The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media

[spidergoat]

LEFT BEHIND:

The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media

This study, by mediamatters.org, show that:
...coverage of religion not only overrepresents some voices and underrepresents others, it does so in a way that is consistently advantageous to conservatives.

• Combining newspapers and television, conservative religious leaders were
quoted, mentioned, or interviewed in news stories 2.8 times as often as
were progressive religious leaders.
• On television news -- the three major television networks, the three major
cable new channels, and PBS -- conservative religious leaders were quoted,
mentioned, or interviewed almost 3.8 times as often as progressive
leaders.
• In major newspapers, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned,
or interviewed 2.7 times as often as progressive leaders.

So where's this famous liberal bias in the media?

 

[Enterprise-D]

Giving the benefit of the doubt this is true

1. Progressive leaders do not create controversy. Media makes profit on controversy.
2. Plus it's also newsworthy to highlight the dangerous conservatives. So we'll know who to avoid.
3. I personally don't think 3x times is that much. If you have 4 religious people on a news show, that means 3 would be the "burn the infidel type" and the forth would be "love the sinner, hate the sin" type while he secretly thinks "that sinner is going to burn in everlasting flame". I see little difference.

 

[spidergoat]

Plus if media sucks up to the religious right, they will get favoritism from the political right.

 

[Enterprise-D]

True for some countries. So that's #4

 

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Politics and religion man, we inherited that from the Roman Empire.