What makes you believe the media has a liberal/conservative bias?
928492
here's one example of conservative bias:  cnn's wolf blitzer was interviewing Pres. Musharaff of Pakistan.  Musharaff said the war in iraq was  a mistake.  Blitzer said - you don't mean the whole war is a mistake, do you?  Musharaff said YES.  Blitzer said - we'll be back after this commercial.  When he returned, Musharaff was gone and Blitzer said he was going to read a statement from the Pakistani Embassy - a statement which said 'musharaff wasn't categorically calling the war a mistake.'\n\nunbelievable.\n\nalso, all the lies told about Gore that were never fact-checked were evidence of the conservative bias.  how about the media ignoring that bush was wired during his debates in 2004?  \n\nstrong conservative bias in the media.
676529
what liberal media is right.  Seems every channel and the newspapers are spinning everything Republican.
1026756
I know the previous answerers will not probably read my answer so its meaningless to direct it to them, but to their claim that the media is liberal, here is my rebuttal:\n\nFirst, the media companies are not non-profit organizations. There aren't that many diverse news/media companies in the first place and those that do exist are under a few corporate umbrellas that donate to the Republican party. The people who run these companies are rich, privileged men. They are also pretty intelligent. They are not as stupid as Ann Coulter. So they keep a low profile and they let their company take the garb of being liberal. Wolf in sheep's clothing, shall we say? The "bias" is kept "liberal" for a reason. I mean come on, if you went all out and claimed the media companies to be conservative would anybody trust them anymore? Yeah right! So this is a very subtle move which my republican friends do not have the acumen to understand. So you build trust among the liberals by pretending to be their friend, and slowly build up your case. These are not foolish people after all.\nSecond continuing on the thought of corporations that exist for profit: who gains when these news companies make money? When you watch the news, buy the magazines? I don't. I am sure most of you don't either. The owners and executives do. And what is the political affiliation of the executives of these companies?\nI will let you look up Michael Ganzi of Hearst Corp. (that owns Popular Mechanics amongst a host of other publications), Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation (Fox, Harper Collins), John Engler (member of Board of directors of Dow Jones, Republican governor of Michigan) to name a few. These are people to make the decisions how and what to publish through various media. Just these 3 companies Hearst, Fox and Dow Jones control an ENORMOUS segment of the media industry. AND they are all republican controlled.\nThird, these businessmen are not stupid. If they produced ONLY left wing news then the right wing wouldn't buy it. If they produced only right wing news then the left wing wouldn't buy it. And that would hurt half their business. So they spread their products evenly, some left, some right. New York Times right, New York Post left... just mix it up, have people buy it, get the checks from the bank. And if you can mix in a little controversy, by making a leftist slant, then it will sell more!!\nEventually where does the buck stop? At the executives' desk. And they are all right wingers (I prefer wrong wingers as a better descriptor).\n\nAnyways, I am sure my republican friends wouldn't understand all this logic. They are simple minded people and don't really follow the intricate ways the GOP top brass think and act.\n\nSo how do we counter the right wing media?\nUse the Internet. Blogs, personal news, word-of-mouth is the new face of news. The printing press ushered in Renaissance and was instrumental in the dissemination of ideas by people like Voltaire, Locke, Rousseau, Descartes etc.. that led to the French Revolution and eventually emancipated Europe and America. I say the Internet is the printing press of this age. Blog, write, disseminate. There are some intelligent republicans who do this as well. But most of them are not there yet. The liberals at least have that one advantage: of education. Put it to good use.
276778
the media greatly affects what people think. for example, if someone relies on the media for all their news, and the media omits something like: everyone is rioting at the president and changes it to everyone is fully behind the president it affects a persons bias. now in all fairness not all media are like this, but sometimes they fudge the truth (especially if they are corparatley owned and the government is giving them big multimillion/billion $ contracts, that encourages them to support the government. Ex. GE owns NBC, and GE takes multimillion dollar contracts from the government because of the war in iraq, so on nbc they'll be more supportive of the war. yes, they'll show the negatives sides so they can look fair and balanced, but in reality it is a deception.)
