Thursday, May 8, 2014

Journalists Surveyed: Democrats Outnumber Republicans

A survey by the Indiana University School of Journalism found that self-described Democrats outnumber Republicans by a ratio of four to one, 28 percent to 7 percent.

The survey (pdf), which has been conducted every 10-11 years since 1971, found that journalists have abandoned both parties. Compared to 2002, the last time it was taken, the percentage of Democrats dropped from 35 to 28. The percentage of Republicans dropped even more sharply over the same time period from 18 down to just seven percent today. (read more)

My Comment: I bet if you could determine how the 50% who are "independents" voted, I would be willing to bet that they overwhelming vote Democrat.  I suspect that knowing the mainstream print media has a reputation for being biased in favor of a liberal point of view, many journalist claim to be independent to lessen that perception of bias.  And, they may really consider themselves independent but still overwhelmingly vote Democrat.

I read the mainstream press but have almost no confidence in what I read. I read hoping some liberal journalist are able to occasionally be objective and let some unfiltered facts find there way into their reporting, but I doubt it. The way the press has show unwavering loyalty to President Obama has made me have less confidence in the mainstream press than at any point in my life. The way they have covered Obamacare, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the IRS scandal, debt and budget issues and any number of things would almost make me think they get their daily marching orders from the White House. I know that is not the case, they simply share a world view and a political philosophy with those they cover. They are such true believers in the values of inclusiveness, non-judgmentalism, liberalism, and everything politically correct that they cannot see but one side of a story. They don't want to discover facts that would shine a bad light on America's first Black president. I also suspect that they are ignorant of economics, for the most part, and do not see a danger in massive deficits and their concept of social justice is such that they think there is nothing the nation cannot afford in pursuit of social justice. I don't really think there is a conspiracy to distort the news, it is just that the press is ruled by a heard mentality and almost all share the same point of view.

While talk radio is opinion and not news reporting and a lot of blogs are commentary on others reporting and not much original investigative reporting, at lease these sources bring some balance. Thank God for Fox news, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, and few other papers, and those handful of blogs that do reporting.

I have thought the demise of the role of print journalism has been something to be regretted. One does not have an informed electorate when people get their news from the Colbert Report, John Stewart, and Saturday Night Life or their peers. For that matter, neither do you have an informed electorate if you get your news from Rush Limbaugh. To have a strong democracy you need informed voters and to have informed voters someone needs to do the in depth reporting of hard news and expose corruption and scandals and educate voters. On the other hand, I have such mistrust of the mainstream press that maybe the demise of the press is not such a bad thing. Maybe the "mainstream" press will become to be viewed as the minority politically correct press and other and better sources of news will emerge to fill the void. I hope that is what happens.

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  1. Most of your examples are national. What/who do you consider the most reliable news sources in Middle Tennessee?

  2. The most reliable source locally is The Tennessean and that is not saying much. To be informed locally, one has to work at it. Years ago when we had two daily newspapers, the press was a lot more aggressive in getting the story and getting in first. Now, so much goes uncovered. There is only superficial reporting on corruption at NES, manipulation of contracts, mismanagement at Farmers Market, etc. I am sure there are lot of potential stories that never see the light of day. The only news the TV station seem to care about is crime and car wrecks. The Scene occasionally does a good story on education issues or something else, but only occasionally. While I think there probably is a liberal bias among local reporters and while the reporters probably are mostly liberal, a lot of local stories do not have a liberal-conservative angle. The problem is a shrinking news hole and lack of competition. Actually, after years and years of getting worse and worse, I think the Tennessean got a little better when they added the USA Today section. By leaving national news up to USA, the Tennessean seems to be devoting more resources to local news. Still, it irks me when they devote half a page to a graphic to illustrate a story rather than include more news. I think the voting public is less informed than ever. Technology does necessarily contribute to a better informed public.