BIAS! New Poll Show Americans Think Media is Too Liberal/Too Influential

Every time one of the talking heads on the liberal Mainstream media hear a charge of biased reporting, they reply with the typical elitist scoff and utter something banal like "I hear that from both sides so it can't be true."  Fact is, according to the latest Rasmussen Poll, most American voters believe that the Mainstream Media is more liberal than they are and two thirds of them feel the media has too much influence over government decisions. They feel that media is trying to make the news not cover it.

According to the polls 67% of likely U.S. voters believe the news media have too much power and influence over government decisions. Just three months ago that number was 61%. Just eight percent  think the media have too little power and influence, and 19% think their level of power is about right.

The other day when Weekly Standard Reporter John McCormack was purposely pushed to the ground by Martha Coakley operative Michael Meehan (for which he aplogized for the next day), the Associated Press gave us a perfect example of subtle media bias. They reported:

Reporter stumbles chasing hopeful for Kennedy seat

Jan 13 02:33 PM US/Eastern

BOSTON (AP) - A reporter trying to question the Democrat seeking to replace Edward Kennedy in the Senate has been involved in a scuffle with one of her aides.

John McCormack of the Weekly Standard fell Tuesday night as he tried to speak with state Attorney General Martha Coakley. He was videotaping her while trying to pass a metal grate on a Washington sidewalk.

Actually the report should have said, Reporter Assaulted While Trying to Ask Question of Attorney General. States Primary Law Enforcer Does Nothing.

The pro-Obama coverage during the 2008 campaign (and the pro-progressive coverage in the special elections since) has eroded voters confidence in media coverage of elections. Only 20% of all voters say most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage of a political campaign. Seventy-two percent say most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win.

Just before the November 2008 presidential election, 68% of voters said most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and 51% believed they were trying to help Democrat Barack Obama. Just seven percent (7%) thought they were trying to help his Republican opponent, John McCain.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters say the average reporter is more liberal than they are. Eighteen percent (18%) say that reporter is more conservative, and 20% think their views are about the same ideologically as the average reporter’s.

Eighty-five percent (85%) continue to have more confidence in their own judgment than that of the average reporter when it comes to the important issues affecting the nation, also unchanged from October. Only six percent (6%) trust the average reporter’s judgment more.

Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans and a plurality (49%) of unaffiliated voters believe the average reporter is more liberal than they are, a view shared by just 24% of Democrats. But 80% or more of all three groups trust their own judgment over that of the average reporter.

Republicans and unaffiliateds are also far more inclined than Democrats to believe most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win.

But voters are more closely divided when asked which matters most in terms of winning elections – having friendly reporters or raising a lot of campaign contributions. Thirty-two percent (32%) say friendly reporters; 41% say campaign contributions, and 27% are undecided.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Democrats say campaign contributions carry the most weight. Republicans and unaffiliated voters are more narrowly divided on the question.

Still, in an August 2008 survey, 55% of all voters said media bias was more of a problem than big campaign contributions. Thirty-six percent (36%) disagreed and said campaign cash was a bigger problem.

Sixty-two percent (62%) also believe that what the media thinks is more important to the average member of Congress than what voters think.

When Media asks the question why Newspapers are dying, or why Fox News has the highest ratings, there's your answer