1047741
can't argue with having one less liberal in the media
646934
Intersting answers so far.  Many well-stated and educated responses, many immature and uninformed responses, and from both sides as well.  This question is one of those odd questions that really has little political meaning or significance, but seems to get more answers and attention than the well-written questions.  \n\nIn order to understand this question better, I need you to specify what news you are watching.  I make a point to watch all of the major cable "news" networks for some time, and I find that FOX News tends to do exactly what you described.  I can recall distinctly a debate on Hannity & Colmes where they pitted Anne Coulter, a young, attractive and well known conservative, against a little-known liberal radio host who was short, obese, and reminded me of a soaking-wet Danny Devito with thick, nerdy glasses.\n\nOn CNN, I tend to see more of a balance of age and health, but they seem to make an effort to find minorities and women (or both) to represent the democrats.\n\nIn both cases, it seems to me that the media is doing everything it can to help it's side out.  Neither side is completely honest, and the media certainly doesn't help.  I hate to spoil anyone's fantasies, but CNN is liberal, and FOX News is conservative.  If you want to get an un-biased opinion, don't listen to some pundit tell you what you should think about a speech or a policy.  Actually read the document or watch the speech!  C-Span typically shows major political events un-edited without commentary, and this is a good start for anyone looking to free themselves from political bias in the media.  \n\nTo return to your question, I don't think it is fair to judge anyone on physical appearance.  Stephen Hawking is one of the greatest scientific minds of our time, yet he is a quadriplegic.  Britney Spears is one of the best-looking women in the world, but I doubt she could even begin to understand anything Mr. Hawking would try to tell her.  \n\nIn short, don't judge a book by its cover.
172303
Conservative and liberal. Fox news and CNN respectively.\n\nI'm not to sure if that is what you are looking for.
634996
Fox news is biased. Bias is defined as an inclination towards a particular ideology and from that standard Fox news is certainly biased because they project a particular stance and fit all news according to their bias.
767327
Look what the conservative media does \nThey were the only ones that would consider airing that trash with OJ Simpson\nNecons like to say theres a liberal media bias because they say so many bad things about the President\nWell how bout this \nHow bout Bush does something right for once\nThe guys been wrong on everything The Budget, WMD's\nIraq\nThe guy screws up everything he touches
248106
Most of the news media think like liberals and democrats which is to think that values like patriotism and personal responsibility are outdated and are for uncultured hicks. Pretty sad.
258169
Political views are based off of one's morals and values - THAT cannot be helped. Where a lot of people go wrong, though, is in seeking media outlets that support their point of view rather than challenge it.\n\nTo be truly informed, one must look at the so-called liberal media and the so-called conservative media - with a gain of salt. One should do as much research as possible and then decide if the evidence shape his views or if he lets his views shape the evidence.
827119
Depends on the time and day.  You get some ardent left wingers posting here as well.  In true form, some conservatives accuse Y! Answers as being controlled by liberals, because they find themselves in the minority.  Same shtick they pull against the "liberal media" despite the popularity of Rush, Faux News, The National Review, and the Washington Times.  Helps them suppress those voices even more so, in an inane attempt to "balance the discourse".\n\nHowever, there are vehement wackos on both sides, and it's easy to get sucked into the rancor when someone asks a particularly loaded, insulting question.
