A Rasmussen Reports poll released on Tuesday confirmed a long-term trend in the attitude of American voters that biased news coverage is one of the worst problems plaguing the political system, even beating out concerns over big money campaign contributions. (h/t Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard)
The survey found that 47% of respondents named media bias as “a bigger problem than big campaign contributions in politics today,” edging out the 45% who saw campaign contributions as the bigger challenge. The poll also found that an overwhelming 66% of voters thought the press “have too much power and influence over elections.”
Sadly, the results were nothing new. In poll after poll and election cycle after election cycle, the American people repeatedly identified media bias a major issue harming the political process.
A Rasmussen poll conducted in August of 2012 found that “most voters think President Obama has gotten better treatment from the media than Mitt Romney has, and they expect that biased coverage to continue.” Another survey conducted in September of that year found that 47% saw media bias as a larger concern that big money contributions (42%).
In September of 2008, 42% of voters said that they believed journalists would “hide information that hurts the candidate they want to win.” In August of that year, 55% viewed media bias a bigger threat to elections than big money contributions.
An October 2004 Pew Research Center poll revealed: “Half of voters (50 percent) say most newspaper and TV reporters would prefer to see John Kerry win the election, compared with just 22 percent who think that most journalists are pulling for George Bush.” The same survey found 62% “say news organizations have too much influence in determining the election's outcome.”
Based on the data, the American public seem to have rightly determined that the liberal media provide in-kind campaign contributions to Democrats that are far more valuable than any super-PAC.
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