Yesterday, Media Matters for America released the study "If It's Sunday, It's Conservative," which reveals how conservative voices significantly outweigh progressive voices on three prominent Sunday talk shows. You might have suspected that you were seeing more imbalanced coverage on these programs; now, there is definitive proof. For example, study found that in 2005, Republicans and conservatives held a dramatic advantage in guest bookings for these shows, outnumbering Democrats and progressives by a margin of 58 percent to 42 percent.
This study -- the first of its kind -- shows how conservatives dominate ABC's This Week, CBS' Face the Nation, and NBC's Meet the Press. In every year examined by the study -- 1997 through 2005 -- more panels tilted right (a greater combined number of Republicans and conservatives than Democrats and progressives) than tilted left. In some years, there were two, three, or even four times as many right-tilting panels as left-tilting panels.
This tilt is unacceptable, especially because the networks present these programs as objective and nonpartisan. We need you to help highlight this imbalance!
You can read the executive summary of the report here. Then click here to tell your friends about it.
If the producers of these programs feel that their credibility (and ratings) is threatened by public knowledge of this lack of balance, future programs may be more balanced. Help keep them accountable by spreading the word about their conservative tilt!
No comments:
Post a Comment