Pew Survey Finds Moderates,
Liberals Dominate News Outlets
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| Aya
Kawano |
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By
E&P Staff
Published: May
23, 2004 4:00 PM EST
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.
This contrasts with
the self-assessment of the general public: 20%
liberal, 33% conservative.
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%.
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 journalists,
including doubts about the role of "big
government."
E&P Staff
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