Will conservatives ever be treated “fairly” by the mainstream media?
Erick Erickson of Redstate.com explains why he thinks the answer is “no.”
As objective as the media claims to be, the so called Gang of 500 — the reporters and chattering class who develop the conventional wisdom in politics — is mostly of the left or married to the left. There is a revolving door between the media and leftwing politics that rarely exists on the right. It shapes the world view of the members of the media and necessitates conservatives working even harder to get their opinions, views, and stories heard.
Spurred by the news that Richard Stengel, Time’s managing editor, was leaving the magazine to become Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the State Department, Erickson goes on to detail a number of those who have gone through this “revolving door.” His account is sobering, disheartening, and comprehensive.
In addition to his analysis, Elspeth Reeve of the Atlantic cites 24 instances of journalists leaving the private sector to take jobs in the Obama administration…
Time managing editor Rick Stengel … is leaving journalism to go work for the State Department, making him at least the 15th 21st 23rd 24th reporter to go to work for the Obama administration. Stengel will be the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Politico and Capital New York report. The last high-profile journalist to leave Time for the Obama administration is Jay Carney, who is currently White House press secretary
Erickson sums up:
From the Gabrielle Giffords shooting as a way to lament the crazy tea party and Sarah Palin’s target list to not devoting nearly as much attention to the shooter at the FRC who used the Southern Poverty Law Center to draw up a target list, the media does have serious bias against conservatives. The Democrat-Left-Media establishment trade stories with each other, help build media narratives, and coordinate their messaging because of their natural biases and affinities for each other.
As soon as reporters, producers, and networks are willing to admit that bias — a bias that goes to the very presuppositions of what stories to cover and how to cover them — they might be able to turn the corner and regain trust. But I am quite confident the press corps is quite happy just as they are.
Conservatives must work much harder than liberals to cut through the media bias. It is possible. But it is also hard work.
It is hard work. That’s one reason Rage Against the Media is here.