More bad news for right-wingers longing to peddle the myth of liberal bias in the corporate media. Indiana University released a comprehensive study of the visuals used in presidential campaign coverage from 1992-2004, finding that the three major broadcast networks–NBC, CBS and ABC–all favored Republicans in each election.
The study focused on the visual production of news: where each story was placed in the newscast, editing techniques and manipulations related to camera angles, shot lengths, eyewitness perspectives and zoom movement. Among the most negative visual representations or “image bytes” is the “lip-flap shot,” where a reporter’s narration is placed over a candidate talking, which the report calls a “violation of professional television news production standards.”
“Not only is lip-flap unflattering for the candidate who appears,” the report notes, “but it also distracts from the reporter’s narration because viewers focus attention on making sense of what the lip flapper appears to be saying.” The technique was found to be used more often with Democratic candidates than with Republicans. A similar partisan bias was found in which candidates were given the last word, which were videotaped in flattering low-angle shots and which were given unflattering extreme close-ups and high angles.
In attempting to account for the pattern of favoring Republicans in four consecutive election cycles (during both Democratic and Republican administrations), Maria Elizabeth Gabe, one of the study’s authors explained, “We don’t think this is journalists conspiring to favor Republicans. We think they’re just so beat up and tired of being accused of a liberal bias that they unknowingly give Republicans the benefit in coverage.” In other words, “working the refs” works.
This just seems to prove that there really is media bias. What we should spend our research money on is how much of it affects how we vote.
Shouldn’t the media run unbiased coverage regardless of which party? I see bias in both directions depending on the channel I tune to. What I don’t expect to find is bias at FAIR. Perhaps a study needs to be done here.
I have a problem with the term “liberal bias”. Aren’t we talking about “Democratic bias”? And, depending on how you define “liberal”, are they the same?
If “liberal” means unequivocal support for equality, human rights, peace and all that good stuff, then the answer has to be “No”, doesn’t it?
So there is no “liberal bias” in that sense, is there?
As for pressure on the poor reporters … horse hockey.
Well, there *is* pressure … but it’s from their bosses. And many reporters … and you’ve named many of them over the years … don’t need any pressure to tow the corpress line, do they?
And there’s advertiser pressure, of course … money pressure. Duh.
So I just don’t think it’s some defensive reaction to screeching claims of “liberal bias” … in the sense that that is the driving force behind corpress fealty to the status quo.
It’s the shared goals of media corps and corporate advertisers and reactionaries that create a skewed vision of reality in the mainstream media.
And it will continue to be so until there’s a legitimate counterweight to those forces.
How does that happen?
I wish I had the answer. All I know is it will require a whole lot of people actually giving a damn about all that good stuff I mentioned above.