CSPAN’s think tank coverage is 51% right wing.
By on Dec 19th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
CSPAN’s think tank coverage is 51% right wing.
A new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research “finds that right-wing think tanks got 51 percent of C-SPAN’s total coverage in 2006, while left-of-center think tanks only got 18 percent of their coverage (a mere 5 percent of which were ‘progressive’ think tanks). The other 31 percent of coverage went to centrist groups.” As TAPPED’s Kate Sheppard points out, this is at odds with C-SPAN’s stated aspiration of “a balanced presentation of points of view.”
The study incorrectly lists the Center for American Progress as “center-left” rather than “progressive.”
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We’ve got our work cut out for us…
December 19th, 2007 at 10:35 pmNo surprise here folks.almost every time you tune in you see Repukes from AEI,Heritage Foundation & all the other Reicht Wing organisations seminars being covered.It’s truly a shame coming a network that depends on our tax $ for it’s viability.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:35 pmREVOLUTION….
THEY MUST BE STOPPED AT *ALL* COSTS.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:40 pmthe liberal media.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pmI have always considered C-SPAN as part of the MSM establishment, which is why I get my news from alternative sources and then do my own research.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:46 pmI guess this pretty much shows that the liberal media myth is really just a strawman…as we knew it was.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:51 pmThey should feature as many Right wing schitbombs as they can. The callers tear them up (there seems to be a high incidence of screeching, confused, harpy women who call in n the (R) line, and that’s good for entertainment). As the tide of populism rises, these intellectual perverts will become punching bags for the left to t-off on.
The Kool-aid is wearing off. People are getting really anxious about what nefarious fu(kery Bush and the “conservative” party have wrought. For the right wing, the end is nigh.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:07 pmI guess this pretty much shows that the liberal media myth is really just a strawman…as we knew it was.
Comment by Xisithrus — December 19, 2007 @ 10:51 pm
no it doesnt
it shows bush put his friends on the CSPAN board and steacked the deck to heavily favor the neocons. Neocons get to shoot down every fact and obfuscate even when they dont have any point to make except that they just dont like the truth.
Every argument doesnt have two sides.
NPR and CSPAN used to be many times more unbiased than they are now.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:09 pmThink tanks. There’s another great idea the neo-crusaders got
their mits on and completely fudged it to the bone.
Let’s get our best minds together and try to find a solution.
Neo-Cru.
Let’s get our best minds together and figure out a way to get our
way and make bank for all of us while doing so.
After all we are entitled, therefore we earned it.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:22 pmLook folks….
Let’s call these folks what they are (and this goes to the progressive think tanks also)…
These are Professional Propaganda Specialists, not think tanks or policy forums.
Their names are misleading.
Their purpose is to influence us, the American public, to be more favorable to their (or really their paymasters’) viewpoints.
I actually blogged about this, it is one of the most obvious things that immediately strikes a visitor to the USA - the preponderance of “experts” on TV who really are paid to state their “opinions”…
http://americangoy.myblogsite.com/
December 19th, 2007 at 11:32 pmIf you show too much reality on CSPAN that 28% Bush approval rating might drop more.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:36 pmMaybe you’re a little more center-left than you think.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:05 amhttp://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/ please read this and pass it on
December 20th, 2007 at 12:05 ami stopped watching C-span at least a year ago. I was irritating to watch them rotate through the callers: Republican, Democrat, Republican, Indipendant, Republican, Democrat, Republican. They think we are so stupid.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:30 amCould the CAP be taking a centrist hit for it’s ties to the Clinton camp?
