On today's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough was shocked to hear from Mark Halperin of Time and co-host Mika Brzezinski that most people in the MSM don't admit that the press is biased, and to the contrary most in the MSM see themselves as "right down the middle."
JOE SCARBOROUGH: So you're saying that most people in the mainstream media don't admit that the press is biased?
MARK HALPERIN: I don't think so. You take a survey around the news room --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: No, they don't admit it: I agree that.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Cause Mark Halperin in '04 had said that most people in the media are liberal, and this is an obvious thing. I had said that most people accept it, but you do your best to be fair and down the middle even if most media people are left of center. But you say that most people that you hang out with in the media think that they're like right down the middle?
HALPERIN: I think that that's still the dominant view.
BRZEZINSKI: Yes, I agree with that. Yes.
HALPERIN: I think that's still the dominant view.
BRZEZINSKI: Absolutely.
If the MSM either can't see or won't admit the glaringly obvious fact that they're predominantly liberal, why should we believe anything else they report?
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No one in the SCM thinks
August 11, 2009 - 07:09 ET by Scuba DudeNo one in the SCM thinks they are liberals. No one wants to think about how wrong they are. That is why we need to get these media people over to NB so we can show them the light. Show them their bias. Hey! That's what's needed!!! An Intervention!!!!
The Obama Administration: THE most fiscally irresponsible Administration EVER
Follow-up Question
August 11, 2009 - 07:14 ET by FeynmanFan"...most in the MSM see themselves as "right down the middle."
Right down the middle of what?
Marx.
August 11, 2009 - 08:29 ET by NL207Marx.
Well wasn't it Dan Rather
August 11, 2009 - 07:25 ET by motherbeltWell wasn't it Dan Rather who said that the NYT was "right down the middle"???
Talk about being in denial!! As Bernie Goldberg says, they are so immersed in it that they just think it's normal!
Thanks for the laugh this AM, Mark....coffee and a laugh is better than coffee and duct tape....
Goldberg is a great resource
August 11, 2009 - 07:51 ET by GalvanicHis books -- Bias and Arrogance -- are filled with anecdotes of his personal experience with conscious and sub-conscious bias in the mainstream news media. They are excellent sources.
One of his best anecdotes was the reaction by his longtime colleague and friend at CBS News -- Dan Rather. When Goldberg's critical article appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 1996 (the article that was later expanded into the best-seller Bias), Rather's reaction was not to talk to Bernie one-on-one to get to the facts, but to call for CBS to fire Goldberg.
Goldberg also recounts how he attended an "Election Party" hosted by a well-to-do media executive on New York's posh Upper West Side. It was 1972 -- the year of Nixon's landslide victory over George McGovern, winning all but one state. As results come in and were reported by the MSM, a woman at the party (she may have been the hostess) was genuinely dumbfounded; she couldn't understand how Nixon could possibly win. "How can this be? I don't know anyone who voted for Nixon," she said.
And that was part of Bernie's point: When the media elites are isolated from everyday people and associate principally with fellow elites (e.g. celebrities, politicians, people of wealth), they convince themselves that they are the mainstream of American political perspective. In other words, Goldberg says that it's not that they sit down to consciously produce biased news; it's that they consider themselves centrists, and therefore what they produce is unbiasesd
Goldberg was right in 1996, and his assessment is even truer today.
My point was going to be similiar
August 11, 2009 - 08:35 ET by DFLowerI was going to make the same point. They hang around there enlightened friends, go to the correct enlightened parties. They hear only the correct progressive views on matters, and all think the red states are some foriegn country.
So of course, they are holding Mainstream viewpoints, they never hear anything different.
That's like the farmer
August 11, 2009 - 07:26 ET by rightsideThat's like the farmer saying, "what manure smell?"
Yes! Have some.
That's like the farmerAugust
August 11, 2009 - 07:30 ET by ninerdogThat's like the farmerAugust 11, 2009 - 08:26 ET by rightside
That's like the farmer saying, "what manure smell?"
LOL Thanks I needed that.
Who is going to admit he is liar?
August 11, 2009 - 07:39 ET by needleWho is going to say he is biased? Certain individuals might in private. Many might say insipid stuff like “I am biased in favor of motherhood and apple pie” (though in fact most liberals are actually not biased so), or biased against fascism (though again most liberal are far more biased towards fascism than they realize). But a journalist by definition is supposed to be unbiased in any case.
Similarly who is going to admit he is liar? Unfortunately, every time you ask a journalist who has sold out to liberalism if he is biased, you force him to be a liar. NewsBusters proves that everyday.
- Relying upon the State Run Media for your information is like relying upon an embezzler to manage your portfolio.
Who is going to admit he is liar?
August 11, 2009 - 08:39 ET by KC MulvilleNo one. But how do most adults deal with that?
Look, everyday, the rest of us have to deal with deflating our own egos. Just when you think you're the second coming of Socrates, someone points out (with evidence) what an idiot you are. I speak from experience here.
The media desperately hangs onto the myth that they're not human, and that they see everything without bias. Well, you can't mitigate your bias if you can't admit it in the first place. The irony is that these are news people, who want the right to decide what's truth. But they refuse to see what's glaringly obvious.
