Groseclose: Pernicious effects of Media Bias!

Groseclose: Pernicious effects of Media Bias
In pursuit of the truth – www.cinopsbegone.com – Thursday, September 1, 2011

The book by Tim Groseclose is called “Left Turn.” The Washington Times has this poignant and insightful article by Tim on Tues., July 26, 2011 – via http://washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/26/pernicious-effects-of-media-bias/print/ Get your own Political Quotient at his Web site: www.timgroseclose.com/calculate-your-pq

It is a well-told story that the mainstream media – at least to a small degree – have a liberal bias. It’s surprising, then, that few people have examined, or even asked, a potentially more important question: Does the bias matter?* If the media reports the news with a certain slant, how does it affect those who take in the content?

For the past several years, I have researched this question, trying to solve the
following thought experiment: What if the media were suddenly to disappear? In such a world, how would America look and act politically? The answer is, approximately like Texas.

More specifically, if media bias were to disappear, according to the analysis, then America would think and vote like any region that voted around 56-43 percent for Republican John McCain in the last presidential election. Besides Texas, such regions include Kansas, North Dakota, Kentucky, Salt Lake County, Utah, and Orange County, Calif.

THAT THE MEDIA HAS SUCH AN INFLUENCE IS A STRONG CLAIM BUT IS BACKED UP BY THE SCIENCE.

The conclusions draw upon recent studies by some highly respected economists and political scientists. For instance, one study, conducted by Yale researchers Alan Gerber, Dean Karlan and Daniel Bergan, is akin to a biology experiment. To one set of randomly selected voters in Northern Virginia, the researchers gave trial subscriptions to the Washington Post.

To another set, they gave trial subscriptions to the Washington Times. After the subsequent election, the researchers polled their subjects and found that their Post-subscribing subject voted for the Democrat at a 3.9 percentage higher than did the Times-subscribing subjects. That is, the more liberal newspaper truly seemed to cause people vote more liberally.

After aggregating the results of this and similar studies, one finds an inescapable conclusion: Newspapers, television, radio and online media are extremely influential, especially over consumers’ political views. For example, the results imply that if the “slant quotient” of the entire media 34 points leftward – approximately the difference between Fox News’ Special Report and The New York Times – then the “political quotient” of the average voter would move about 24 points leftward.

The latter shift is approximately the difference between the average voter in Colorado or Iowa and the average voter in Rhode Island or Mass… It’s time the public wakes up. Media bias is more significant, complex and pernicious than people realize.

George H. Kubeck, P.S. *what we have is liberal politically correct indoctrination, particularly of young Americans! It is a tragedy for California. We have a legislature that is financially, intellectually and morally bankrupt. It has a mindset that includes the promotion of the gay agenda with new social studies books.