NJ paper goes on a witch-hunt -- for newsroom liberals
NJ paper to search and destroy "liberal bias"
NJ paper goes on a witch-hunt -- for newsroom liberals
Some sociologists have attributed the occurrence of witchhunts to the prevalent human tendency to blame unexplainable occurrences on someone or something familiar. For example, Europe relied heavily upon agriculture during the period of the witch hunts; if there were large scale crop failures, the consequences would very likely be disastrous. Crop failures often correlated with the occurrence of witchhunts, leading some sociologists to suggest that communities often took out their anger about a lack of food on community members who were unpopular (witches.)
In case you haven't noticed, the crops are failing -- for the 21st Century American newspaper. The drought has taken a huge toll on circulation, and it looks like the boll weevils have been eating through the advertising field. Panic is becoming widespread. The only explanation for so many failures all at once...could be witchcraft. And it's time to "blame unexplainable ocurrences on someone or something familiar."
Liberals in the newsroom -- a.k.a. your so-called "liberal media."
It's happening at one of the largest newspapers in New Jersey -- the Record, based in Bergen County, which covers the mostly affluent suburbs west and northwest of Manhattan, a paper known for winning awards and training young journalists who go on to the bigger East Coast newspapers. It is not known, particularly, as a bastion of liberalism, except to a handful of readers who passed that complaint along when the readership-desperate newspaper begged citizens to tell them what they wanted to read. First came this report last month:
Is there a liberal slant to The Record's news coverage? A number of readers who participated in recent telephone interviews with our market research team said they think there is.
The focus of interviews conducted over 10 days in March centered on what "jobs" readers want fulfilled by The Record. "Tell me the truth" stood out as a key job, but several readers added that they want the truth objectively – not from a reporter's personal angle. That led to expanded conversations.
"A good portion of these people feel The Record is politically liberal," said Joe Ferrara, market research manager. "Some of that may mirror a broader perception about media generally having a political agenda. But some people made the distinction between The Record's editorial pages and news content, saying ‘Your opinion pages are sneaking over into your news articles'."
Here's the follow-up from editor Frank Scandale:
This is the first column in a series over the next six months looking into bias. I want to know what constitutes it in the eyes of the readers, find specific examples of it and address it.
I am enlisting the support of my research department, well-documented studies, my colleagues here at the paper and around the country, and, of course, you, the reader.
Of course, by "bias" Scandale is referring to "liberal bias." How will this play out over the six months? It's hard to say -- it's doubtful that any reporter will get in trouble, but then human nature is such that good journalists will probably pull their punches or metaphorically look over their shoulders on a few stories. In my experience, when that starts to happen the casualty is exactly the No. 1 "job" that the readers said that they wanted -- "telling the truth," since truth-telling sometimes means getting a little more aggressive than the blandness of the ol' on-one-hand, on-the-other-hand.
Who knows -- maybe the Record is in fact the Socialist Worker of North Jersey, with a sports section thrown in...but I kind of doubt that. In fact, the majority of stories on their home page right now don't have any political bent and the one that sort of does -- "Spitzer girl "a regular" at Jersey Shore spots" -- looks like it could have come straight from the camera phone of GOP dirty trickster Roger Stone. And frankly, given the way the news media in New Jersey and 49 other states covered the run-up to the war in Iraq, if that's a liberal media I shudder to think how a "balanced" media would have covered it.
But that's not even the point. I do happen to believe that perception becomes a reality, and there are positive ways to deal with the perception by some would-be readers that the Record is too liberal without a witch-hunt that will utilmately stiffle newsroom creativity and morale. The general key is to err on the sides of transparency, two-way communication, citizen participation, and -- counter-intuitive, I know -- give reporters the freedom to be even more opinionated, not less so.
1) What the readers who complain about "liberal bias" are really saying is that viewpoints like theirs aren't being heard -- and if that's true, that's a problem. A problem that can be solved with this wondeful new tool called the Internet -- perhaps you've heard of it? Set up and encourage reader discussion on every story, or as many as are feasible -- because that will give readers a chance to point out perceived biases immediately. What's more, encourage reporters to respond to some of those complaints, and let the issue be aired out through dialogue. Sure, discussion boards are messy -- just like democracy. Both are better than the alternatives.
