The Watchdog with David Bozell

I have been through enough elections to know that some mornings are more enjoyable than others.

As I write, votes are still being counted across America. Whatever the final results, Washington will soon produce enough finger-pointing, Monday-morning quarterbacking, and political analysis to keep everyone entertained until Christmas.

I have something else on my mind.

For the past year, MRC has been investigating one of the most powerful and least scrutinized forces in American journalism: the news applications operated by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

Consider the reach. According to Reuters, 48% of Americans get their news from news websites and apps. Nearly half — HALF — the country now relies on digital platforms for news, giving the companies controlling the flow of information extraordinary influence over what Americans read and see.

And look at what our researchers have uncovered.

During October, Apple News promoted 96 headlines mentioning President Trump. Forty-nine were negative. Forty-seven were neutral. Zero were positive.

Our broader research has repeatedly found an overwhelming preference for left-leaning news outlets across the largest news aggregation platforms.

Think about the implications. Technology companies can influence which stories reach millions of Americans, which perspectives receive attention, and which news organizations struggle to be heard. Their editorial decisions help shape the national conversation every single day.

Elections are decided by voters, and political parties bear responsibility for the candidates they nominate, the campaigns they run, and the promises they make. But the news environment in which Americans make their decisions deserves serious scrutiny, too.

MRC has spent nearly four decades exposing media bias. We are now tracking how bias spreads through the digital systems delivering news to the American people.

And we are just getting started.

Our researchers are expanding the Digital News Tracker, developing new tools to audit artificial intelligence and search engines, and building the capacity to uncover political bias wherever Americans encounter the news.

I am proud of the extraordinary progress our team has made, and I am grateful for your continued confidence in our mission.

Election nights come and go. The need for an independent media watchdog endures.

Take it easy,David Bozell
President