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Real Answers™
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Copyright: © ©2004 Gary Hardaway
630 words

POLITICAL REPORTING NEEDS A HIGHER STANDARD

By: Gary Hardaway

During a lively political discussion a few days ago, some good friends expressed their dismay at what they perceive as media bias. They’re liberals. They complained about the conservative slant of Fox News. And talk radio, especially Rush Limbaugh. Conversely, political conservatives often accuse CNN and the Big Three networks of leftist partisanship.

In the last two years, ex-CBS reporter, Bernard Goldberg, has come out in bold support of the conservative claim. In two scathing books, BIAS and ARROGANCE, Goldberg recounted from first hand experience numerous tales of leftist news distortion – some quite deliberate, much almost unconscious, flowing from automatic sympathy with the secular, liberal perspective.

Goldberg’s inside info corresponds with a growing amount of survey data gathered from journalists themselves. A few weeks ago the New York Times asked 153 journalists who covered the recent Democratic convention whom they will vote for. The group preferred John Kerry over President Bush by 3 to 1. Even more significantly, reporters based in Washington, D.C., who generate a large proportion of election news stories, chose Kerry by a whopping 12 to 1. Other surveys indicate that over 80% of the Beltway press corps always votes Democratic.

In February an ABC News website column admitted that Washington’s political press overwhelmingly affirms the cultural left’s positions on abortion, homosexuality, religion, gun control, taxes, and government spending. The conservative positions are often viewed with suspicion and distaste.

On August 16, the New York Times published an interview with Yale economist Ray Fair, who, based on his economic analysis, forecasts a decisive win for Bush in November. The reporter, Deborah Solomon, was perturbed about Dr. Fair’s conclusions. “But the country hasn't been this polarized since the 60's, and voters seem genuinely engaged by social issues like gay marriage and the overall question of a more just society.”

Fair simply replied that his computerized mathematical model has proven correct in the past, with a 2.5% variation. Since he doesn’t expect the election to be close, the small error factor wouldn’t matter.

Solomon said, “It saddens me that you teach this to students at Yale, who could be thinking about society in complex and meaningful ways.”

She then asked, “Are you a Republican?” He reluctantly stated that he supports Kerry. Solomon replied, “I’m a little surprised, because your predictions implicitly lend support to Bush.” The obvious implication is that journalists and social scientists are expected to “spin” their material to support their own positions and candidates.

The press and electronic news media should inform, not indoctrinate. Citizens deserve truth, not propaganda. Journalists should report the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a story and keep their own politics out of the mix. Opinion belongs on the editorial page, not in the news section.

If I find a biased headline or news item in my paper, I complain to the editors. When 20,000 people gathered in Seattle’s Safeco Field for a “Mayday for Marriage” rally against so-called “gay marriage,” the Seattle press generally ignored what the speakers said. Instead, they interviewed a few of the 200 protesters outside the stadium gates. The only photo showed a protester carrying her sign – thus giving her message visual emphasis.

I felt a duty to grouse about it. Ditto when the paper published gay “wedding” announcements and photos of pseudo-marriage ceremonies that had taken place in Portland (and since declared illegal).

The press has an ethical responsibility to tell the truth, without exaggeration, without deception, without trying to manipulate readers. The writer of the third gospel, Luke, serves as an excellent model: “It seemed good . . . to write an orderly account for you , , , that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed” (Luke 1:3,4, RSV). That’s the standard, the “Gospel truth.”

Gary Hardaway has taught in universities in the USA, Lithuania and Canada. He holds a Ph. D. in foundations of education. "Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

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