From nattering nabobs of negativism to Fox News, MSNBC and beyond — a brief history of an endless battle.

1. Media bias
From nattering nabobs of negativism
to Fox News, MSNBC and beyond

2. Nonpartisan data, partisan battle
• CBO reports that ACA
means some people will
cut back on working

3. Nonpartisan data, partisan battle
• CBO reports that ACA
means some people will
cut back on working
• John Boehner tweets
Obamacare “expected
to destroy 2.3m jobs”

4. Nonpartisan data, partisan battle
• CBO reports that ACA
means some people will
cut back on working
• John Boehner tweets
Obamacare “expected
to destroy 2.3m jobs”
• Chris Cillizza defends
media focus on attacks
rather than accuracy

5. How did we get to the point
at which passing along and
amplifying partisan spin
are seen as legitimate
functions of journalism?

6. A brief history
of media bias

7. The McCarthy era
• Coverage of McCarthy’s
accusations exposed
the limits of objectivity

8. The McCarthy era
• Coverage of McCarthy’s
accusations exposed
the limits of objectivity
• Murrow was accused by
some of making rather
than reporting the news

9. The McCarthy era
• Coverage of McCarthy’s
accusations exposed
the limits of objectivity
• Murrow was accused by
some of making rather
than reporting the news
• McCarthy supporters
like Buckley launched
their own media

10. The media consensus fractures
• Press portrayed the
civil-rights movement in
a sympathetic light

11. The media consensus fractures
• Press portrayed the
civil-rights movement in
a sympathetic light
• Vietnam War further
cast the media as a
bastion of liberalism

12. The media consensus fractures
• Press portrayed the
civil-rights movement in
a sympathetic light
• Vietnam War further
cast the media as a
bastion of liberalism
• The media’s embrace
of youth culture
alienated conservatives

13. Nixon and the media
• Spoke up on behalf of
the conservative
“Silent Majority”

14. Nixon and the media
• Spoke up on behalf of
the conservative
“Silent Majority”
• VP Spiro Agnew
denounced “nattering
nabobs of negativism”

15. Nixon and the media
• Spoke up on behalf of
the conservative
“Silent Majority”
• VP Spiro Agnew
denounced “nattering
nabobs of negativism”
• Pentagon Papers and
Watergate ignited an
all-out war with media

16. Are journalists biased?

17. Does bias affect coverage?
• Despite scandal,
Ronald Reagan was
treated with deference

18. Does bias affect coverage?
• Despite scandal,
Ronald Reagan was
treated with deference
• Media tormented Bill
Clinton over his
personal pecadillos

19. Does bias affect coverage?
• Despite scandal,
Ronald Reagan was
treated with deference
• Media tormented Bill
Clinton over his
personal pecadillos
• Media’s failures in
run-up to war in Iraq
are well documented

20. “Working the refs”
“I admit it — the liberal
media were never that
powerful, and the whole
thing was often used as an
excuse by conservatives
for conservative failures.”
— William Kristol

21. The big picture in 2004
• Traditional media were
culturally liberal but
pursued the truth

22. The big picture in 2004
• Traditional media were
culturally liberal but
pursued the truth
• Conservative media
were partisan and
attacked mainstream

23. The big picture in 2004
• Traditional media were
culturally liberal but
pursued the truth
• Conservative media
were partisan and
attacked mainstream
• Talk radio was a
conservative medium
liberals couldn’t match

24. The big picture in 2014
• New liberal outlets like
HuffPost and MSNBC
battle conservatives

25. The big picture in 2014
• New liberal outlets like
HuffPost and MSNBC
battle conservatives
• Lies are now a wellestablished part of
political discourse

26. The big picture in 2014
• New liberal outlets like
HuffPost and MSNBC
battle conservatives
• Lies are now a wellestablished part of
political discourse
• What is journalism’s
responsibility in holding
politicians to account?