But you say that most
August 11, 2009 - 07:57 ET by MidAmericaBut you say that most people that you hang out with in the media think that they're like right down the middle?
Yeah but these people also think they are legitimate and objective journalists. They believe obama is a brilliant intellectual. They believe obama is a centrist. They believe that it's possible to control the earths weather with taxes. They believe that government bureacrats can make better medical decisions than doctors. The believe Cuba is an island paradise. The believe all workers want to and should belong to the big unions. They believe being proud of the history of this country is an ugly form of nationalism. They believe the UN is a neutral organization. They believe Christianity is a form of oppression. They believe abortion is nothing more than a medical procedure. and on and on... But worst of all, they believe they represent what America should be.
Good comment Mid
August 11, 2009 - 08:05 ET by okiehawk44I will add they believe that if you have an opposing view to anything said by a black you are a racist.
If you think people matter more than a minnow you are against the environment.
This country is so limitless in its resources that it should welcome the hordes from all over the world to live here or you are to be called anti-immigrant.
The original aboriginal inhabitants of this continent were peace loving and almost child-like and if you don't agree then you are a horrible colonialist.
When you are
August 11, 2009 - 07:56 ET by 10ksnookerin the middle of the Communist party, that's true.
The existence of this site
August 11, 2009 - 07:59 ET by rightsideThe existence of this site is testament to their bias, and I use it as my first reference to anyone who dares argue the MSM aren't biased.
Yes! Have some.
I agree
August 11, 2009 - 08:14 ET by TuariThey are right down the middle. Right down the middle between certifiable and maniacal. Either that or right down the middle between very liberal and extremely liberal.
AGREED!
August 11, 2009 - 08:55 ET by blazermaniacOf course the MSM is in the middle. "The Middle of Nowhere".
media
August 11, 2009 - 10:04 ET by east tennessee johnRight down the middle of the left hand lane.These morons don't even know how to spell objective, let alone what it means. They are the fawning white guilt media and their "coverage" of BO shows it. Them saying so don't change the FACTS, which if they were, they'd know that's the key to balanced journalism. Delusional morons.
mental health.
August 11, 2009 - 08:29 ET by cwnelson79The mentally ill do not always know that they are ill. When you are crazy, you don't know it.
This is where the bias comes
August 11, 2009 - 08:38 ET by mattmThis is where the bias comes in. When they try to act as if they are "right down the middle" they are engaging in deception.
If they would just admit what their viewpoint is, the bias would be cancelled out because the audience would know who they're dealing with.
This is what makes Rush Limbaugh more objective than George Stephanopolous. Rush is honest, Stephi and his ilk are deceivers.
MSM...I know you read this site so let me help you.
August 11, 2009 - 09:23 ET by nolotrippenDear non-political, un-biased MSM.
Problem: You don't know if you're biased.
Solution: When you present a story, do your own Fairness Doctrine. So, when you interview a lefty for two minutes, interview the opposing side for roughly the same amount of time (that means two minutes, not 20 seconds or not at all).
Done!
Cocooning
August 11, 2009 - 09:36 ET by slickwillie2001The problem with these folks is their environment; in their little cocoons in Manhattan or the leafy suburbs of DC, and their vacation homes in the Hamptons, they might actually be somewhat in the middle. Look at how those regions vote.
I wonder if the old media should simply declare their allegiance for all to know, and this be required by their management. They would always be referred to as 'the liberal Mika Brzezinki' or otherwise. Trying to pretend that one can hide their own politics while delivering the news on politics is a little ridiculous when you think about it. If they would get straight with us on their own beliefs, it would tend to push greater balance into the operations and might even help their flagging ratings.
Interesting related read on why most journalists are democratics: http://www.psychologytoday.com
The only
August 11, 2009 - 09:37 ET by jessieHThe only news that tells both sides of the story is Fox News. The rest just tell lies. Mr. obama won't let them tell both sides. Congress hasn't earned any respect.
Just Like a "Floater"
August 11, 2009 - 09:40 ET by JustAlIt is a centrifugal force thing, they are thrown to the outside of the bowl, but still think they're "centrists" as they go down the drain.
You can rub them all you like, but you can not make one shine.
Don't realize how liberal they are.
August 11, 2009 - 09:41 ET by verbatimAs they live in little liberal fish bowls and everyone else around them talks the same way, they THINK they're moderate.
It's not that they won't admit it, they don't realize how extreme they really are.
They are tone deaf, just
August 11, 2009 - 10:28 ET by d1carterThey are tone deaf, just like their POTUS.
Right down the middle of...
August 11, 2009 - 10:42 ET by GatorEdClassic group think mentality, you loose your perspective...and it can happen on both sides. I work in the military, go to church, and have conservative friends, but I try to get information from all sides. Sadly, I think I try harder than most journalist do.
Halpern on Scarborough Radio show
August 11, 2009 - 11:37 ET by tazzOn Mondays radio program on WABC in NY, Halperin compared Obamacare protestors with "Suicide Bombers". This guy is a disgrace.