According to a new Gallup poll, most Americans recognize partisan bias in the news media.
At least their eyes are open.
I discovered this about 20 years ago when I first read “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman, and doing some time studies on CNN. I spent one hour each day, charting when each segment started and stopped, and how long each segment lasted. It was fascinating.
Remember: bias isn’t just how you report the news, and what spin you put on it. It’s also what you choose not to report.
In a contentious political landscape, Americans increasingly believe the news media generally favors one political party over the other. Sixty-two percent of U.S. adults say the media has a favorite, up from about 50% in past years. Just 27% now say the media favors neither major party.
When Gallup last asked this question in February 2003, Americans were about evenly divided on the issue. Americans were also evenly split when the question was first asked in April 1995. In December 2000, in the midst of the election results recount between George W. Bush and Al Gore, slightly more Americans perceived partisan bias in the news media (51%) than believed the news media was politically neutral (41%).
Via Gallup