316875
No, the media is not liberal per se.  Most reporters, when polled about their personal politics, usually espouse "liberal" ideas.  These ideas being things like "homosexuals are human beings,"  "poor people are human beings," and "women have the right to choose."  Reporters usually espouse liberal ideas when it comes to social issues.  However, when it comes to economic issues, reporters usually espouse a slight conservative bend.\n\nNow, the important part of the media equation is not the reporters, but the editors and owners of the various media outlets.  Editors and owners tend to be conservative.  And it is ultimately the editors and owners that decide what gets put into the news.\n\nMost of the news is fairly centrist.  That's because the news is a business, and the owners of the newspapers and television programs want to get as many readers and/or viewers as possible.  In order to do that, they need to appeal to liberals, conservatives, and centrists.\n\nThe idea of a "liberal media" is a conservative invention.  It is a useful strategy to get across the conservative agenda, because conservatives can yell "not fair!" and demand more air time. \n\nMost political commentators in the media are conservative.
698491
Yah by all means lets keep this lie going. I don't think everyone has heard it yet\n There is no liberal media bias. This is one of the BIG LIES told to keep people from questioning our government.
103204
i have found yahoo to be prety unbiased and fair in its news coverage.  maybe you see stories that you perceive to be anti-bush because bush has actually been doing these things.  with any sitting president i think the news is typically more negative than positive, because negative news sells.  Positive news is often just seen as the president doing his job.  And all of the news is not anti-bush.  I like how when the media reports on something bad the president did, all the right-wing fanatics scream about media bias.  Do you actually deny that the president screwed up when it gets reported, or do you just think it should not be reported?  Accusations that ONLY negative news is reported are blatantly false.\n\np.s. i like how conservatives always accuse liberals of inviting the gov. into our private lives when it is actually conservative governments that pose the biggest threats to individual privacy and freedom.  it is conservative politicians who want the government in the bedroom, who have expanded the powers of the federal government, who have restricted civil liberties.
1006393
I think this goes for both liberals and conservatives.  It's just more obvious to you when you are on the receiving end of it.
43217
Sadly there are a lot of people in the US who are influenced by anything the media, Hollywood, and their favorite actor or actress tells them. I don't understand it myself. These people are no smarter than you or I, nor do they have access to information we do not. For example, who declared that Michael Moore was more intelligent or had any more information than anyone else? \n\nPersonally, I like to look at facts and make my own conclusions and I look for signs that the supposed "facts" I'm being shown are skewed to a particular reporter's point of view. Having been a reporter at one time in my life, I know that personal agendas often find their way into "news" reporting, and let's not forget that many of the biggest names in news are folks who grew up and thrived on an anti-government attitude in the 1960's. They may want to recreate the chaos that was the '60's, but I, for one, do not.\n\nThere seems to be a certain cache in being against the establishment. A very small crowd of people have had a disproportionately loud presence in the media, skewing perception of what we Americans really think. I'm a native NY'er. After 9/11 I was SHOCKED at how quickly an entire city full of liberal democrat doves turned into hawks overnight. Ask any of my neighbors. We support the war 100%.\n\nAnyone who has a problem with it is either too stupid and brainwashed to understand that fighting the terrorists there keeps us safer over here, or worse, they simply want their own political power and don't care who they hurt - soldiers or innocent civilians who will be killed without the soldiers' intervention - to attain power for themselves. It's disgusting. \n\nWhen I watch democrats pussyfooting around supporting troops but hating Bush, it makes me sick. For once, do what's best for the country, not what's best for yourselves. The power grab is all too obvious and completely disgusting.\n\nYou're all too right about CNN. They are terrible reporters. Their political preference is ALWAYS readily seen. My family in Europe gets their news about the US from CNN and it is always skewed. To hear them you'd think we were all flag-burning atheists who hate Bush and love Hillary. Ha! Luckily, at least for my family, they can call us and get the real story. I often wonder how such negativism affects the soldiers and I hope and pray they don't take it to heart.\n\nThank God for your husband and the other men like him. Don't listen to the foolish, brainwashed youngsters who believe whatever some uneducated moron in Hollywood tells them or the elites who are only after their own agendas and their own power grabs. Real Americans love our troops and support what they are doing. We understand what is happening and though we keep quiet most of the time and let the press do what it will, we know what they say is a load of crap. Take heart. America supports you.