2) If possible, use the paper's Web site as a tool to allow citizens to develop their own blogs, as a way to raise community concerns and issues -- including conservative ones -- that are being ignored. That will broaden the conversation and bring in some interesting new stories, since our shrinking newsrooms can't honestly be expected to know everything that's going out there. And to paraphase Lyndon Johnson, you'll be bringing the camels -- your critics -- inside the tent to be pissing out, instead of the other way around.
3) The readers don't trust your reporters because they have no idea who they are. Instead of hunting for bias, encourage your staffers to become more transparent, to post bios, let readers know what they are all about and what's important to them, even -- if they want to and it's relevant -- whom they've voted for. Let it all hang out, and increase communication with readers, on the Web or even (gulp!) in person.
4) This last one will shock you, perhaps, but I and many others believe the real reason people would rather get their news from places like "The Daily Show" than the Record is not because we're biased but because we're too castrated, trying to explain issues to readers in ways that won't offend anyone but is guaranteed not to interest them, either. OK, maybe "biased" is a loaded word but I think the Record would do better if reporters were more edgy and not afraid of something that looks like an opinion when it's called for -- as long as people have the space to disagree. And if that sounds too much like "bias," then OK, be biased. Just don't kill my profession -- and yours -- for fear of being a liberal, because in the end it will be fear -- as manifested by this current witch-hunt -- and not the Internet that destroys the Record and every other American news org.
Meanwhile, the mental energy that's going to be wasted on looking for how many liberal journalists can fit on the head of a pin could have been spent investigating more corrupt public officials in North Jersey (because I hear you have some of those), or what's really causing $4.15-a-gallon gas.
Also known as "telling the truth."
And one more thing -- some people may think that the term "witch-hunt" is too inflammatory, or too "biased" a word. Good -- because that's exactly what I was going for.
If you wish to tell the Record's editor what you think about his investigation of bias in the newsroom, his email address is scandale@northjersey.com.
Like you, I have observed that when newspapers reveal the truth, it is called a liberal bias by conservatives. For example, if a newspaper reports that the present (more-or-less conservative) administration is telling lies or subverting the Constitution, then conservatives will say that it has a liberal bias. One hopes that when we have the new Obama administration (or even the new McCain administration), reporters will continue to note any lies told to the American public and any time the new administration subverts the Constitution or ignores laws or tries to pack courts with supporters instead of unbiased judges. Maybe if the administration is Democratic, the conservatives will back of the press. The important thing is not to let politicians get away with anything, not to push any political agendas in the name of news. OK of course to push political agendas in the name of opinion.
Here's a comment from a registered independent. Anyone that thinks that the media has a liberal bias is clearly an idiot. We all know that in this day and age, 95% of the media where we get our daily news, info, etc. from is controlled by large corporations. We all know how liberal corporate types can be. This is the dumbest and easiest conservative complaint to shoot down. I'm sick of hearing about it.— AJ_live_from_the_215- Hi Will, Very simple: ANY deviation at all from the low-brow, rightwing swill inflicted on low-information people by talk radio smear freaks like Sean Hannity is to be demonized as "liberal bias". The first poster, Archimedes, has it exactly right. Uninformed people, or people with the hidden agenda of vesting all legitimate authority in property rather than in the voters, consider giving the truth to transparent rightwing lying, as "bias". This country is dying of entrenched stupidity.— jaydiamond
Comment removed.- AJ, I guess I'm an "idiot" - but that's typical - liberals resort to name calling ("idiot", "smear freaks") when they can't make a convincing argument. Explain to me how "big corporations" are conservative? Seems to me they support an awful lot of liberal causes. Explain how neither the Inquirer or Daily News have endorsed a Republican for president in decades. Nor have the NY Times, Washington Post, or LA Times. How has that happened? Who are the conservative "fresh voices" on philly.com? Who are the conservatives on the Inquirer editorial board? When the issue of "liberal bias" in the Democrat-Media Complex comes up, liberals just try to redefine "liberal". If the media outlet doesn't give credence to extreme left wing views like those of Code Pink and MoveOn.org, they throw them in the "conservative" column.— fafafooey
