Is the San Francisco Chronicle fair and balanced?

Question

How well does the newspaper reflect the interests of its readership?

Answer 1

That's going to depend on who you're asking, actually. The people who subscribe to it are going to be more likely to answer in the affirmative to that.

In all fairness, no outlet of the media can be wholly "fair and balanced." There will always be a bias of some sort in any place where you get your news (or, at the very least, one that is perceived). Generally, a bias in some sort of story or in coverage of a certain beat isn't intentional, but it's almost inevitable nonetheless.

Then, there's a second question that I think you're really trying to ask: "How well does the Chronicle do in attempting to be fair and balanced?"

The answers you're going to get will be normative in nature, so they're obviously going to be divergent.

Practically speaking, a newspaper would have to reflect the interests of its readership in order to continue existing, or else they won't make money. A good way to get the answer to your sub-question would be to actually look up the percent of people in San Francisco who are reading the Chronicle and compare it to the share of people who read newspapers in general. Is it decreasing or increasing? (Check to make sure Internet readers are somehow counted, too).

My personal opinion, though, would have to be "no" to the first question.

Answer 2

All newspapers have a certain bias. That being said they do a pretty good job of reporting on the local newstories in a way that is sure to make somebody mad.

But compared to the Examiner the Chronicle is a bastion of fair reporting and a wealth of real journalism.

Answer 3

Just as fair and blanced as Fox News.

Answer 4

Not at all.....