The Dangers of Ideological News (Part 2 of 2)

By Nathan Ausubel

The danger of ideological news goes well beyond the reporting of “no-go-zones.” According to many experts, Fox News and MSNBC not only report faulty information but also influence the political process. In the weeks leading up to an election, TV channels are known to favor one party’s candidate above the other candidate, so much so that they impact actual voting habits. When he was running for reelection, Obama only received 6% of positive coverage from Fox News, whereas 46% of coverage was negative.  From the liberal MSNBC, Obama received the opposite treatment: 39% of positive coverage versus 15% of negative coverage.¹ Mitt Romney received a similarly biased treatment as Obama’s competitor. Fox gave him 28% of positive coverage and only 12% of negative coverage. MSNBC, once again, proved to be its mirror image, as it gave Romney only 3% of positive coverage and a staggering 71% of negative coverage.¹ Fox News and MSNBC claim that they are committed to balanced coverage of the news, but rather than giving both parties an equal chance to win over voters, they are instead letting ideology get in the way of fair reporting.

Fox News is so biased when reporting elections that it actually influences voting patterns. In 2007, professors Stefano DellaVigna and Ethan Kaplan found that Fox News has a “significant impact on voting for Republican candidates.”² Even after controlling for confounding variables such as town characteristics, the researchers had ample evidence to show that Fox News encourages voter turnout and the conversion of moderate Democrats into Republicans.  They were able to reach such conclusions by comparing voting patterns in 9,256 towns before and after the introduction of Fox News.²

Rupert Murdoch’s TV network has been particularly effective in galvanizing opposition to the Obama administration. For example, the Fox News hosts have given a powerful voice to the critics of the Affordable Care Act, even those with wild conspiracy theories.  The network has also gone so far as to encourage “tea parties” that protest Obama’s tax policies.³ The Obama administration has long since realized that Fox News is not an impartial news source giving balanced coverage of the president. Anita Dunn, the White House communications direction has said that the administration will treat Fox News “the way that we would treat an opponent,” and she accused the network of “undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House.”³ While the Obama administration battles with the network, Fox News will continue will continue to promote the interests of the Tea Party and to alienate conservatives from a president once accused of having “a deep-seated hatred for white people.”³ This treatment of the president is, unfortunately, typical of news agencies that find inspiration in ideology instead of in proper news. Rather than informing viewers about Obama’s performance, Fox News is instead spinning a conservative narrative that is encouraging political opposition to the current administration.

Partisan news is a clear danger to this country. It misinforms viewers about events happening around the world, undermines the principles of journalism, and influences the voting process. Unfortunately, the owners of Fox News and MSNBC have rigorously denied that they deliver an ideology rather than a quality product. For example, Rupert Murdoch once said, “I challenge anyone to show me an example of bias in Fox News Channel.”⁴ Obviously, he is far from the truth, and in fact, the public thinks that press accuracy is at its lowest ranking in over two decades.⁵ Still, Fox News and MSNBC remain troublingly popular news agencies, even as they come under scrutiny for biased reporting. TV networks need to shift away from ideologically driven stories, or else they will continue to place unhealthy influence on the American public. Otherwise, the future of journalism is at stake.

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¹ Holcomb, Jesse. “5 facts about Fox.” Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.

² DellaVigna, Stefano and Ethan Kaplan. “The Fox News Effect: Media Bias and Voting.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 122.3 (2007): 1187-1234. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.

³ Carr, David. “The Battle Between the White House and Fox News.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 17 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.

⁴ Shah, Anup. “Media in the United States.” Global Issues. Global Issues, 28 Jan. 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.

⁵ “Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low: Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985-2009.” Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, 13 Sep. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.