Study: 60 Percent Of Nation's Daily Papers Publish More Conservative Columnists Than Progressives

Media Matters:

This project did something that has never been done before: It amassed data on the syndicated columnists published by nearly every daily newspaper in the country. While a few publications, most notably Editor & Publisher, cover the syndicated newspaper industry, no one has attempted to comprehensively assemble this information prior to now. Because the syndicates refuse to reveal to the public exactly where their columnists are published, when Media Matters for America set out to make a systematic assessment of the syndicated columnist landscape, we had no choice but to contact each paper individually and ask which syndicated columnists are published on their op-ed pages.

The results show that in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts. As Editor & Publisher paraphrased one syndicate executive noting, "U.S. dailies run more conservative than liberal columns, but some are willing to consider liberal voices."

Read the whole story: Media Matters

Comments

[ronspri]

Mr huffposers "liberal media" knee jerked and apparently he failed to click on the link and read the whole article.

Among the number of items that renders his waste of space a true waste of space.

"In a given week, nationally syndicated progressive columnists are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of 125 million. Conservative columnists, on the other hand, are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of more than 152 million.2"

Don't ever expect the 30 or 40 something rightists to ever admit that the liberal media is a fantasy. They have had it drilled into their heads that it was "liberal Media" since they were tykes. The truth is immaterial to them.

[VOTER]

And papers like the Chicago Tribune wonder "Why"

their subscription numbers are going down at a

rapid pace? After years of reading their GOP

spin, especially the headlines and front pages, the

Tribune is sinking fast.

When they explain the difficulties facing them via the

Internet, they are only looking a part of their problems.

Their editorials go after BushCo every so

often BUT COME ELECTION TIME, THEY JOIN THE

WARMONGER GOP MARCH, AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Also, ask their employees. It is no longer a good

stable place of employment.

Yes, the Trib does publish some moderate &

liberal writers but the space and numbers are not

fair and balanced when compared with the conservative side.

The Trib lost our 7 day subscription last week.

[Rand]

Damn librul media!

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

Gee. Let me find a pencil and write this down. What a news flash.

What a waste of electricity.

[JGatsby]

Even 60% is quite misleading. It overlooks the fact that the whole political spectrum in the MSM is skewed toward the right. The "liberals" in this study are still almost exclusively corporate stooges who just argue for a kindler gentler military industrial state. The real left, people like Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Scott Ritter, Michael Parenti, just to name a few, aren't given any voice at all.

[royjeffries]

Guffaw! Media Matters did a "study"?! Talk about your conflicts of interest. This rag of liberal revisionism has ZERO credibility. Hold your breath for a while and wait for the overwhelming proof (aka "truth") that will refute this non-science. LOL (Liberals, Our Liars)

[amerdiaspora]

truth like the creation?
truth like 9-11 was due to iraqis?
truth like there are wmd's in iraq?

really which truth are you asking for??????
oh i know, the truth that fox co spues out, open your eyes sonny!

it is sad in this country the only accureate broadcast news comes from likes of stewart, colbert and mahr, these guys of comics for god sakes. the 'reporters' from standard new media are mearly jokers

[Ladyrantsalot]

Uphold the party line. Do not deviate from the party line. All power to the party. All glory to the party. And...to our Dear Leader.

[ronspri]

Opps royjefferies saw "media matters" and his knee jerked(no further investigation needed) cuz Rush and Bill o reilly told him too.

[WorkingClass]

This explains the decline in print media. They mistakenly believe that conservatives can read.

[Gary47]

And the 60% figure is a "conservative" estimate.

[FlowerGirl]

Since when is that news?
They must please their owners and advertisers who are Bush's (how did he put it? not the haves and have mores, but ah! yes, his -) Base.

[Grannysue]

Yea and they carry the water for the Republican party and especially for Bush and his WAR. Now for all those people out there still claiming the media is liberal, I have been saying for years that the media and especially those who own and operate the news organizations are mostly wealthy white guys, so of course their loyalty will lie with the Bush big tax cutters and of course all those Moral Majority goons. Our media forgot what reporting was suppose to be about, reporting the news and not swaying it one way or another just the facts as they say, but that rarely happens. Nothing has changed, nothing will change.

[dadw5boys]

60% WHERE? IT IS 100% for most of Americans who live in rural parts of the country. I would have to go to North Carloina from where I live to even hear an Independent Voice.
Thanks to Satitillites T.V. I don't have too.

[huffposeur]

how about a list of the top ten circulating newspapers in the country? You think this stat would hold?

How about a list of the top 20 circulating newspapers in this country? You think this stat would hold?

There are lots and lots of local dailies and weeklies that find it more cost effective to buy, say, a george will column through syndication than pay someone locally to write a column.

check the new york times, washington post, boston globe, miami herald, sacremento bee, etc. they each have one -maybe two- token conservative columnists.

[gcallaghan]

MSM is complicit in this administration's crimes. Newspapers sold their souls to big business and bushco, submissively agreeing not to expose their lies in exchange for media market control. What they fail to realize is their biases offend all but the 27%ers and the remaining 73% will uncover the truth regardless. At some point they will come to their senses but by then they'll be as relevant as a town crier.