Some of you may remember our interview with Tim Groseclose a few months back that explored the liberal bias in the media. This kind of spin has been more prevalent than ever this fall. Why is that? Have you noticed how journalists typically favor the Occupy Wall Street protestors over the tea party? Do newspapers only care about making a profit?
Gerard Baker, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and Andrew Ferguson, Senior Editor of the Weekly Standard, tackle these questions head-on in a recent interview with Uncommon Knowledge.
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Rupert Murdoch’s father once described newspapers as one of “the most important instruments of human freedom.” But are modern American newspapers really instruments of freedom? Many newspapers are subsidized by international media entities that stifle diversity in journalism. These same international media outlets often depict American conservatives as “bible-bashing, gay-hating, women-hating, warmongering lunatics.”
Double-standards are more apparent than ever – when reports of John Edwards’s affair began to surface, journalists avoided the story for as long as possible. But then they flocked to cover stories based on rumors regarding Herman Cain and sexual assault.
As to why journalists are so liberal, “It’s a matter of temperament,” says Baker. It comes down to priorities, and journalists are more concerned with “making trouble and exposing wrong-doing,” Ferguson explains. People who lean to the right tend to be more interested in commerce and providing for their families.
For more of the discussion with Gerard Baker and Andrew Ferguson, watch the full interview below.
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