4. Issues and Bias

This section examines the tilt in news coverage (often reduced to "opinions") in the American media on a range of issues: politics, economic issues, social/cultural issues, use of "experts", general topics, accountability, and punishment for deviating from the media outlet's (and the Right's) comfort zone.

The data shows that on the vast majority of these issues the American media is certainly illiberal and conservative in its tilt. Obviously, this does not in any way mean that every media outlet is always tilted in a conservative direction on any given issue. On a given day, one might find cases where a particular news report appears to have a "liberal bias."  What I am saying is that the media more often tends to be conservative biased than liberal biased on serious issues - and thus, overall, ends up being illiberal and conservative. Even more toxic is the fact that "conservative bias" as it plays out in the U.S. media usually encompasses reporting misinformation favorable to the Republican party and its corporate and media appendages or ignoring facts that show the same groups in poor light.

Details are covered in the following sub-sections.

4.1 Political

4.2 Economic

4.3 Social/Cultural

4.4 Expertise (reliance on Front Groups and "Think-Tanks")

4.5 General

4.6 Accountability (for journalistic errors or malpractice)

4.7 Punishment (for journalistic errors or malpractice)