Americans are not Blind to Media Bias

In two separate articles, New York Times, Washington Post, and Local Newspapers Seen as Having Liberal Bias and Americans See Liberal Media Bias on TV News, Rasmussen Reports documents poll results showing that Americans are not blind to media bias in either print or television journalism.

Thirty-nine percent of American adults believe that the three major broadcast networks (ABC/CBS/NBC) deliver news with a liberal bias. Forty percent of adult Americans believe that the New York Times is liberally biased.

Disappointingly, Americans are divided evenly on the topic of using government censorship — the so called “fairness doctrine” to try to force journalists to report the news in an unbiased fashion. Are we willing to give up our cherished Freedom of the Press so easily?

Worse, a third of Americans believe that this censorship should extend to web sites. 34% of those polled believe that the federal government should “require web sites that offer political commentary to present opposing viewpoints.”

If that law passes, this web site will quickly be relocated offshore. We’re not giving equal-time to a bunch of big-government ninnies — ever.