Message from Michael - Media Bias - October 19, 2009

Message From Michael                                 

                                                                                                                        October 19, 2009                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

      BIAS IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

      AN OXYMORON – PRESS PRESTIGE

      RIDDLE ME THIS, MEDIA-MAN

      THE MURROW FOR CITIZEN JOURNALISM

      WISDOM OF THE CROWDS

 

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      BIAS IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER:  Or maybe not.  Not when four different surveys say the same thing.  A whopping four out of five people (83.6%) surveyed by Sacred Heart University in its annual poll believe the national (important distinction – versus local) media are very or somewhat biased.  The numbers are less dramatic but no less significant in a poll by the Pew Research Center which found three out of five people (60%) believe the media (no distinctions) are politically biased.  The First Amendment Center based at Vanderbilt University survey was even less dramatic but, again, no less significant with half (49%) of those surveyed saying the media is biased.  In the Sacred Heart poll only one in seven (14.1%) view the media as unbiased while in the Pew poll, it was nearly double that, with one in four (26%) saying the media tries to be politically unbiased.  Similarly, the Pew poll found that only a quarter of those surveyed (29%) believe news media generally get the facts straight.  Almost double that (63%) say media reports are often inaccurate.  All three polls were released in the last month.  Despite that, interestingly enough, two of the polls found that the public believe in the news media’s “watchdog” role.  In the First Amendment Center survey, nearly three quarters (71%) see a free press as a necessary watchdog on government.  A separate poll by the Pew Center for People and the Press found a similar response with only slightly fewer (62%) citing the watchdog role for the press to keep political leaders “from doing things that should not be done.”

      AN OXYMORON – PRESS PRESTIGE:  Okay, the smart ones amongst you (and that includes virtually all Message readers) will note that I said four surveys but only cited three.  Well, the fourth is one done last year by Harris Interactive which found that more than half (54%) of Americans “tend not to trust” the press with less than a third (30%) trusting the pressing.  All right, the figures are a little old, but they comport with the previous figures cited by the other three surveys.  Better yet, the Harris folks did release a survey of a different sort in August of this year which looked at the public’s view of which professions are most prestigious.  Yep, you guessed it.  Journalists are at the bottom of the heap (with 17% calling their work one of “very great prestige.”)  That’s in line with union leaders and entertainers (17%), bankers (16%), actors (15%), stockbrokers (13%), accountants (11%) but well above the lowest rated profession of all – real estate brokers (5%).  And you can understand journalists scoring lower than scientists (57%), doctors (56%), nurses (54%) and teachers (51%).  But Congressmen (28%), lawyers (26%) and business executives (23%)?  I have to admit I don’t understand how, in this celebrity culture, actors scored so low; and I found it interesting but odd that firefighters (the top profession cited) scored so significantly higher (62%) than police officers (44%).

      RIDDLE ME THIS, MEDIA-MAN:   There were several points in the different surveys that made you (well, me anyway) do a double-take.  The most surprising came from the Sacred Heart survey in which the director of the Polling Institute says little more than half (55.9%) expect the media to tell the truth.  Even more surprising, bordering on shocking, nearly half (45.9%) say they “have permanently stopped watching a news media organization, print or electronic, because of perceived bias.”  That’s a little hard to swallow, on several levels.  Even harder to swallow, the poll found that by a six-to-one margin, Americans would have preferred national media to cover the death of Lt. Brian Bradshaw who was killed fighting in Afghanistan than Michael Jackson.  Both men died on the same day.

Some consolation for you die-hard journalists was that the First Amendment Foundation survey found that more than half (55%) cited “freedom of the press” as one of the five freedoms in the First Amendment.  On the flip side of that, only one in five (20%) cited freedom of religion, freedom of press and freedom of assembly.  Now, a quick test for you.  What’s the fifth freedom cited in the First Amendment? Tick, tick, tick, tick. Time’s up.  It’s the freedom to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”  If you didn’t get it, don’t feel too bad.  Only four percent of those surveyed remembered it.

      A PERSONAL MESSAGE TO POLLSTERS:  Stop asking questions about whether more Republicans than Democrats like Fox, or whether more Democrats than Republicans like CNN.  Everybody with a kindergarten education or above has figured out that media viewing reflects political partisanship.  The Sacred Heart poll, the Pew Poll, the Harris Interactive poll and several others continue to ask the same question and get the same answer.  Get over it.  Move on.  Let’s actually ask something interesting.  Yeesh.  Okay, okay, commentary on my part.

      THE MURROW FOR CITIZEN JOURNALISM:  The newly renamed Radio Television Digital News Association (formerly the Radio Television News Directors Association) awarded a special Edward R. Murrow award to British Columbia website thetyee.ca., “an independent and not owned by any big corporation (website) dedicated to publishing lively, informative news and views, not dumbed down fluff.”  Although it may not be ‘citizen journalism’ in its truest sense, it is citizen journalism in its best sense.  If you want to see what good citizen media can look like, visit the site.  Other website winners are CNN.com (as usual and well deserved) for television networks; NPR.com (as usual and well deserved) for Radio Networks; Raleigh’s WRAL-TV (not only as usual, but as always) for large market television; Washington’s WTOP.com in large market radio; Providence’s WJAR-TV (turnto10.com) for small market television; and WAKR-AM (AkronNewsNow.com) in the small market radio category.  Tyee, by the way, refers to a salmon and, the website says, embodies their belief in swimming against the current.   

And if you want to have your faith restored in broadcast journalism (especially after reading the articles above) visit the RTDNA’s Murrow website which this year allows you to view all the winning entries.  Some incredible pieces.  Congratulations to all the winners, but I have to make special note of my former station KWTV in Oklahoma City which won in the category of breaking news/ larger market for (what else) tornado coverage; former client KWWL for news documentary/ small market for its rising waters flood coverage; and KOMU at the University of Missouri where I once hung my news hat, for feature reporting/ small market for its beautifully shot “magic tree.”  All of these are available at:  http://www.rtdna.org/pages/media_items/2009-edward-r.-murrow-national-winners1799.php.

      WISDOM OF THE CROWDS:  Or maybe not.  After last week’s Message about citizen journalism and the growth of interactive of consumer generated media, an article in Technology Review is worth noting.  It found that a small percentage of online reviewers accounted for a larger proportion of the actual reviews being done.  The result is that the all-powerful Word of Mouth advertising associated with personal reviews may be significantly skewed by a few people.  Also, as a further footnote to last week’s Message, it would be a misunderstanding to think that the report indicated any bias against citizen journalism or citizen media, depending on which term you prefer.  The point is that user generated content is part of the media future.  The only question is how and to what extent.       

      PROOF OF PERFORMANCE:  Or, as we prefer to say, in consultant-ese, proof of benefit.  We consultants often tell clients that some of the best marketing they can do is to provide proof of the value of your product.  Well, in keeping with that self-promotion advice, I have to note that several newsletters have now picked up on the lead story from a Message two weeks ago, that Internet advertising in the United Kingdom has overtaken Television advertising for the first time.  While the difference is small (23.5% for Internet versus 21.9% for Television), the message is clear, Online Advertising is growing while others are shrinking. 

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