Directions

-Read the excerpt below from Dave Pierre's post at newsbusters.org on Sept. 25th.
-Read "Types of Media Bias" in the right column. Then answer the question.

On the Thursday, September 21, 2006, episode of his radio show, host Hugh Hewitt interviewed Thomas B. Edsall, who up until recently was a senior political reporter for the Washington Post. He had been with the paper for 25 years. …Edsall admitted something that is rarely heard from a liberal these days. In a shocking admission, Edsall articulated that the biases of the mainstream media are “overwhelmingly to the left.” He also proposed that Democratic reporters outnumber Republicans “in the range of 15-25 to 1″!

In the interview, as Hewitt and Edsall discussed the rise of conservative talk radio and the biases of the mainstream media, Edsall stated the following:

EDSALL: … I agree that whatever you want to call it, mainstream media, presents itself as unbiased, when in fact, there are built into it many biases, and they are overwhelmingly to the left.

Hewitt appeared so surprised by the remark that, after a pause, he replied, “Well, that’s very candid.”……

On the topic of the political allegiances of “big name political reporters,” the following exchange took place:

HEWITT: [Jim Vandehei of the Washington Post] probably is a Republican. But given the number of reporters out there, is it ten to one Democrat to Republican? Twenty to one Democrat to Republican?

EDSALL: It’s probably in the range of 15-25:1 Democrat.

Whoa! The must-read transcript of this eye-opener is at Hugh Hewitt’s blog at TownHall.com…

For the complete report, go to NewsBusters.org.

Identifying Media Bias

To accurately identify different types of bias, you should be aware of the issues of the day, and the liberal and conservative perspectives on each issue.

Types of Media Bias:

Questions

Do you agree with Washington Post reporter Thomas Edsall’s statement that the mainstream media are “overwhelmingly to the left?”  Explain your answer.


Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.

Answers

Opinion question.  Answers vary.