Religious Progressives Left Behind

[Neil D]

For fairness, I am listing the source of this as from Media Matters. However, while the source may be considered as 'tainted material', the information in it seems sound. If you are one to criticize the left, please limit your remarks to the report itself, and not where it came from.

Special Report Documents Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media

Conservative Religious Leaders Far Outnumber Progressive Leaders in Media Despite Views of Most Americans

Washington, D.C. -- Media Matters for America today released "Left Behind: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media," a special report documenting the disparity between media coverage of conservative and progressive religious leaders. Since the 2004 elections, there has been a dramatic increase in the coverage of religion in newspapers and television across the country. This increase has overwhelmingly focused on conservative religious figures as the definitive voice of religion at the expense of the vast majority of religious Americans.

"For religious progressives, this report won't come as a surprise -- they know firsthand that when it comes to a media discussion of religious issues, they rarely have a seat at the table," said David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters. "If the public is to have confidence in the media, the views of the vast majority of religious Americans must be represented. As our report details, those who get their news from leading press outlets could only assume that a right-wing conservative voice and a religious voice are one in the same -- that is clearly not the case."

Media Matters undertook this study in large part because of the media's response to the 2004 elections, in which key media figures widely overemphasized the impact of "values voters" -- a misleading term used by the media to describe conservative religious voters motivated by opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion, which suggested that progressive voters did not care similarly about values.

In their coverage, news organizations overwhelmingly presented a picture in which religious Americans were defined as conservative Americans. This representation in the media proved to be a misleading characterization of how these so-called "values voters" influenced the 2006 elections, in which the "value" cited most by voters was the Iraq war, not issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

A 2006 Zogby International exit poll showed that the "moral issue" cited most by voters was the Iraq war, and that more than twice as many voters cited greed and materialism or poverty and economic justice as "the most urgent moral crisis in American culture" as those who cited abortion or same-sex marriage.

Despite their depiction in the mainstream media, only 10 percent of evangelical Christians said abortion and same-sex marriage would be the most important factor in determining their vote.

Even though close to 90 percent of Americans identified themselves as religious in a 2006 study by the Center for American Values in Public Life, according to a post-election survey in 2004, only 32 percent of Americans identified themselves as conservative.

KEY FINDINGS:

Combining newspapers and television, conservative religious leaders we studied 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 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.

[there buster]

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If you are one to criticize the left, please limit your remarks to the report itself, and not where it came from.

Nicely done. Like political correctness. If you can't win the debate, control it.

[Neil D]

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If you are one to criticize the left, please limit your remarks to the report itself, and not where it came from.

Nicely done. Like political correctness. If you can't win the debate, control it.

Not true. I want to hear with evidence why this is NOT a good report, not why the messenger is biased. Just like when you change the focus to anything off the facts of the report.

That is why I am attempting to focus on why, Ed , you disagree with the reported facts of this report? What evidence can you show that this report is not true?

[Dr. Shane]

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If you are one to criticize the left, please limit your remarks to the report itself, and not where it came from.

The source is part of the story. I could start posts here all day every day by copying and pasting articles from Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and other extreme conservatives. However I could hardly, in good conscience, ask other members not to discuss the source of the story I have posted.

I have in the past posted stories reported by Matt Drudge and normally qualify them as saying something like, let's see if other media outlets pick this story up. That qualification is because Matt Drudge is so anxious to be the first to report a story, he often does so before verifying all the facts. If other media outlets pick up the story, they normally do so after the facts have been verified.

Media Matters has been documented scores of times for putting out misleading information. As has Limbaugh and other idealouges. If we are going to discuss what these idealouges are saying, we can't leave them out of the discussion.

[Dr. Shane]

Meida Matters will not likely ever find the truth because they are not looking for it. They are like the bank robber complaining they can't find a policeman. When a person is avoiding something, they are less likely to find it.

So why do religious conservatives get more press, if they actually do, than liberals? Perhaps because they actually out number liberals. If 75% of religious people are conservative and only 25% are liberal, it would only make sense that the conservatives will get the most coverage. Or perhaps it is because they are more active. "The squeaking wheel gets the grease." Or perhaps reports by conservative religious leaders sell more papers and get better ratings.

However I think I have seen the likes of Reverand Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in the news more often than James Dobson and Pat Robertson so I question if the report is even accurate.

[Neil D]

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The source is part of the story. I could start posts here all day every day by copying and pasting articles from Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and other extreme conservatives. However I could hardly, in good conscience, ask other members not to discuss the source of the story I have posted.

And that is why I ask you to discuss the SOURCE of the report, not the messager. Granted, Media Matters is the messager of this report, but they did not origionate the report. Granted, this report bolsters thier viewpoint, but it doesn't negate the legitamacy of the report itself. I think we call this type of arguement as "poisoning the well"...

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...That qualification is because Matt Drudge is so anxious to be the first to report a story, he often does so before verifying all the facts. If other media outlets pick up the story, they normally do so after the facts have been verified.

So in addition to be a conservative, MD wants to be the first to scoop all other media outlets...Is that your impression?

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Media Matters has been documented scores of times for putting out misleading information. As has Limbaugh and other idealouges. If we are going to discuss what these idealouges are saying, we can't leave them out of the discussion.

