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NEW YORK Those convinced that liberals make up a disproportionate share =
of newsroom workers have long relied on Pew Research Center surveys to =
confirm this view, and they will not be disappointed by the results of =
Pew's latest study released today.
While most of the journalists, like many Americans, describe themselves =
as "moderate," a far higher number are "liberal" than in the general =
population.
At national organizations (which includes print, TV and radio), the =
numbers break down like this: 34% liberal, 7% conservative. At local =
outlets: 23% liberal, 12% conservative. At Web sites: 27% call =
themselves liberals, 13% conservatives.=20
This contrasts with the self-assessment of the general public: 20% =
liberal, 33% conservative.=20
The survey of 547 media professionals, completed this spring, is part of =
an important study released today by The Project for Excellence in =
Journalism and The Committee of Concerned Journalists, which mainly =
concerns more general issues related to newsrooms (an E & P summary will =
appear Monday).
While it's important to remember that most journalists in this survey =
continue to call themselves moderate, the ranks of self-described =
liberals have grown in recent years, according to Pew. For example, =
since 1995, Pew found at national outlets that the liberal segment has =
climbed from 22% to 34% while conservatives have only inched up from 5% =
to 7%.=20
The survey also revealed what some are sure to label a "values" gap. =
According to Pew, about 60% of the general public believes it is =
necessary to believe in God to be a truly moral person. The new survey =
finds that less than 15% of those who work at news outlets believe that. =
About half the general public believes homosexuality should be accepted =
by society -- but about 80% of journalists feel that way.
When the question of which news organizations actually tilted left or =
right, there was one clear candidate: Fox News. Fully 69% of national =
journalists, and 42% of those at the local level, called Fox News =
"especially conservative." Next up was The New York Times, which about =
one in five labeled "especially liberal."
Not surprisingly, views of how the press has treated President Bush =
break down along partisan lines. More than two out of three liberals =
feel the press has not been tough enough on Bush, while half the =
conservatives feel the media has been too tough.
Still, a little over half of national journalists (53%) give national =
media coverage of the administration an A or B rating.
While the sample of 547 interviewees is not large, Pew says that this =
selection represents "a cross-section of news organizations and of the =
people working at all levels of those organizations." Newspapers were =
identified and circulation ranked using the 2003 Editor & Publisher =
International Year Book.
In an essay accompanying the survey, the directors of the sponsoring =
groups -- Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel and Amy Mitchell --declare that =
broad conclusions about the political findings should be tempered by =
analyzing some of the details in the findings. For example, they =
identify strong "libertarian" leanings among jouurnalists, including =
doubts about the role of "big government."
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial><FONT size=3D2><STRONG>NEW YORK</STRONG> Those =
convinced=20
that liberals make up a disproportionate share of newsroom workers have =
long=20
relied on Pew Research Center surveys to confirm this view, and they =
will not be=20
disappointed by the results of Pew's latest study released today.<BR=20
clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>While most of the journalists, like many =
Americans,=20
describe themselves as "moderate," a far higher number are "liberal" =
than in the=20
general population.<BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>At national =
organizations=20
(which includes print, TV and radio), the numbers break down like this: =
34%=20
liberal, 7% conservative. At local outlets: 23% liberal, 12% =
conservative. At=20
Web sites: 27% call themselves liberals, 13% conservatives. <BR =
clear=3Dnone><BR=20
clear=3Dnone>This contrasts with the self-assessment of the general =
public: 20%=20
liberal, 33% conservative. <BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>The survey =
of 547 media=20
professionals, completed this spring, is part of an important study =
released=20
today by The Project for Excellence in Journalism and The Committee of =
Concerned=20
Journalists, which mainly concerns more general issues related to =
newsrooms (an=20
E & P summary will appear Monday).<BR clear=3Dnone><BR =
clear=3Dnone>While it's=20
important to remember that most journalists in this survey continue to =
call=20
themselves moderate, the ranks of self-described liberals have grown in =
recent=20
years, according to Pew. For example, since 1995, Pew found at national =
outlets=20
that the liberal segment has climbed from 22% to 34% while conservatives =
have=20
only inched up from 5% to 7%. <BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>The =
survey also=20
revealed what some are sure to label a "values" gap. According to Pew, =
about 60%=20
of the general public believes it is necessary to believe in God to be a =
truly=20
moral person. The new survey finds that less than 15% of those who work =
at news=20
outlets believe that. About half the general public believes =
homosexuality=20
should be accepted by society -- but about 80% of journalists feel that =
way.<BR=20
clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>When the question of which news =
organizations actually=20
tilted left or right, there was one clear candidate: Fox News. Fully 69% =
of=20
national journalists, and 42% of those at the local level, called Fox =
News=20
"especially conservative." Next up was The New York Times, which about =
one in=20
five labeled "especially liberal."<BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>Not=20
surprisingly, views of how the press has treated President Bush break =
down along=20
partisan lines. More than two out of three liberals feel the press has =
not been=20
tough enough on Bush, while half the conservatives feel the media has =
been too=20
tough.<BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>Still, a little over half of =
national=20
journalists (53%) give national media coverage of the administration an =
A or B=20
rating.<BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>While the sample of 547 =
interviewees is not=20
large, Pew says that this selection represents "a cross-section of news=20
organizations and of the people working at all levels of those =
organizations."=20
Newspapers were identified and circulation ranked using the 2003 Editor =
&=20
Publisher International Year Book.<BR clear=3Dnone><BR clear=3Dnone>In =
an essay=20
accompanying the survey, the directors of the sponsoring groups -- Bill =
Kovach,=20
Tom Rosenstiel and Amy Mitchell --declare that broad conclusions about =
the=20
political findings should be tempered by analyzing some of the details =
in the=20
findings. For example, they identify strong "libertarian" leanings among =
jouurnalists, including doubts about the role of "big government."<BR=20
clear=3Dnone></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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