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Media bias

2009-03-27T03:48:11Z

Slobizman: /* External links */

'''Media bias''' is distortion of news, commentary, non-fiction articles, textbooks, documentaries, speech codes and the like to favor one side's ideas and over another's (see [[partisan]]ship). Dictatorships which suppress [[freedom of the press]] are notorious for their media bias, particularly when all media are controlled directly by a one-party government.

Most journalism schools in free countries address the issue of eliminating bias, although efforts are rarely successful. The U.S. media is strongly polarized, with multiple outlets have strong [[liberal]] and [[conservative]] biases, depending on which station is viewed. Overall, however, many, including some academics with scientific backing, maintain that the media has a general [[liberal]] bias.

==Sources of bias==

#Deliberate [[propaganda]]: Presenting bias with the intention of benefiting the media establishment.
#Institutional bias: The reporters and editors of a media organisation may hold political views, which influence their reporting.
#[[Sensationalism]]: Media depends on viewers for financial support. Thus 'irrelevant' stories may receive attention disproportionate to their impact.
#Omission: The inverse of sensationalism, media may overlook important but boring stories.
#Simplification: Highly complicated subjects may be omitted or greatly simplified, to avoid alienating viewers or making them feel uneducated.
#[[Political correctness]] or sensitivity: Fearful of appearing racist or discriminatory, media may avoid any stories which reflect negatively on a ethnic, social or religious group, especially if the group is a minority.
#Confirmation bias: a type of selective thinking whereby liberals tend to report what confirms their beliefs, and to ignore, or undervalue what contradicts their beliefs.
#Audience bias: Readers or viewers tend to read news sources with which they agree. Thus, media must reinforce the existing views of their audience, or risk losing them. This source of bias can also reinforce the effect of a [[moral]] [[panic]]. In this case, the public may receive a distorted perspective that is a result of their own preferences, because the news media will deliberately deliver news not only suitable and desirable to the general public, but may also incorporate bias that would similarly suit the viewer.

==Academic Studies and theories of media bias==

''The Media Elite,'' co-authored in 1986 by political scientists Robert Lichter, Stanley Rothman, and Linda Lichter is among the most cited academic study of political bias in news reporting. These researchers surveyed journalists at national media outlets such as the [[New York Times]], [[Washington Post]], and the broadcast networks. They found that most of the responding journalists were Democratic voters whose attitudes were far to the left of the general public on a variety of topics: [[homosexual]] rights, [[abortion]], [[affirmative action]], and so on. The study argued that the way in which journalists wrote about controversial issues was directly related to their personal political positions.

Independently corroborating the findings above, is the 2002 book length study by political communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers: Press Bias and Politics: How the Media Frame Controversial Issues. In this study of 116 mainstream US papers (including The New York Times, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle), Kuypers found that the mainstream print press in America operate within a narrow range of liberal beliefs. Those who expressed points of view further to the left were generally ignored, whereas those who expressed moderate or conservative points of view were often actively denigrated or labeled as holding a minority point of view. In short, if a political leader, regardless of party, spoke within the press-supported range of acceptable discourse, he or she would receive positive press coverage. If a politician, again regardless of party, were to speak outside of this range, he or she would receive negative press or be ignored. Kuypers also found that the liberal points of view expressed in editorial and opinion pages were found in hard news coverage of the same issues. Although focusing primarily on the issues of [[race]] and [[homosexuality]], Kuypers found that the press injected opinion into its news coverage of other issues such as [[welfare reform]], [[environmental protection]], and [[gun control]]; in all cases favoring a liberal point of view.

==Notes==

* Christian groups accuse BBC drama of inciting anti-Christian bias <ref>http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/013849.php</ref>

* Canadian Jewish Authors Castigate Anti-Christian Media Bias <ref>http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/may/05053005.html </ref>

* European Media and Anti-Israel Bias, A British journalist in Israel, Fatah leader caught by an Israeli army camera saying, "Don't start the stoning yet" <ref>http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/mediaobjectivity/European_Media_and_Anti-Israel_Bias.asp</ref>

* Recognizing Bias in Middle East Reporting: Rules for Reporters. What is media bias and why is it practiced against Israel? The Media's Anti-Israel Bias <ref>http://www.tampabayprimer.org/index.cfm?action=leftNav&drill=antiIsrael</ref>