- Just look at the lamestream media political shows: CBS - Tim Russert, worked for Democrat Tip O'Neil. ABC - George Stephanopolous, worked for Democrat Bill Clinton, Cokie Roberts, parents were Democrat representatives. CBNC - Crissie Mattews, worked for Democrats Tip O'Neil and Jimmah Carter. Who are the Republicans heading up political shows on the networks?— MiddleNameHussein
- Let me see.. the journalism orgs have done studies that reveal that they are 90% or more dems self admitted and left of center but they are liars .. we all know that they ARE ALL CLOSET REPUBS ... lol.. yep all corp. shills for the evil right wing..the messiah has his religious followers and he will be the next president. gotta get some pelosi primium today at $4 p/gl instead of the $2.25 when she said in 2006..November of 2006, House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi issued a press release touting the Democrats'////// "common-sense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices." ////That's a 75% increase for you Bartram grads.— mookie
- This phenomenon is so interesting to me. We all know (yes, ALL OF US) through common experience and common sense that there are two major institutions in America that are extremely liberal: colleges and the media. You can verify it with data and statistics, if you like. But liberals maintain this weird public myth that neither of these institutions are liberal. Why? We all know it. EVEN LIBERALS KNOW IT. But for some reason they just won't admit it publicly. Very strange.— chrissmith
- As chrissmith says they are closet libs and won't come out because it would show just how they control public debate now return to the CNN snowman question in time for townhall debate..Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher (2006). Lying. He admitted to fabricating a story in his younger reporting days.Reuters, Lebanon coverage (2006). Fake/staged photos.A burning tire dump as the scene of an Israeli bombing, Photoshopped bomb smoke, etc. during the Lebanon-Israel conflict. // Reuters Russia's North Pole coverage (2007). More fake photos/footage. "Reuters has been forced to admit that footage it released last week purportedly showing Russian submersibles on the seabed of the North Pole actually came from the movie Titanic." The mistake was caught by a 13-year-old Finnish boy.— mookie
- Evan Thomas, Newsweek (2004). Admitted bias. Thomas said, "Let's talk a little media bias here. The media, I think, wants Kerry to win. ... They're going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic and there's going to be this glow about them ... that's going to be worth maybe 15 points."— takisha
- Gary Webb, Pulitzer Prize winner, San Jose Mercury News (1996). Lying. He wrote the series of articles saying the CIA under President Reagan brought crack cocaine to Los Angeles. "Major parts of Webb's reporting were later discredited by other newspaper investigations. An investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department found no evidence of a connection between the CIA and the drug traffickers. In 1997, then-Mercury News executive editor Jerry Ceppos backed away from the series, saying ‘we fell short at every step of our process.' Webb was transferred to one of the paper's suburban bureaus." He committed suicide in 2004, but remains a hero to many conspiracy theorists.— takisha
- OK folks let's get out those old news stories about the po black "victim" of rape by evil white guys ala Tawana Brawley or if you like Duke La Cross playas..— takisha
Well, 'The Record' probably sees all the other left leaning newspapers such as the Inquirer and Daily News slowly going down the tubes, and they want to avoid the same fate.— jmc
"OK folks let's get out those old news stories about the po black "victim" of rape by evil white guys ala Tawana Brawley or if you like Duke La Cross playas.."...............What do those stories have to do with being liberal or conservative? I'd love to read your explanation Takisha.- Bias exists. Only the most dim-witted fool, who holds an advanced degree in hyperbolic topology, would be so obstinate as to deny it. It is human nature to see/understand/relate/communicate from you own point of view thereby introducing bias. Newspaper and Television journalists are not different. The problem is that they refuse to admit it! They claim to be perfectly objective and even dismiss the possibility of bias out of hand. These arrogant, and yes mostly liberal, mainstream media types are "in-touch" only with their like-minded friends in liberal areas of the country like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, etc. They are "out-of-touch" with the rest of America which happens to be more center-right. This wouldn't be a problem except that this is their customer, a customer with other options, and not a captive audience with no other choices. The longer the liberal media types (like Will) continue to deny the obvious, that many of their customers are actually somewhat conservative and can see through their continued ram-rodding of the liberal agenda, their customers will simply seek other options.— 24601
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