December 20th, 2007 at 12:30 amIt’s going to get a lot worse folks now that the FCC Chairman has rammed through the new rules to allow for media outlets to also own newspapers. Now all the news can and will be controlled by the Right. We’re in for a bumpy ride folks, hang on to your hats.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:33 am“CSpan: The Least Biased Source of Political Coverage”
pretty good motto for a station, by today’s standards, anyway
December 20th, 2007 at 2:35 amTB, maybe “only slighty right-leaning”.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:55 amThink Tanks per Bill Mahr http://youtube.com/watch?v=VcJohfS4vTQ
December 20th, 2007 at 3:23 amthis became glaring and obvious to this longtime C-SPAN junkie during election ‘04 during those dreary “call in” shows. they have THREE phone lines: Repub, Dem and “Independent”
well, isn’t it cute how many of those “Independents” in campaign ‘04 wanted to talk about Heinz Ketchup and Hillary being a socialist?
“Independent”? uh huh.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:26 amCheney tries to shift burden of proof
–Was there a sheer mailfunction when Cheney tried to destroy some iother torture tapes? The fire alarm went off. Man, he burned the closet–
December 20th, 2007 at 3:43 amKerrey apologizes over remark
Was Gonzalez barricading on Cheneys toilet?
December 20th, 2007 at 4:02 amNo offense to the fine work Think Progress does, but IMHO you are center left. And I mean that in a good way. The Overton Window has been so far to the right for so long and the right wing would love to label you as pinko-lefty-liberal-socialist-commies.
I find it interesting that left leaning centrists choose to identify with the progressive label more these days, and most liberals just stick to the term liberal. Neither is a bad moniker, and both tend to deal with the reality of today’s politics as opposed to the frames of the right wing.
There are many of us working our asses off to get the Overton Window back to a place where places like Think Progress will be counted as “center-left”… Please don’t undo all of that hard work and smile and take that label!
We’ll know the country is back on track to recover from the failed “Great Republican Experiment” when they call you center right or moderate conservatives… Until then, STFU and take the center-left label for the cause, Damnit! :) lol
December 20th, 2007 at 7:08 amI’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
Duh!
December 20th, 2007 at 7:37 amCAP does some great work, but I agree that CAP is center left. All the Clinton connections spell DLC to me, and that’s not progressive, except in the eyes of the Clintons.
Most polls put liberals and progressives between 18 and 30% of those polled, with conservatives being 30s to 40s. So CSPAN might argue they are representing the population. Still, I don’t think they can justify an almost three to one proportion.
Then again, there are so few liberal think tanks and even fewer liberal pundits from liberal thinktanks who have what it takes to make it on TV.
Right wing think tanks tend to be more promotionally oriented, while left wing thing tanks tend to employ policy wonks. CAP is different, as is the ourfuture.org group. I guess that’s why the MSM tend to use liberal media people like columnists and talk show hosts.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:49 amComment by overlap — December 19, 2007 @ 11:09
Does too.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:50 amBert…haven’t we discussed your ugly behavior at this time of giving and rejoicing–do you want to go on Santa’s naughty list? If you can’t be nice during the season of Christmas, then I fear Jesus’ message just isn’t getting through to you. Here you are with pointless taunting and name-calling, when you should be showing the people here the superiority of your position through example and patient teaching. You could be a beacon in this pit of dispair, but you choose rather to laugh at those in need. Perhaps you really don’t have Jesus in your heart, which is sad since he is the light of the world. Tonight, when you pray, ask that Jesus uplift your spirit so that you can become an example to those who are lost, not a vessal of ugliness and hate.
December 20th, 2007 at 8:48 amCHL…you actually make a very good point here. The validity of the data is certainly questionable in this case.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:02 amThink Progress is definitely Center-Left. A true Lefty Progressive fears talking about NO issues. Only the truth matters. TP refuses to talk about Sibel Edmonds, 9/11, GM Food, theft of 2000, 02 and 04 elections.
TP argues against restoring the Fairness Doctrine.
The list goes on and on.
TP focuses mainly on her said she said. TP also has many informative pieces to be sure. But they are DEFINITELY not lefty progressive.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:10 amComment by BERT CONVY — December 20, 2007 @ 8:15 am
Your mysoginistic hatred of Senator Clinton is so telling and actually rather scary. Didn’t have a date to the prom, haven’t gotten any in years, if ever? That really isn’t Clinton’s fault, but whatever makes you put off realizing your life is a complete and utter failure, that you are a mean-spirited bitter little man….
