Honzo December 21st, 2005

Press Release: Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist

Paper: A MEASURE OF MEDIA BIAS by Tim Groseclose and Jeffrey Milyo (PDF)

Graphical Representation: Media Tilts Left

I am in the middle of reading the paper, so far it is interesting. Here is the abstract:

We measure media bias by estimating ideological scores for several major media outlets. To compute this, we
count the times that a particular media outlet cites various think
tanks and policy groups, then compare this with the times that members
of Congress cite the same groups. Our results show a strong
liberal bias: all of the news outlets we examine, except Fox News’
Special Report and the Washington Times, received scores to the left of
the average member of Congress. Consistent with claims made by
conservative critics, CBS Evening News and the New York Times received
scores far to the left of center. The most centrist media outlets were
PBS NewsHour, CNN’s Newsnight, and ABC’s Good Morning America; among
print outlets, USAToday was closest to the center. All of our findings
refer strictly to news content; that is, we exclude editorials,
letters, and the like.

Update: When I first read about the study, I questioned the Drudge Report and the WSJ as being among the most liberal news outlets. Dave echoed this same sentiment, just more articulately and in depth.

Update II: Check out what Media Matters has to say about the study: Former fellows at conservative think tanks issued flawed UCLA-led study on media’s “liberal bias”

Update III: Check out what else Dave has to say about it: “New” Media Bias Study

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