If you tuned in to NBC's Meet the Press one Sunday in October 2005, you would have seen an august panel of journalists mulling the week's news: Washington Post national political correspondent David Broder, former CNN Inside Politics host Judy Woodruff, and New York Times columnists William Safire and David Brooks; that adds up to one centrist columnist whose working philosophy is "a pox on both parties," one neutral news anchor, and two conservative opinion writers. Anyone want to guess who's missing?
The answer, of course, is progressives. As any regular viewer of the Sunday shows knows, this one Sunday in autumn was hardly an isolated case. In fact, as a new study by Media Matters for America reveals, conservatives have consistently outnumbered progressives on the three network Sunday shows in recent years, not just among journalists, but among newsmakers as well.
The study examines the mix of Sunday show guests during President Clinton's second term, President George W. Bush's first term, and over the course of the past year. During the Clinton years, conservatives enjoyed a small advantage, but that gap has dramatically widened during the Bush years -- both in the number of newsmaker guests and the number of journalist guests.
Depending on your perspective (and how often you tune in), you may find this surprising -- or it may confirm your suspicions. But it's certainly something that needs to be addressed. You can read a report on the study at mediamatters.org.