December 20th, 2007 at 9:41 amI feel like the leadership of the Democratic party have been watching CSPAN too much and think the country’s thinking is accurately reflected by this graph.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:51 amBlue Stater… did you see Drudge this morning
Comment by BERT CONVY — December 20, 2007 @ 10:36 am
That statement right there says it all. Drudge is a gossip columnist, he’s the political Perez Hilton. He is NOT a journalist. I know some liberals who do check out his site, but he often posts things that need to be retracted and are just innuendo and gossip. He should not be your source for news. The rest of your post doesn’t make sense, so I can’t respond to that.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:40 amWell, that is actually more “balanced” that I had expected. It seems that all we ever hear is quotes from the AEI or Heritage or some other right-wing nutbin.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:02 amCORPORATE INFORMATION
C-SPAN is a private, non-profit company, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a public service. Our mission is to provide public access to the political process. C-SPAN receives no government funding; operations are funded by fees paid by cable and satellite affiliates who carry C-SPAN programming.
from here
C-Span is a cable cabal owned mouth piece, and as such tries as much as possible with out being faux noise obvious about it to promote the corporatist policies in Washington. It is more subtle then Rush or Fox but it has been slinging propaganda for the right all along. Most of the “hosts” seem very right wing orientated. Especially when they “read, generally right wing print every morning to frame the debate in that direction.
So this study should surprise nobody.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:11 amBlue Stater… the Drudge article that you refuse to read and would censor if you could was simply a link to Katie Couric’s interview where Hillary Clintons tells us peasants that honesty is only for us not for them.
*
Comment by BERT CONVY — December 20, 2007 @ 11:11 am
December 20th, 2007 at 11:17 amNo, I wouldn’t censor him, I leave that to you and your ilk. If I wanted to watch Katie Couric’s interview, I would go directly to the CBS web site. As for the interview, I highly doubt your analysis is anywhere close to what actually was said (you know, in the real world)
Where is the bar for liberal libertarian?
December 20th, 2007 at 11:24 amAre there so few?
Find out where you stand politically- left, right or center?
December 20th, 2007 at 11:27 amhttp://www.blogthings.com/ howliberalorconservativeareyouquiz/
I knew that C-Span was co-opted when Brian Lamb received the Medal from the administration. When C-Span first started, it was wonderful. Now, they have right-wing people and republicans on there all the time and hardly ever have any progressives on the show.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:03 amWhat used to be far right (Fascist) is now considered right.
What used to be right is now considered center
What used to be center is now considered center-left.
What used to be left is now considered extreme left (Socialist)
What used to be extreme left (Socialist) is now considered to have expired.
My theory is that those who 30 years ago were on the extreme left and extreme right may have evolved into a hybrid that support One World Government, social fascism, economic socialism.
This supports the idea that Democrats and Republicans are simply one and the same, their offspring is hopefully a hybrid like the mule which is sterile, and pray that they have a short life span as well.
The Bilderbergs and CFR offspring known as the Trilaterals may be a hybrid of conservative and liberal factions and related to the defacto merging of the 2 parties. The birth of Globalization and our economic decline began with their formation in 1973. Since the Nixon Coup, our government has been Trilateralized, and the critters pockets have been picked to bring down their living standards, with most of them not even realizing it.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:10 amI had sensed the conservative bias of Brian Lamb for many years. Then about two or three years back he was outed for being antisemitic, it may have been debunked but it was a stain.
Then I stopped watching C Span altogether because their xenophobic, angry, bitter callers began really testing the limits of my tolerance. The bias of the hosts was also glaringly obvious. It’s been about two years since I quit watching and I had watched for maybe 20 years. This post comes as no surprise.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:13 amThey gave Newt Gingrich (not even in government any more) three fairly peaceful hours a few Sundays ago. Oooh that liberal liberal media. If only we could have some balance in that oh so liberal liberal media. When will conservatives ever get to have their positions broadcast?
December 21st, 2007 at 4:42 am