* Anti-Israel Bias – An Endless Battle, trying to counter the anti-Israel bias in the media is an increasingly challenging proposition. <ref>http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/israel/060904a.aspx</ref>

* Does the Media's anti-Israel bias matter? <ref>http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/5294.htm</ref>

* Fighting hate & bias <ref>http://geocities.com/fightinghate</ref>

* Addressing Anti Israel Media Bias · European Media and Anti-Israel Bias <ref>http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_media_anti_israel_bias.php</ref>

* The day when the media will not be anti-Israel biased <ref>http://haveitclearly.blogspot.com/2007/03/when-media-is-not-anti-israel-biased.html</ref>

* Tom Gross on New York Times & Israel on National Review Online <ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-gross031403.asp</ref>

* French Media Bias Against Israel Blamed for Anti-Semitic Violence <ref>http://www.crosswalk.com/1313954/</ref>

* WorldNetDaily: Liberal bias against Christians? Not a chance! <ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34045</ref>

==External links==

*[[Accuracy in Media]] (AIM) non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog <ref>http://www.aim.org/index</ref>
*[http://mediamatters.org/ Media Matters for America], another notable media watchdog.
*[[CAMERA]] Dedicated for accuracy in reporting on the middle east <ref>http://camera.org</ref>
*[[ChronWatch]] A noted media watchdog and conservative news organization, with a mission to provide honest, alternative views to the increasing liberal-bias <ref>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/</ref>.
*[[Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting]] (FAIR) A media watchdog organization.<ref>http://www.fair.org/index.php</ref>
*[[HonestReporting]] A fast-action website that monitors Mideast media bias, <ref>http://www.honestreporting.com/</ref>
*[http://www.ihatethemedia.com IHateTheMedia.com] - Pointing out Liberal Bias daily
*[[MediaResearch]] (MRC) A leading media watchdog<ref>http://www.mediaresearch.org/welcome.asp</ref>
*[[NewsBusters]] A blog dedicated to "Exposing & Combating Liberal Media Bias" <ref>http://newsbusters.org/</ref>
*[[Take a pen]] Encourages fighting it <ref>http://take-a-pen.org</ref>.
*[http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/other/types-of-media-bias/ Types of Media Bias] - Student News Daily
* [http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/broadcast_news/bw_bias_in_the_news.cfm How to detect bias in the news]
*[[Politmus]] a crowdsourced site that allows members to rate and comment on examples of media bias they encounter<ref>http://www.politmus.com</ref>

== References ==

<small><references /></small>

[[category:media]]

Liberal bias

2009-03-25T21:15:02Z

Slobizman: /* External links */

'''Liberal bias''' is partisan support for [[liberal]] positions or policies. This bias pervades encyclopedias, periodicals and [[broadcast media]], and the Internet. It is expressed by reporters and other journalists in mainstream media and by teachers in [[public school]] and in many private schools which will be elaborated on shortly. It includes techniques such as [[placement bias]], [[photo bias]] and [[liberal style]]. There is a difference between being liberal, having a liberal perspective, and having a liberal bias.


Such a bias could manifest itself as one or more of the following:
*political correctness
*a tendency to exaggerate and deceive to attract attention 
*a reliance on obscenity to attract attention 
*an attempt to be consistent by treating men and women alike
*an obsession with race where images are used
 

==The  Media Confronts Liberal Bias==
[[Ann Coulter]] wrote:
*To obscure the overwhelming liberal dominance of the media, the few designated media "[[conservatives]]" are cited tirelessly in testimonies to the [[ideological]] diversity in the nation's [[newsroom]]s. Democrats in the media are [[editors]], national [[correspondent]]s, [[news anchor]]s, and [[reporter]]s. Republicans in the media are "from the right" [[polemic]]ists grudgingly tolerated within the liberal behemoth. Republican views must be accompanied by a conspicuous warning: "[[Partisan]] Conservative Opinion Coming!" [[Neutral]] news slots are reserved for Democrats exclusively. "Balance" is created by having a liberal host a debate between a liberal and a moderate Republican. <ref>''[[Slander (book)|]]'', P. 60</ref>

Although many prominent liberal journalists and teachers deny being biased - or indeed that liberal bias exists at all in the media - same have freely admitted it (e.g., [[Andy Rooney]]).{{fact}}

