There have been a few long debates here on whether the major media is liberal (the most recent here).
As usual on a political subject, opinion is decidedly mixed.
But I’m wondering what those who think the idea is ridiculous have to say about CBS’s decision not to report on the findings of its own poll following George W. Bush’s first address to Congress last week. A good synopsis of which can be found here, in this op-ed that appeared in the Washington Times today.
(Feel free to disregard the editorialized slant. I’m only interested in what y’all think of the facts as presented.)
According to the Media Research Center, which made public this little nugget that a few media outlets have since picked up on, CBS commissioned a nationwide poll immediately after the president’s speech.
The poll found that 88 percent approved of Bush’s proposals as outlined in the speech, and more than two-thirds, 67 percent, approved of his $1.6 trillion tax cut plan.
The poll’s results, however, were never reported by CBS News. They instead went with a news story that featured as its “people on the street” two who expressed ambivalence or skepticism of the plan.
Opined the Times:
The piece says Rather introduced the story “framing the debate between Mr. Bush on the one side and ‘Democrats and some independent economists [who] believe the Bush push is risky business.’”
Wait, there’s more:
Now, granted, few details were out on Bush’s plan at the time of the poll, just after the speech. Those numbers would have most certainly moved around, and very likely down, as more details emerged.
Since when has that stopped the national media from reporting on their poll findings as news? That’s why they undertake the polls, isn’t it? To report on their findings, get a gauge of where America is at?
I had my own problems with CBS News and its slant long before this. But this really amazes me. It seems so brazen.