30 April 2005

Double Take....

I started avidly reading blogs when I realized CBS and Dan Rather were lying to me. Polls are now showing journalists admit having a Liberal bias. Public perception of this left-leaning may be responsible for the dramatic decline in ratings for CBS/ABC/NBC, and a decline in subscriptions for the NY Times and the L.A. Times:
http://www.mediaresearch.org/specialreports/2004/sum/sum063004.asp

Imagine my surprise to read this column in the L.A. Times!:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gelernter29apr29,0,2090628.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

Fox News (Fair and Balanced?), might argue with being labeled Conservative, but they generally present Conservative issues in a more favorable light. Latest polls show them leading other tv news outlets by more than 2/1:

Wednesday Ratings: Raw Numbers
For all the talk about CNN's ratings successes, Wednesday's numbers show FNC's clear dominance:
Total day, total viewers: FNC: 845,000 / CNN: 372,000 / MSNBC: 175,000
Total day, 25-54: FNC: 291,000 / CNN: 93,000 / MSNBC: 52,000
Primetime, total viewers: FNC: 1,851,000 / CNN: 780,000 / MSNBC: 307,000
Primetime, 25-54: FNC: 481,000 / CNN: 172,000 / MSNBC: 90,000
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/

Newspapers are in trouble. The "Gray Lady" has made so many mistakes in their recent coverage, the only part of it I have faith in is the "Corrections" column!

Is this move toward showing a Conservative viewpoint too late?
How long before I can be comfortable with what CBS tells me?
When will the audience on CNN begin to applaud the Conservative as much as the Liberal contributor?

With newspapers, trust isn't the only issue. Reading a newspaper takes time that most folks no longer have.
It's just easier to read my email, then check on my favorite blogs, Conservative and Liberal, and followup on stories that interest me by checking online news outlets.
But it is reassuring that the L.A. Times now feels it's necessary to present the view from the conservative side! I hope this trend continues and grows!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well I must say I am certainly pleased to see the ratings for these stations. The college I am currently attending smashes FOX left and right -- I know, when are they not? But the professors are constantly telling me that I shouldn't be watching that conservative crap. I'm very pleased that the majority of Americans do not agree with him.