[[New York Times]] publisher [[Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr.]] has denied the the New York Times has a [[liberal]] viewpoint and has stated the New York Times has an "urban" viewpoint.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/weekinreview/25bott.html?ei=5088&en=452926dcb11511a3&ex=1248667200&pagewanted=all&position=</ref> However, in the summer of 2004, the newspaper's then public editor (ombudsman), Daniel Okrent, published a piece on the Times' liberal bias and cited the example of their coverage of [[Homosexuality and Marriage|homosexual marriage]].<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/facts/2007/facts2007914.asp</ref><ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/weekinreview/25bott.html?ei=5088&en=452926dcb11511a3&ex=1248667200&pagewanted=all&position=</ref> In regards to the [[Western World]], although the New York Times has a particularly heavy bias when it comes to the [[homosexuality]] issue, the New York Times is not unusual in regards to the media having a liberal bias when it comes to the subject of homosexuality; see [[Homosexuality in the Media]]. [[John Stossel]] is an author, consumer reporter, and a co-anchor for the [[ABC News]] show [[20/20]]. [[Cybercast News Service]] states the following regarding regarding the influence of the New York Times and [[Washington Post]]:
{{cquote|While the newspapers reach only a fraction of people compared to the television networks, he said radio and television producers rely heavily on their contents.

"The reason the Times, and to a lesser extent the Post, are so important, and they are, is because the TV and radio - all of the media - copy it sycophantically," he [John Stossel] said. "That's how bias at the Times becomes bias in other media."<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200401/CUL20040128a.html</ref>}}

[[Image:Liberal Bias.png|none|500px]]
'''The following persons, organizations, television programs or media outlets have well known liberal bias:'''

* ''[[The New York Times]]'' <ref>Reporters and editors today are overwhelmingly liberal politically, as studies of the attitudes of key members of the press have repeatedly shown. Should you doubt these findings, recall the statement of Daniel Okrent, then the public editor at the New York Times. Under the headline, "Is the New York times a Liberal Newspaper?," Mr. Okrent's first sentence was, "Of course it is." [http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009203] </ref>
* [[ABC]], [[CBS]] <ref>Townhall.com, [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MarvinOlasky/2001/12/04/enabling_media_bias Enabling media bias], Marvin Olasky, December 4, 2001.</ref>
* [[Dan Rather]] <ref>During a phone conversation, [[Bernard Goldberg]] asked him, "What do you consider the ''New York Times''? Rather answered, "Middle of the road." (''[[Bias (book)|Bias]]'', page 221)</ref>
* [[CNN]]
* [[NBC]] News
* [[LA Times]]
* [[Michael Moore]]
* [[The Daily Show]]
* [[Real Time]] with [[Bill Maher]]
* The [[United Nations]]
* [[Washington Post]]
* [[MSNBC]]
* [[BBC]]
* [[NPR]]
* [[Associated Press]]
* [[National Academy of Sciences]]
* [[Guardian]] ([[UK]] news organization)

==U.S. Universities==

Liberal bias is rampant in American university campuses. Leftist [[professor values|professors]] dominate the universities.{{fact}} "Because of this slant, it is virtually impossible for political balance in our universities and, as a result, the curriculum, the culture, the values, the atmosphere and the underlying currents of thought resemble indoctrination." <ref>[http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/4134_2453.pdf?PHPSESSID=14d1b6b722914bc403636c401f9792ee Universities' liberal bias is real], Fred Singer, [[Denver Post]], January 29, 2003</ref>

"College faculties are not only mostly liberal, but lean even further to the left than conservatives have imagined."
<ref>[http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/1809 Liberal bias in colleges bleeds into classroom], Cal Thomas, [[Townhall]], March 31, 2005</ref>

"The political tilt on campuses is decidedly to the left. If you're looking for balance, you're not going to find it."
<ref>[http://www.intellectualconservative.com/article3514.html Liberal Bias on Campus], John Eberhard, [[Intellectual Conservative]], June 18, 2004</ref>

Even the students admit the liberal bias. "Here at Columbia, as at most top universities, we enjoy belittling conservative beliefs."
<ref>[http://www.columbiaspectator.com/?q=node/27969 Liberal Bias is A-OK], J.D. Porter, Columbia Spectator, November 9, 2007</ref>

