From nattering nabobs of negativism to Fox News, Breitbart, MSNBC and beyond

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

2. What media do people use?
• Berkman-MIT study
shows “asymmetrical
polarization”

3. What media do people use?
• Berkman-MIT study
shows “asymmetrical
polarization”
• Steve Bannon, formerly
of Breitbart, declares
war on the press

4. What media do people use?
• Berkman-MIT study
shows “asymmetrical
polarization”
• Steve Bannon, formerly
of Breitbart, declares
war on the press
• Chris Cillizza compares
Russia story to 9/11
conspiracy theories

5. The mainstream media are not
equipped for a political
environment in which one side
seeks to delegitimize the press
through falsehoods and threats.

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

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

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

13. 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

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

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

16. 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

17. Are journalists biased?

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

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

20. 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

21. “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

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

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

24. 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

25. The big picture in 2017
• The Washington Post
and other mainstream
outlets are benefitting

26. The big picture in 2017
• The Washington Post
and other mainstream
outlets are benefitting
• President Trump blasts
negative coverage as
“fake news”

27. The big picture in 2017
• The Washington Post
and other mainstream
outlets are benefitting
• President Trump blasts
negative coverage as
“fake news”
• Hannity, Breitbart
and others amplify
Trump’s falsehoods