From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Fri Sep 30 2005 - 20:49:44 UTC
>From: Barry Karr <SkeptInq_at_AOL.COM>
>Reply-To: CSICOP Announcement <CSICOP-ANNOUNCE_at_LISTSERV.AOL.COM>
>To: CSICOP-ANNOUNCE_at_LISTSERV.AOL.COM
>Subject: CSICOP Online: Science and the Media
>Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 16:12:43 EDT
>
>
>
>Understanding Bias in Coverage of Intelligent Design:
>Follow-up on Columbia Journalism Review article and New York Times Series
>Matthew Nisbet
>September 30, 2005
>Have the efforts of the intelligent design movement been thwarted by a
>secular and liberal news media? Across coverage of politics, many
>conservative
>leaders believe that the overwhelming majority of reporters, editors, and
>media
>producers favor a liberal point of view. In terms of evidence, however,
>conservatives rarely cite verifiable data indicating systematic patterns of
>liberal bias in coverage of public affairs. Instead, conservatives rely on
>selective anecdotes and examples as support for their claims. Still, over
>the past
>twenty years, the consistent drum beat from conservatives about the dangers
> of
>an allegedly liberal press, in combination with the news media’s own
>tendency
>to critically reflect on such a possibility, have contributed to a growing
>belief among the general public that the news media is indeed biased.
>Social scientists, however, have had difficulty in reaching a consensus
>about
> the ideological nature of political coverage. One group of scholars infer
>liberal media bias from surveys that indicate journalists favor the left in
>their political preferences, and are more likely than the public to vote
>Democratic in elections. Yet, as others point out, surveys of reporters’
>political
>preferences do no offer direct evidence of bias in coverage. In fact, it
>is
>more likely that professional norms that dictate balance and impartiality,
>combined with the need to maintain credibility with audiences, override the
>personal political preferences of journalists. Some scholars point to
>various
>methodological problems in reliably assessing ideological bias specific to
>social issues like abortion where it is difficult to define a clear
>objective
>standard by which to evaluate coverage.
>To Read More of This Column Visit:
>_http://www.csicop.org/scienceandmedia/id/_
>(http://www.csicop.org/scienceandmedia/id/)
>To Read More Columns By Matt Nisbet Visit:
>_http://www.csicop.org/scienceandmedia/_
>(http://www.csicop.org/scienceandmedia/)
>Comments on the column should be address to Matt Nisbet at
>_nisbetmc_at_gmail.com_ (mailto:nisbetmc_at_gmail.com)
>(mailto:nisbetmc_at_yahoo.com)
>Please do not respond to the listserv. Other comments should be addressed
>to: _skeptinq_at_aol.com_ (mailto:skeptinq_at_aol.com)
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