==Media==

===Associated Press===

AP has a consistent anti-police bias, for example, referring to "the 50-shot killing of an unarmed groom-to-be on his wedding day". Their article is designed to create sympathy for a person who talked and acted like he had a [[gun]] and then resisted arrest. The AP account reads more like an [[editorial]] than a straight [[news story]]. It is not until 400 words into the story that you read the judge's reason for acquitting the accused cops. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080425/ap_on_re_us/police_shooting]

AP does a biased piece on GOP VP nominee [[Sarah Palin]]. First paragraph includes ''"the latest in a string of disclosures that left the McCain campaign defending the thoroughness of its background check "''. There isn't a string of disclosures. Everything about her was public with the exception of the pregnant teen daughter. Second paragraph, ''"her husband, Todd, had been arrested for drunken driving two decades ago"'', pathetic tabloid smear. ''"little experience"'', liberal media always ready to drive that message home with Palin, but rigorously defend [[Obama]]'s lack of experience as the real heartbeat-away from the [[Presidency]]. ''"In a brief respite from partisanship, Democratic rival Barack Obama weighed in"'' The [[AP]] should have just wrote- ''Obama, staying high above political mudslinging because he is just that good.''. ''"the pregnancy of Palin's daughter, Bristol, was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's own youngest son, born in April, was actually the daughter's."'' AP giving credibility to Obama supporters' [[Daily Kos]]'s gross slander, actually like it so much, repeat twice in the article. "The national convention... already had been relegated to a distant second to the hurricane on TV." AP thinks Americans can care less about the GOP. ''"McCain's team dispatched a dozen operatives and lawyers to Alaska, fueling speculation that a comprehensive examination of Palin's past was incomplete..."'' Rumors masquerading as worthy news with an actual GOP rebuttal cited "Palin underwent a ``full and complete'' review." <ref>[http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/news/story.jsp?floc=DC-top&idq=/ff/story/0001/20080901/2353662008.htm&maxphotos=6&phototerm='bristol+palin'&maxstories=4&storyterm='sarah+palin' Palin says daughter, 17, is 5 months pregnant] AP, September 1, 2008</ref>

===CBS News===
[[Image:Bio-pic.jpg|right|thumb|180px|[[Bernard Goldberg]]]]
CBS insider [[Bernard Goldberg]] wrote the definitive book on liberal bias in the media, simply entitled ''[[Bias (book)|Bias]]''.
*He asserts that an ''"inability to see liberal views as liberal views ... is at the heart of the entire problem."''
*He wrote: "[[Pauline Kael]], for years the brilliant film critic at the ''New Yorker'', was completely baffled about how [[Richard Nixon]] could have beaten [[George McGovern]] in 1972: 'Nobody I know voted for Nixon.' Never mind that Nixon carried 49 states. She wasn't kidding." <ref>(''Bias (book)'', page 222-223)</ref>

Goldberg also suggested liberals don't even see their liberal values as "liberal":
*"Their views on all the big social issues ... aren't liberal views at all. They're simply reasonable views, shared by all the reasonable people the media elites mingle with ..." <ref>(''Bias (book)'', page 222)</ref>

During the [[Vietnam War]], the [[Soviet Union]] was the principal ally of [[Communist ]] North Vietnam, providing weapons and training in what was a major conflict of the [[Cold War]] that took 58,000 American lives.{{fact}} ''CBS Evening News with [[Walter Cronkite]]'' regularly carried news reports from its [[Moscow]] Bureau Chief, [[Bernard Redmont]]. When peace negotiations commenced with North Vietnam in Paris, Redmont became ''CBS News'' [[Paris]] Bureau Chief. What Redmont never reported during the ten year conflict was, Redmont had been a [[KGB]] operative since the 1930s, and member of the notorious [[Silvermaster group]]. <ref>[http://hnn.us/articles/11581.html KGB file 43173 vol. 2 (v) pp. 46-55], Alexander Vassiliev, Notes on A. Gorsky’s Report to Savchenko S.R., 23 December 1949. Original document from KGB Archives [http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page46.html].</ref> Redmont was the only journalist to whom his fellow [[Comintern]] party member, and North Vietnamese chief negotiator, Mai Van Bo, granted an interview to bring the Communist point of view into American living rooms in what has been called, "the living room war.{{fact}}"

