Conservative bias
Conservative bias is the tendency in the conservative mindset to ignore criticism of and inherent problems with conservatism, and to exaggerate perceived problems with rival views. Reporters and editors at conservative news sources prefer reporting news stories in which ideologically conservative politicians or members of demographics likely to support them appear as "victims" of liberalism. More generally, replace "conservative" with any political, philosophical, scientific or religious ideology and you'll probably find that the same is true. Righteous victimhood is emotionally powerful.
You gotta spin it to win it Media |
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We want pictures of Spider-Man! |
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Conservative bias in English language news media
In the USA, most talk radio stations take a conservative tone, the thankfully now dead Rush Limbaugh being a big name in the medium. Most of these stations are in denial that conservative talk radio is actually in the majority; Thom Hartmann, a well-known left-wing talk radio figure, almost has that field to himself.
In Britain and the U.S., many newspapers and other news outlets, specifically cable news networks, are owned by corporations, of which Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is portrayed as the archetype. This is cited as a factor in said news outlets being biased against socialism in their reporting and editorial stance, unlike non-corporate-owned papers such as the People's Weekly World in the U.S. or the Morning Star in Britain.
In Canada, newspapers have a history of endorsing the Conservative Party of Canada well in excess of the party's polling popularity.[1]
The editorial stances on cable news outlets run from Al Jazeera and MSNBC on the left to Fox News on the right. Fox News, a.k.a. "Faux News," "Fox So-Called News," etc., has a definite conservative bias (any outlet which, until recently[2], took to calling itself "fair and balanced" should be regarded with suspicion); to cite just one example, during the 2000 U.S. presidential election it called Florida for George W. Bush at a time when polls had Al Gore in the lead.[3]
See also
References
- Dwayne Winseck, "Lopsided coverage and support of the Conservative Party exemplifies the tilted playing field of electoral politics." Policy Options, November 3rd, 2015. Accessed June 19th, 2019.
- Fox News Drops ‘Fair and Balanced’ Motto
- How Bush's man at Fox News worked to shape the outcome of the US election November 17, 2000
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