Tue
Sep 11 2007
08:41:pm
Interesting article over at Media Matters
By: talidapali  shortURL

Saw this while surfing... Liberal media bias? Not so much.

This project did something that has never been done before: It amassed data on the syndicated columnists published by nearly every daily newspaper in the country. While a few publications, most notably Editor & Publisher, cover the syndicated newspaper industry, no one has attempted to comprehensively assemble this information prior to now. Because the syndicates refuse to reveal to the public exactly where their columnists are published, when Media Matters for America set out to make a systematic assessment of the syndicated columnist landscape, we had no choice but to contact each paper individually and ask which syndicated columnists are published on their op-ed pages.

The results show that in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts. As Editor & Publisher paraphrased one syndicate executive noting, "U.S. dailies run more conservative than liberal columns, but some are willing to consider liberal voices."1

Though papers may be "willing to consider" progressive syndicated columnists, this unprecedented study reveals the true extent of the dominance of conservatives:

More here

I hear a lot of conservatives still talking about "Liberal" media bias but quite frankly, I can't find it much of anywhere...in papers, on TV, on the radio...anywhere. It's time for progressives to stop letting the conservatives frame the debate, there is no "liberal" media bias...and we should call them on this point every single time they bring it up. I'm tired of never hearing much of a progressive voice, yet when one does pop up occasionally in the local paper, the right-wingers come out of the woodwork to shout it down in letters to the editor again and again.

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Nelle's picture

KNS columns

Submitted by Nelle on Tue, 2007/09/11 - 10:54pm.

I looked at Media Matters and did not see data for individual papers, so I went to the KNS website to look back at which syndicated columnists they've run over the last 2 weeks.

I doubt they've got every syndicated column on the website, since I didn't see any by Thomas Sowell, whom I'm pretty sure they run weekly, prompting me to ask with regularity "Why is this moron in my newspaper?"

But in this incomplete 2-week sample, and using the categories from Media Matters, I find a total of 13 columns: 7 by conservatives, 5 by moderates, 1 by a progressive.

Of the conservative columns, 2 were by Charles Krauthammer, 2 by Kathleen Parker, and 1 each by James Pinkerton, Jay Ambrose, and Cal Thomas.

Of the moderate entries, 3 were by Ann McFeatters, and one each by Dan Thomasson and Ron Brownstein.

The sole progressive column was by Eugene Robinson.

Other progressive columnists listed by Media Matters that the KNS runs on occasion, just off the top of my head, are Ellen Goodman, Froma Harrop, Susan Estrich (though she's on Fox News so often she shouldn't count), Gene Lyons and Leonard Pitts Jr.

Other occasional conservative voices in the KNS, in addition to the aforementioned Mr. Sowell, include Kathryn Jean Lopez, Georgie Ann Geyer, Star Jones and Deroy Murdock.

In short, no librul media here, either.

I can't imagine that the idealogical breakdown of its syndicated columnists matches that of the paper's readers. So why does the KNS run so many columns by these nutjobs? Why do other papers for that matter?

I'd love to see the KNS replace one of their right-wing kooks (preferably Sowell) with David Sirota's new column. Maybe if a number of us ask, that wish could come true.

rikki's picture

puttin up wit it

Submitted by rikki on Wed, 2007/09/12 - 1:25am.

The problem with your analysis, Nelle, is that it doesn't take into account the fact that liberals are all tolerant and crap. Because it's such a tremendous point of pride for liberals to be tolerant, they HAVE to put up with conservative opinions, especially from black people or women, or they are just hypocrites to be dismissed entirely.

Conservatives, on the other hand, make no such claim of tolerance. In fact, they know they are right, so to even be exposed to different ideas is to be exposed to lies, and that's just wrong. Plus, moderates are just socialists trying to hide their confiscatory desires until they get power, and progressives are true commies out to turn your kids gay while your back is turned.

Therefore, the Sentinel's 7:5:1 ratio imposes far more hardship on conservatives than liberals and proves the paper is gay. I mean liberal. Whatever.

Nelle's picture

Not gay

Submitted by Nelle on Wed, 2007/09/12 - 10:08am.

I'm pretty sure the paper's not gay.

I found it humping my doormat the other morning.

kurtdavistn's picture

I agree- they should drop

Submitted by kurtdavistn on Wed, 2007/09/12 - 9:19pm.

I agree- they should drop Sowell. His columns are all factually challenged. I don't mind a good conservative column, but when my 8th grade kid can see the holes in his logic, why does KNS carry this fool?

(link...)

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