===New York Times===
[[Image:Arthursulzbergerjr.jpg|right|thumbnail|150px|[[New York Times]] publisher [[Arthur Sulzberger Jr.]]]]
Peter D. Feaver of the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' noted on the sixth anniversary of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]] that [[MoveOn.org]] ran a full-page advertisement in the ''[[New York Times]]'' accusing General [[David Petraeus]] of activities befitting a traitor. The advertisement alleges, without [[evidence]], that Petraeus would not give an honest, professional assessment of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]]. Feaver noted, "The MoveOn.org ad is vicious ... a deliberate attack on the senior Army commander, in a major daily newspaper, with the intention of destroying as much of his [[credibility]] as possible...part of an elaborate effort to undermine public support for the [[Iraq war]], and was foreshadowed by an unnamed [[Democratic]] senator who told a reporter, "No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV . . . The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for us." The effort is funded by powerful [[special interest]]s, and has all the trappings of a major political campaign.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/11/moveons_mccarthy_moment/ MoveOn's McCarthy moment], By Peter D. Feaver, ''Boston Globe'', September 11, 2007.</ref> Within a day it was discovered the ''New York Times'' gave MoveOn.org a “hefty discount” for its ad questioning Petraeus’ integrity. According to the director of public relations for the ''New York Times'', “the open rate for an ad of that size and type is $181,692.” A spokesman for MoveOn.org confirmed that the [[liberal activist group]] paid only $65,000 for the ad - a reduction of more than $116,000 from the stated rate.<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/09132007/news/nationalnews/times_gives_lefties_a_hefty_di.htm Time Gives Lefties a Hefty Discount for "Betray us" Ad], Charles Hurt, ''New York Post'', September 13, 2007.</ref>
In July, 2008, the [[New York Times]] rejected an opinion piece written by [[John McCain]], which was responding to earlier piece written by [[Barack Obama]].<ref>http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/21/mccain-campaign-says-new-york-times-blocked-op-ed-response-to-obama/</ref> This came after the [[New York Times]] had previously published at least seven op-ed pieces by [[McCain]] since 1996, and endorsed him in the 2008 Republican Presidential primaries. The reason the [[New York Times]] cited for the July 2008 rejection was that they were asking the McCain campaign to provide a more substantive piece which would contrast his positions with the details of the Obama piece on a point-by-point basis.<ref>http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/the-times-and-the-mccain-op-ed/</ref>

===LA Times===

The mainstream media including the LA Times had been guilty of being silent regarding the [[John Edwards]] affair that the National Enquirer had broke in October 2007. The Enquirer followed up with a publication in December of 2007. Then in July 2008, the Enquirer had confronted Edwards at the Beverly Hilton hotel after he spent the entire day with his mistress. After Edwards admitted the affair on Friday August 8th, the mainsteam media finally reported the [[scandal]], including the [[LA Times]]. In an article titled "Mainstream media finally pounce on Edwards' affair", the LA Times declared that they had been pursuing the story prior to Friday. <ref>[http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-na-edwardsmedia9-2008aug09,0,7463269.story Mainstream media finally pounce on Edwards' affair] LA Times, August 9, 2008</ref> But they gave no excuse for hiding this from the American public. They have showed their true liberal bias by not reporting the story earlier. Then making an attempt to further fool the public by saying they were pursuing the story, when in fact 10 months had lapsed. Plus, nowhere in the article does it mention the Edwards is a Democrat. To the credit of the LA Times, they do mention that Democratic party strategists say Edwards needs to address the story, at the very bottom of the article. Protection of fellow [[liberal]] [[Democrats]] by the LA Times is more important than being a honest news organization.

=== Media Bias===

A 2005 report<ref>[http://www.polisci.ucla.edu/faculty/groseclose/Media.Bias.pdf A MEASURE OF MEDIA BIAS] </ref> by Tim Groseclose and Jeffrey Milyo political scientists at UCLA concluded that, based on estimated ideological scores, all of the news
outlets they examined, except Fox News’ Special Report and the Washington Times, showed a strong liberal bias (scores to the left of the average member of Congress). Of the 20 major media outlets studied, 18 scored left of center, with CBS' "Evening News," The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ranking second, third and fourth most liberal behind the news pages of The Wall Street Journal. Only Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume" and The Washington Times scored right of the average U.S. voter.
<blockquote>
"I suspected that many media outlets would tilt to the left because surveys have shown that reporters tend to vote more Democrat than Republican," said Tim Groseclose, a UCLA political scientist and the study's lead author. "But I was surprised at just how pronounced the distinctions are." <ref>http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=6664</ref>
</blockquote>

