From nattering nabobs to the Fox News Channel Media bias From nattering nabobs to the Fox News Channel

Are the media liberal? Washington reporters vote Democratic Credit: Media Research Center Washington reporters vote Democratic Do personal views affect fair coverage? Should we have balanced news staffs?

Age of objectivity Partisan press gave way to mass media In first half of 20th century, opinion press was tiny Broad cultural consensus, little ideology

McCarthy era Coverage exposed limits of objectivity Edward R. Murrow (left) challenged McCarthy Accused of making news, not reporting it

Civil-rights era Media on the side of equal rights Opponents portrayed as ignorant Backlash gave rise to modern conservative movement

Vietnam War Reporters like David Halberstam (left) reported war was going badly Media blamed for losing the war Parallels today to the war in Iraq

Nixon and the media “Silent Majority” was unhappy with cultural change White middle-class voters were trending Republican Media seen as liberal elitists

Spiro Agnew Denounced media as “nattering nabobs of negativism” Battled press over Pentagon Papers and Watergate Accusation against the media lived on

Ronald Reagan Perception was that media were tough on him Lowest moment was Iran-Contra affair Little evidence of negative coverage

Rise of conservative media Rush Limbaugh and other radio hosts attract millions Wall Street Journal editorial page Fox News Channel appeals to sense of resentment

William Kristol “I admit it — the liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures”

The so-called liberal media Whitewater a scandal that wasn’t Lewinsky a bigger deal with the press than the public Gore was smeared with phony claim that he’d “invented the Internet”

A theory of media bias Mainstream is liberal on cultural issues like gay marriage Small but influential conservative press “works the refs” Political reporters strain not to be seen as biased

Voices on the left Small publications like The Nation Radio hosts like Ed Schultz (left) and Stephanie Miller Left-leaning Web sites like the Daily Kos and Blue Mass. Group

An infamous interview