I have no doubt that MM give counter point information to Conservative Republican views, and that may also cause them to overstate a situation to give weight to the progressive viewpoint. However, most, if not all of thier coverage is to counter the Conservative republican PR machine, which is massive and dominates the airwaves...

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Meida Matters will not likely ever find the truth because they are not looking for it. They are like the bank robber complaining they can't find a policeman. When a person is avoiding something, they are less likely to find it.

This is your opnion and pure spin....Remember, MM was created to counter the overwhelming conservative republican PR machine. If that is the case, you ain't gonna find 'the truth' in the republican PR machine either.

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So why do religious conservatives get more press, if they actually do, than liberals? Perhaps because they actually out number liberals.

Or it's because of something far more complicated than what you are oversimplifying here....Perhaps, most of the MAINSTREAM media is conservative in thier orientation, and not progressive and that bias is communicated in the news. Perhaps it is because news organizations realize that society is, on the whole, conservative in thier viewpoint, and the news organizations are catering that bias. Perhaps most news organizations monguls are conservative by nature and dictate that bias to the anchors who feed it to the masses.......And perhaps MM is bucking the trend of conservatism and that places it in stark contrast to the media.

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However I think I have seen the likes of Reverand Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in the news more often than James Dobson and Pat Robertson so I question if the report is even accurate.

And here, you go to the extremes and contrast them to discount MM legitamacy. Besides, I would think that most of Christian americans hear on the weekly basis James Dobson and Pat Robertson more than Reverand Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. So, news media report Sharpton and Jackson to contrast most christian american view points.

[Dr. Shane]

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Media Matters is the messager of this report, but they did not originate the report.

Remember deception most frequently comes from selective reporting. This so-called "messenger" is frequently guilty of selective reporting.

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So in addition to be a conservative, MD wants to be the first to scoop all other media outlets...Is that your impression?

I think that is a widely accepted view by liberals, conservatives and moderates a like. Drudge is the first to break the news on a lot of stories. The Monica Lewinsky scandal was perhaps the biggest one that he broke. However his sources are often not right so while he is only a "messenger" one has to wait to see how things play out.

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if not all of their coverage is to counter the Conservative republican PR machine, which is massive and dominates the airwaves...

My mama always taught me that two wrongs don't make a right. Just because one side is putting out misinformation doesn't make it right for the other side to do the same. Conservatives dominate talk radio, that is true. Liberals still have a tremendous influence in network television and cable news. The nations newspapers are almost completely controlled by liberals as are Time and Newsweek magazines. So liberals certainly are not restricted from getting their viewpoint out.

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If that is the case, you ain't gonna find 'the truth' in the republican PR machine either.

That is what I have been saying. The extreames are not concerned about truth. However if one tunes into programs like NewHour with Jim Lehrer, Bill O'Reilly, Hannity & Combs or Meet The Press one will see liberals and conservatives together, each able to express their opinion and correct the other. That is as close as we can get to being fair and balanced.

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I would think that most of Christian Americans hear on the weekly basis James Dobson and Pat Robertson more than Reverend Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

I thought the story was about how much mainstream media press the different religious figures got. Of course Dobson and Robertson get more Christian media press - without a doubt. However I am not so sure they get more coverage from the mainstream, secular media which is where most of Americans get their news.

[Neil D]

Quote:

Media Matters is the messager

of this report, but they did not originate

the report.

Remember deception most frequently comes from

selective reporting. This so-called "messenger"

is frequently guilty of selective reporting.

[Dr. Shane]

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Hannity and Colmes because H & C is sponsered by Murdock

[a heavy Republican contributor] and Colmes is labled a "liberal" [by conservatives] when he is more middle

of the road. So you cant really say that H & C show the

contrast in Conservative and Liberal values when

in actuality, it is more of a Conservative vs middle

of the road progressive values.

Alan Colmes is a well-balanced liberal and represents the views of many, if not most, registered Democrats. He is not an extremist liberal. He is about as liberal as O'Reilly is conservative.

The extreame left attacks him only because he is one of the liberals that adds balance to FOXNews and rather than admit that FOXNews is fair and balanced, they attack their fellow liberals. They are willing to sacrifice a handful of their own than admit that a network giving conservatives a voice is trying to be balanced. The Hannity and Combs show is MUCH more balanced than Media Matters. One cannot even do a comparison.

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.YOU told me that MD wants to be the

first to scoop everyone. And YOU told me that he was conservative....I never held this view, and I never

read MD on a consistant basis.

Matt Drudge's site, The Drudge Report, is mostly links to other sites on the Internet. A little paper in some small town may publish a story and Matt picks up on it. It is quite common that the servers of such small town papers crash after a link it put up on Matt's site. Like any site, the owners of it can track who is hitting on their site. It is no secret that major news networks like the networks and leading newpapers hit the Drudge Report every day. Drudge posts links that will be of interest to conservatives HOWEVER not all his links favor conservatives. Often times there are links that are bad news to conservatives.

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Media Matters sole

existance is to counter the Conservative

Republican PR Machine.

Exactly! The far right puts out SPIN by using selective reporting and Media Matters counters that SPIN with liberal SPIN using selective reporting.