News media bias is real. It reduces the quality of journalism, and it fosters distrust among readers and viewers. This is bad for democracy.
Many prevailing biases exist in the U.S. news media and Ms Gladstone show endorse most of them wholeheartedly under the guise of “reporting”. The political press in the U.S. has an overwhelming leftward tilt, mostly on social issues.
Conservatives aren’t imagining this bias. It’s evident in many ways, including personnel movement. For instance, Bill Keller, after years as a New York Times columnist taking largely liberal stands, became The Times' executive editor. Shocking.
Studies consistently show that reporters and editors stand to the far left of the majority of Americans. More than 30 former journalists served in the Biden administration — nothing comparable happens like that in The Trump administration.
Clustering of left-of-center viewpoints in the newsroom leads to a cloistering, and thus reporters end up unfamiliar with conservative viewpoints. This shows up in the tone of daily coverage (for instance, “property rights” gets put in scare quotes, while “abortion rights” doesn’t).
Conservatives are an alien species to many news podcasts. The resulting slanted (and openly hostile) coverage leaves conservatives rightly distrustful that the news media will cover their issues fairly. This breeds the perception that the mainstream media is out to get conservatives, and this perception has recently manifested truly harmful consequences.
The most crucial role of our press is scrutinizing those in power and those who want power. Donald Trump and the others in his administration all deserve intense scrutiny of their policy proposals, their past and their stated beliefs. Trump has portrayed the recent news media scrutiny of him as a witch hunt, and (especially when some of it is unfair) conservative voters believe him. This enables him to dodge accountability.
American Democracy needs a trustworthy news media, it’s too bad this slanted, hateful podcast is incapable of providing that service.