Conservative media outlets on the rise

Fox News Corporation, Clear Channel Communications are worst offenders

By: By Justin Hill

Posted: 7/16/03

For the past few decades, the word media was rarely heard without the adjective "liberal." Still to this day, anytime there is any news that is contrary to the conservative viewpoint it is passed off as liberal bias. At one time this assertion was probably accurate, but, with a run through the channels, anyone can see that the supposed liberal media is now overpowered by the sensationalism and frenzy of the conservative media.

The fantasy of a liberal media is dead, and fairness, civility and trust have gone down along with it.

It is perplexing to hear people cry bias when one takes a look at who the media are. Many owners of the supposed liberal media are big contributors to Republican campaigns. Lowry Mays -- the owner of Clear Channel Communications and more than 1,200 radio and 17 television stations in the United States -- gave more than $58,000 to the Bush gubernatorial campaign in 1998 and facilitated the transfer of more than $130,000 in soft money from Clear Channel to the Republican National Committee during the 2000 presidential election, according to the L.A. Times.

Fox News Corporation gave more than $420,000 to Republicans in the form of soft money in the 2001-2002 election cycle, which stands in stark contrast to the $95,000 donated to Democrats, according to opensecrets.org. The tilt is not limited to those two companies, as General Electric, parent company of NBC, also gave $400,000 in soft money in the 2000 election cycle with 75 percent going to Republicans.

From the owners to those reporting the news, the bias is far from left-leaning. Fox News has become what seems to be a breeding ground for crazy right screamers. Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto could never be confused as leftist. Fox News has become the pride and joy of the right all the while proclaiming they are "fair and balanced." Having one dissenting voice, Allen Colmes, does not make the network balanced.

MSNBC has been following Fox's lead by hiring Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, Ann Coulter and Michael Savage. MSNBC also fired Phil Donahue and his top-rated show for what many said were dangerous views of dissent against the war. In place of Donahue, MSNBC hired right-winger Savage, who was rightly fired last week for calling a homosexual caller a "sodomite." As reported by the Washington Post, this was not the first time MSNBC went too far on trying to court the right. MSNBC also had to fire the compassionate conservative Coulter in 1997 for telling a disabled war Veteran on the program News Chat that, "People like you caused us to lose that war."

With the media's move to the right, the civility and ability to view the media as a serious and credible news source has been tarnished. The right has taken up the role of attack dog instead of reporter.

O'Reilly would rather yell at you and cut your microphone than be challenged to an open, honest debate. Savage and Coulter would rather scream and call names than open an arena for ideas. Hannity, a Fox News anchor and radio talk show host, has written a book called "Let Freedom Ring, Winning the War of Liberty Over Liberalism." The title alone accuses those who are not conservative to be against freedom.

Rush Limbaugh screams at you on your way home in the car about the bad left, O'Reilly screams at you at night while flipping through channels and a look at the bookstore portrays a collection of memorable one-liners against the left such as, "Why the Left Hates America and Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism." Even CNN's Lou Dobbs has taken on a brash right stance. If the liberal media is still so prevalent, where are they?

When Reagan decided the Fairness Doctrine was no longer needed, he opened up Pandora's Box. Now, the screaming heads on television are not held accountable for what they say and have no incentive to give other views.

The dissolution of the Fairness Doctrine coupled with the recent media deregulation from the Federal Communications Commision spells big trouble for the consumer who depends on mainstream media to get fair and objective news. Currently, media outlets run the risk of becoming carefully crafted ideology machines for hire. Look at Fox News and the other ideology-driven news outlets; this is the future of mainstream media if things do not change.