Isn't media supposed to be "liberal" by its very nature?

Question

To quote directly from my amiga Lotus36: "Conservatism is not in par w/ reporting on different perspectives; it aims at CONSERVING its own agenda. Liberalism is based on showing equal sides of things and that is why the media is and always will be liberal, meaning equal," well-rounded and diverse.

Answer 1

This is a question of semantics. When people say the media has a liberal agenda, they are referring to the politically liberal slant. Your above statement is using 'liberal' in a different way.

Answer 2

The problem is that, for some reason, the term "liberal" has become a dirty word. If you look it up in the dictionary, however, you will learn that to be liberal means to favor progress or reform. I don't see why that's bad. America was designed for change. The founders didn't believe for a second that the laws they set forth would always be pertinent, and that is why they put a process into place by which we, the people, can alter them.

But I digress. The media does not favor one political party or the other. It's easy to think it does, if you're a member of the political party that is receiving a lot of criticism for its current policies and practices. When the media reports that criticism, the media is, in turn, criticized for having the audacity to say that protesters are gathering outside Bush's ranch in Texas, or for reporting the continued deaths in Iraq. It seems like those to the extreme right in this country would prefer that the media lie and say that Iraq is now a fully-functioning democratic republic just like ours. I prefer to hear the truth. We're investing a lot of money in the Iraqis. I'd like to hear whether it's worth it or not.

Answer 3

It is supposed to be liberal. And it's not liberal enough.

People's capacity for delusion never ceases to amaze me... When will whining conservatives stop and realize that the so-called "media" is predominantly owned by corporations. Since when is it good business to be leftist?

And your favorite whipping boy, the New York Times, have you forgotten how they reported on the Iraq war in 2002-03? Did you ever see any critical line of questioning about the Bush administrations talking points leading to the war?

The only thing liberal about "the media" are the unjaded reporters who go into it hoping they can help change the world, who come to know quickly about the swift hand of corporate pimp-slaps when they try to report on something that compromises advertising and business relationships.

Answer 4

I do believe you're right. Free Press MUST be FREE ( Liberal, Liberated, Liberalism based ), in order to bring all sides to the table. The same goes for All media, political campaigns, Government agendas, Scientific research, an on,and on. Understanding how ANYTHING works and maintaining, repairing, or improving that "Anything" demands that you utilize a liberalism based technique.

Even Liberal Parents have a tendency to be Conservative, i.e. " Do as I say do, not as I do", then the Liberal child says...
"why?, you do it, Joey's parents let him do it, and Jimmy's parents let him do it too?" Parents respond with..." That doesn't matter, just listen to what WE tell you!"

Answer 5

Liberalism is based on showing equal sides of things and that is why the media is and always will be liberal

you make an exellent point if liberals haven't changed , Now they are not open minded at all , they are spreading their agenda and picking stories that makes them look good . If the media was equal why do we hear completely different stories on fox news compared to cnn . You have made the first step in accepting the media is liberal , now you just need to realize liberals are no longer open minded

Answer 6

right this moment's liberal media would not provide equivalent weight to the two facets. examine Bernard Goldberg's "Bias." he's no longer a conservative with the help of any ability, yet he have been given unwell & bored to death in the obtrusive liberal bias of the so-called "mainstream media," and he uncovered it in keeping together with his an prolonged time of insider know-how & adventure. that's ok for newshounds to be liberal, conservative or for that count something from libertarian to communist of their very own perspectives. yet while they're meant to offer a service to the final public, then they might desire to present day memories particularly & objectively and not show bias. In that, they have failed miserably.

Answer 7

For all you conservatives: How do you explain fox then? Its the typical conservative argument, take the centrist view to hijack anything liberal but fail to adopt that view (because you are so terrified to counter or take responsibility) for your own actions! One the goals of media is to critically evaluate a government? I stress the word critically! An Im so tired by the back pedalling of conservatives. Its my right, its my opiinion, its my freedom of expression. Of course it is no one is telling you other wise. Dont preach to the converted, just use these same arguments when examining your own damn policies too! It is also disturbing to note that the far right correlates far more strongly on measures of authoritarianism than the far left. Im not supporting the far left (for all you conservative who would like to jump on the communist bashing bandwagon) but the fact of the matter reamains that conservative governments tend to veer further from the centre than liberal governments do. You guys dont exactly have the best track record especially when it comes to things like press freedoms. Cop it for gods sakes and do something!

Answer 8

One key problem is not so much 'showing the equal sides of things' but the THINGS themselves that are presented in the media. I've noticed even the ''liberal'' American media tends to 'debate' 'issues' like: 'How can we improve poor areas'' rather than asking 'Why is the richest nation in the world so full of poor people'?

Answer 9

That's the point they are supposed to be "reporting equal for both sides", but how often does that really happen? If I want to hear any true information about the war in Iraq I have to go on a military website. Never do you hear about the schools we are building or the school supplies being passed out. That does not sound like they are reporting on both sides to me.

Answer 10

The definitions that you put forward are archaic and no longer relevant when discussing this issue.
A more accurate reading wiould be that the major media sources are 'leftist' or left-leaning.
In short it means that the programming or articles that they CHOOSE to publish or broadcast are slanted to expound their own, predetermined agenda.
THAT, is the problem.
What these outlets (the NYT , CBS and NBC in particular) DO NOT do is offer a balanced, two-sided accounting of current events.
They slant virtually EVERY piece to be critical, negative and often downright insulting to this administration and often to those that do not support their ideology.
That is not journalism, that is editorializing.
The distinction has become almost non-existent as these media outlets have become more and more ideology driven.
It is not a good thing.