Liberal Media Reading List

I'm actually taking a class about media behavior right now. None of what we are reading points to a right wing takeover of media, but almost all of it points toward media saturated in pro-corporate, pro-government bias, for various reasons. So none of it directly refutes the liberal bias claim, but they all indirectly state that media will not have a liberal bias. (hopefully that makes sense, and these help. If they do I have some more books and articles along the same lines)

Manufacturing Consent by Herman and Chomsky does a good job of explaining how news passes through filters of size & ownership, advertising for income, sources, flak, and anticommunist ideology (written in the '80s, but still applicable today - just change it to anti-terror ideology), all of which make it pro-business, pro-status quo and pro-gov't. (at least the first few chapters do - I haven't read the whole thing)

Media Monopoly by Ben Bagdikian explains how the corporate concentration of media firms leads to self promotion and 'soft' news

Toward a Theory of Press-State Relations by Bennett looks at what sources media use and why - tend to rely heavily on gov't sources even when the majority of the population disagree with the gov't stance - one of his examples is the Iran-Contra affair

‘‘An Interested Reader’’: Measuring Ownership Control at the New York Times by Chomsky looks at whether or not media owners exert influence on coverage (and determines that they do)

Where is your "class?" Many media professors are increasingly pimping a middle of the road meme that paints the 'corporate media' as if were markedly different from the right wing agendas of the the largest shareholders of those corporations.There is no difference, except in the degree to which those agendas are concealed by layers of profit taking from programming that exploits both right wing and progressive markets.(i.e.MSNBC, which will swing back hard right the minute their meager ratings falter further).

Thank you for the book ideas. I am holding back on books and many other items until I have a more interactive tool to use (in the works). I have added them to the mix. (Media Monopoly needs a serious edgy update).

I don't suppose you once used "Sarcasmo" on AOL, about 7+ years ago, did you?

All one has to do is see who owns the media.
Who own MSNBC? ABC? Fox? these are the important things -- they all have specific corporate interests running them - in real people land this would be considered a conflict of interest, but in media world it makes for big money. While the cable news seems to have unending profits margins -- we are watching the newspaper industry and print journalism wither away -- I don't think it is a coincidence.

Sciaffe is a good start -- personally I don't want the media to be liberal OR conservative. I want the news to be news that is where we have the biggest problem -- people assume pundits are news people. We need to get profits out of the news business.

The media is a part of the corporatocracy that is joking this country.



(HBK, as always amazing list. )

Examining the "Liberal Media" Claim
Journalists' Views on Politics, Economic Policy and Media Coverage
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2447

we still had this in an old manilla folder about the RW, in amongst stuff about scaife and the arkansas project. it's still relevant and probably more supported by newer data

Liberals dominate the media….this has been announced by Rush Limbaugh. And Thomas Sowell. And Ann Coulter. And Rich Lowry. Bill O’Reilly. And Robert Novak. And George Will.

And John Gibson. And Michelle Malkin. And David Brooks. And Dana Perino. And Tony Blankely. And Fred Barnes. And Britt Hume. And Larry Kudlow. And Sean Hannity. And David Horowitz. And William Kristol. And Hugh Hewitt. And William Buckley.

And Oliver North. And Joe Scarborough. And Pat Buchanan. And John McLaughlin. And Cal Thomas. And Joe Klein. And James Kilpatrick. And Tucker Carlson. And Deroy Murdock. And Michael Savage. And Charles Krauthammer. And Stephen Moore. And Alan Keyes.

And Gary Bauer. And Mort Kondracke. And Andrew Sullivan. And Nicholas von Hoffman. And Neil Cavuto. And Matt Drudge. And Mike Rosen. And Dave Kopel. And John Caldara. And Deborah Howell. And Richard Morin. And John Harris. And Gordon Liddy. And laura Ingraham.

And Larry Elder. And Tammy Bruce. And Neal Boortz. And FOX DJ ManPal. And Rusty Humphrey. And Laura Schlessinger.

Excellent List. I have my own, which I was going to put on its own page. Would you like to be an editor of it? Email me?

get people to add suggestions, make a library -- review and rate the books. Great idea, shoq...

That's the plan :)