ABC, CBS, and NBC together have unloaded more than a thousand stories on Obama’s presidential campaign but not a single story devoted to examining Obama’s abysmal abortion record. <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-bozell/2008/10/14/bozell-column-whos-fierce-abortion Bozell Column: Who's 'Fierce' on Abortion?] NewsBusters.org, October 14, 2008</ref>

===Name That Party===

The liberal media refuses to identify the political party in their stories when a Democrat is involved in a scandal. Most times it is buried deep within the article so as to remain anonymous to the audience. <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/03/name-party-dem-ma-state-senator-charged-sexual-assaults Name That Party: Dem MA State Senator Charged in Sexual Assaults] NewsBusters.org, August 3, 2008</ref> The [[Associated Press]] is the most guilty of this practice but it is in fact modus operandi by all liberal media sources. Compare that with Republican scandals which the liberal media will always includes the party name in its headlines or within the first sentence or first paragraph.

=== Liberal Media - Apostles of Atheism ===
The Media Research Center released a study in 2008 reporting pro-[[atheism]] bias by major press outlets in the [[United States]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTxORumTarg</ref> The study is not surprising given the liberal bias that commonly exists in the major media outlets.

===Vision of the anointed===
[[Image:Thomassowell.jpg‎|thumbnail|150px|right|[[Thomas Sowell]]]]
Economist [[Thomas Sowell]] in his book published in 1996, ''The Vision of the Anointed'', discusses the anointed vision of liberals and liberalism to promote their agenda, and control the writing of history and the national consciousness.

Desperate evasions of discordant evidence, and the denigration and even demonizing of those presenting such evidence, are indicative of the high stakes in contemporary [[culture war]]s, which are not about alternative policies but [[Values clarification|alternative worlds]] and of alternative roles of liberals in these worlds. Opponents must be shown to be not merely mistaken but [[moral]]ly lacking. This approach replaces the intellectual discussion of arguments by the moral extermination of persons. This denigration or [[demonizing]] of those opposed to their views not only has the desired effect of discrediting the opposition but also has the unintended effect of cutting off the path of retreat from positions which become progressively less tenable with the passage of time and the accumulation of discordant evidence. The very thought that those dismissed as simplistic or maligned might have been right–even if only on a single issue–is at best galling and potentially devastating. Their last refuge in this situation are their good intentions.

For liberals, it is desperately important to win because their whole sense of themselves is at stake. Given the high stakes, it is not hard to understand the all-out attacks of liberals on those who differ from them and their attempts to stifle alternative sources of values and beliefs, with [[Hate speech|campus speech codes]] and ‘[[political correctness]]’ being prime examples of a spreading pattern of [[taboo]]s. Here they are not content to squelch contemporary voices, they must also silence history and traditions–the national memory–as well. This too is a larger danger than the dangers flowing from particular policies.

History is the memory of a nation–and that memory is being erased by historians enthralled by liberalism. Open disdain for mere facts has been accompanied by adventurous reinterpretations known as ‘revisionist’ history. This is all yet another expression of the notion that [[Moral relativism|reality is optional]].

A very similar development in the law treats the Constitution as meaning not what those who wrote it meant, but what one small segment of the public today wants it to mean. This is the ‘[[living constitution]]’ of ‘evolving standards,’ reflecting what ‘thinking people’ believe. The law itself has been prostituted to the service of [[ideological]] crusades. The social cohesion that makes civilized life possible has been loosened by the systematic undermining of families and of commonly shared values and a common culture. <ref>Thomas Sowell, [http://www.li.suu.edu/library/circulation/Lewis/ba2350tlVisionoftheAnointedShortVersion.pdf ''The Vision of the Anointed''], New York: Basic Books, 1996.</ref>

==See Also==
*[[Previous Breaking News/Liberal bias|Examples of liberal bias from previous "Breaking News" articles]]
*[[More News/Liberal Bias|Articles about '''Liberal Bias''' from "More News"]]
*[[Homosexuality and the Media]]
*[[Conservative bias]]
*[[Conservative Links]]
*[[Professor values]]

{{Examples of liberal bias}}

==External links==

*[http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/biasbasics2admissions.asp Media Bias Basics] - Admissions of Liberal Bias
*[http://www.ihatethemedia.com IHateTheMedia.com] - Pointing out Liberal Bias daily

{{liberalism}}
[[Category: Deceit]]
[[Category: Liberalism]]