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Home Front: Culture Wars
Poll: Voters think reporters are biased liberals
2011-06-23
It seems like reporters can't write anything about hot-button topics these days without someone on the right or left accusing them of harboring a clandestine political agenda. They're either in the tank for Obama, or not properly covering the challenges to his health-care plan. One minute they never have anything nice to say about the Tea Party, the next they're overblowing its clout. And so on.

If you think we're just being sensitive here, take a look at this new Rasmussen poll: Sixty-seven percent of likely U.S. voters believe that reporters try to bolster their preferred candidate when covering an election, while 46 percent believe that the average reporter is more liberal than they are, according to the national telephone survey.

Only 21 percent of respondents, on the other hand, have faith that journalists are fair and balanced in their coverage, and 18 percent find the fourth estate's political leanings to be more conservative than their own.

Among the other findings:

  • Forty-eight percent of voters believe most reporters would "hide any damaging information they learned to help the candidate they wanted to win."

  • Meanwhile, Republicans (59 percent) and unaffiliated voters (58 percent) "feel much more strongly than Democrats that most reporters ... would hold back news that might hurt a candidate they wanted to win."

  • Seventy-eight percent of conservatives think the average reporter is more liberal than they are, while 38 percent of liberals think the average reporter is more conservative than they are.

  • Seventy-three percent of Republican voters versus 20 percent of Democrats say the average reporter is more liberal than they are.

  • Male voters are more skeptical of reporters' integrity than female voters are.
    Captain Obvious is in town doing polling I see.
    • Posted by:DarthVader

    #5  The political bias of the media, and the consequences and iniquities involved, would be a HUGE story, dominating media discussions ad nauseum, along with shrieking demands for change...

    ...if only it wasn't the media that's at fault.
    Posted by: Bulldog   2011-06-23 19:03  

    #4  
    Meanwhile, Republicans (59 percent) and unaffiliated voters (58 percent) "feel much more strongly than Democrats that most reporters ... would hold back news that might hurt a candidate they wanted to win."

    How could anyone believe this?! There's never been any examples of it!

    Well, except for everyone who's run for the president as a Democrat for the last 20 years.
    Posted by: Rob Crawford   2011-06-23 15:15  

    #3  Captain Obvious is in town for the annual "Duh!" and face-palm convention, DV. I hear he's an award-winner.
    Posted by: Old Patriot   2011-06-23 14:20  

    #2  What percentage of voters are out to lunch?
    Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2011-06-23 14:04  

    #1  Have these poll results changed at all since like, the Reagan years? Carter? Ford? Nixon?
    Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-06-23 13:58  

    00:00