Media Bias 101 summarizes more than 25 years of survey research showing how journalists vote, what journalists think, what the public thinks about the media, and what journalists say about media bias. The following links take you to more than 40 different surveys, with key findings and illustrative charts.
Media Bias 101
Almost every year from 2001 through 2013, Gallup has polled American adults on the question: 'Now thinking for a moment about the news media: In general, do you think the news media is too liberal, just about right, or too conservative.' Each year, the number of Americans saying the media are too liberal has outnumbered those seeing a pro-conservative bias by about a three-to-one margin. Gallup also found that while a large majority of Democrats said they had trust and confidence in the media,…
During the election year, the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press frequently polled public attitudes about the media. In an October 15, 2000 report, the group found that most voters 'generally believe the media has been fair to both major presidential candidates, but more say the press has been fair to Al Gore than to George W. Bush.' In fact, the vast majority of respondents (89%) agreed that reporters' political views often or sometimes influenced the coverage.KEY FINDINGS:When…
As part of 'a $1 million project to improve the credibility of newspapers and journalism,' the American Society of Newspaper Editors commissioned a poll of 3,000 Americans in April and May of 1998. The survey found that more than three-fourths of Americans (78%) believed that the press is biased, and an equal percentage believed that reporters would 'spike or spin' a story to suit powerful interests. The findings were detailed in a 1999 report, Examining Our Credibility: Perspectives of the…
In November 1996, the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) partnered with the Louis Harris Organization to poll 3,000 people about their attitudes toward the press. According to the poll, those who saw a liberal bias outnumbered those who perceived a conservative bias by two-to-one. The results of the poll were published in the May/June 1997 Media Monitor, the CMPA's newsletter, and later released as a 226-page report, What the People Want from the Press.KEY FINDINGS:CMPA reported: '…
One of the most comprehensive surveys of the public's general opinion of the media was done in 1997 by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press, formerly known as the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press. This research compared poll results from the mid-1980s with the late-1990s, (using identical questions) and determined a growing percentage of the public realize the media are biased, inaccurate and an obstacle to solving problems.KEY FINDINGS:Two-thirds (67%) said…
Preparing for a panel discussion on the media, the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands commissioned a poll of 673 journalists, including 424 from newspapers, 48 from broadcast and cable networks, 47 from top-50-market local television stations, 45 from Web sites, 41 from other television stations, 26 from national radio networks, 18 from wire services, 14 from top-50-market local radio stations and 10 from magazines. The surveys were conducted by…
Media Bias 101 summarizes decades of survey research showing how journalists vote, what journalists think, what the public thinks about the media, and what journalists say about media bias. The following links take you to dozens of different surveys, with key findings and illustrative charts. (Most recent update: May 2014)
A printer-friendly, fully-formatted 48-page version of the report (updated January 2014) is available in PDF format here (1.8 MB).
Part One: What Journalists Think…
Prior to the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, the online Slate magazine surveyed its staff to find out how they intended to vote. In each of these elections, more than three-fourths of the staff declared their intention to vote for the Democratic candidate, with 96 percent supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.KEY FINDINGS:More than three-fourths (29, or 76%) listed Democratic candidate Al Gore as their top choice in 2000, compared to just 10.5 percent (4)…
As part of a larger study of how the views of 'opinion leaders' compare with those of the general public, the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press, in collaboration with the Council on Foreign relations, surveyed 72 top journalists in September and October 2005. The study, which was released on November 17, 2005, found that, compared to everyday citizens, journalists were more likely to have opposed the decision to go to war in Iraq, were more pessimistic about the chances of…
In March and April 2005, the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy surveyed 300 journalists nationwide — 120 who worked in the television industry and 180 who worked at newspapers — and asked for whom they voted in the 2004 presidential election. In a report released May 16, 2005, the researchers disclosed that the journalists they surveyed selected Democratic challenger John Kerry over incumbent Republican President George W. Bush by a wide margin, 52 percent to 19 percent (…