![]() This experiment presented journalists with a potential news story (a candidate running for the state legislature) that varied only in its ideological content (i.e., the ideology of the candidate). Second, our work addresses the nagging problem of an unknown composition of potential news stories through the use of a correspondence experiment. After all, the news media are integral to informing marginalized segments of the population about politics ( 19– 21). This type of gatekeeping bias in the earlier stages of news story generation would be vitally important, were it to exist, because the topics focused on in the news influence what is on the political agenda and how people evaluate political information ( 17, 18). Despite their best attempts to maintain high standards of objectivity, journalists may omit news stories that do not adhere to their own (most likely liberal) predispositions. Ideological leanings might alter journalist evaluations of the newsworthiness of a particular story ( 15). Previous research has focused almost exclusively on presentation bias in the news, but bias can also arise earlier: in the selection of news to cover. However, it is also possible that the public perceives ideological bias in what journalists choose to cover because they are psychologically motivated to see bias in the news ( 16).ĭoes ideological bias actually shape what news journalists choose to cover? Although we know some about ideological biases in how the news is covered (the slant of the news that is covered or presentation bias), we know very little about the potential role of ideological bias in what is covered. Given this, we might expect political ideology to fundamentally shape journalists’ views about what is and is not newsworthy ( 15). Some evidence suggests that journalists have more liberal views than the general public ( 14). There are reasons to expect that this perspective may comport with reality. Consternation over the liberal bias in the mainstream media runs rampant, making its way into commentary of the state of the news media from political pundits ( 12) and academics ( 13), into too many social media discussions to even begin to mention, and even into the stages of presidential debates and town halls. ![]() According to a 2017 Gallup poll, 64% of Americans believe the media favors the Democratic Party (compared to 22% who said they believed it favored the Republican Party). Many Americans believe that liberal media bias is prevalent and pernicious. Concerns about liberal media bias are widespread. Ideological bias is central to the concerns that Americans harbor about the news media. With the strong influence that the media exerts on citizens ( 5– 7), the increased salience of fake news ( 8– 10), and the “unprecedented” levels of violence against journalists ( 11), understanding the potential biases of the media is vital. Simply put, many Americans believe that the news media do a poor job of separating facts from opinion ( 4). Since 1989, the number of Americans stating that there is a great deal of bias in news coverage has nearly doubled ( 4). However, when asked about the coverage of news organizations in America, less than half can identify a source that they believe reports the news objectively, less than 30% trust the media to get the facts straight, and less than 20% trust the media to report the news without bias ( 4). Journalists hold strong norms to eschew bias in their coverage of politics ( 3). Most Americans want their news free from political bias a dominant majority (78%) of Americans believe that it is never acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over another when reporting the news ( 2). ![]() Unbiased political media coverage is vital for a healthy democracy ( 1). This shows that journalists’ individual ideological leanings have unexpectedly little effect on the vitally important, but, up to this point, unexplored, early stage of political news generation. Using a unique combination of a large-scale survey of political journalists, data from journalists’ Twitter networks, election returns, a large-scale correspondence experiment, and a conjoint survey experiment, we show definitively that the media exhibits no bias against conservatives (or liberals for that matter) in what news that they choose to cover. Is the media biased against conservatives? Although a dominant majority of journalists identify as liberals/Democrats and many Americans and public officials frequently decry supposedly high and increasing levels of media bias, little compelling evidence exists as to (i) the ideological or partisan leanings of the many journalists who fail to answer surveys and/or identify as independents and (ii) whether journalists’ political leanings bleed into the choice of which stories to cover that Americans ultimately consume.
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