with a slight edge toward Republicans/conservatives: 52 percent of the ideologically identifiable guests were from the right, and 48 percent were from the left. But in Bush’s first term, Republicans/ conservatives held a dramatic advantage, outnumbering Democrats/progressives by 58 percent to 42 percent. In 2005, the figures were an identical 58 percent to 42 percent.
* In both the Clinton and Bush administrations, conservative journalists were far more likely to appear on the Sunday shows than were progressive journalists. In Clinton’s second term, 61 percent of the ideologically identifiable journalists were conservative; in Bush’s first term, that figure rose to 69 percent.
* In every year examined by the study — 1997 – 2005 — more panels tilted right (a greater number of Republicans/conservatives than Democrats/progressives) than tilted left. In some years, there were two, three, or even four times as many right-titled panels as left-tilted panels.
Let’s all say it together, “What liberal media?”