When Does Punditry Become Propaganda?

That time is long gone...

Media Matters has an astounding review of the Sunday talk shows from 1997 to 2005.  The Media Matters survey reviewed 7,000 guest appearances on ABC's This Week, CBS' Face the Nation, and NBC's Meet the Press. 

The results ain't pretty. 

The era of balanced coverage has been replaced with a heavily one-sided right-wing era of television punditry.  No wonder American politics are trapped flying in viscious little circles.

Here are some high(low)lights of the Media Matters review:

 
• The balance between Democrats/progressives and Republicans/conservatives was roughly equal during Clinton's second term, with a slight edge toward Republicans/conservatives: 52 percent of the ideologically identifiable guests were from the right, and 48 percent were from the left. But in Bush's first term, Republicans/ conservatives held a dramatic advantage, outnumbering Democrats/progressives by 58 percent to 42 percent. In 2005, the figures were an identical 58 percent to 42 percent.

 

• Counting only elected officials and administration representatives, Democrats had a small advantage during Clinton's second term: 53 percent to 45 percent. In Bush's first term, however, the Republican advantage was 61 percent to 39 percent -- nearly three times as large.

 

• 
  In both the Clinton and Bush administrations, conservative journalists were far more likely to appear on the Sunday shows than were progressive journalists. In Clinton's second term, 61 percent of the ideologically identifiable journalists were conservative; in Bush's first term, that figure rose to 69 percent.

 

• In every year examined by the study -- 1997 - 2005 -- more panels tilted right (a greater number of Republicans/conservatives than Democrats/progressives) than tilted left. In some years, there were two, three, or even four times as many righttitled panels as left-tilted panels.

 
• Congressional opponents of the Iraq war were largely absent from the Sunday shows, particularly during the period just before the war began.

Media Matters concludes:

In short, the Sunday talk shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC are dominated by conservative voices, from newsmakers to commentators.

When Does Punditry Become Propaganda?  I'd really like to know.

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