It is widely perceived that the national television news industry skews left and, in some cases, actively supports liberal political candidates. While that is debatable on a case-by-case basis, the evidence is overwhelming that the folks who deliver the news to the nation are sympathetic to liberal causes, and that obviously favors President Obama during this election cycle.
Let's run it down:
- NBC News anchor Brian Williams interned for the Carter administration early in his career. He has no registered political affiliation and I can find no political donations he has made. However, he has denigrated conservatives on late night TV.
- ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer once worked for Richard Nixon. She has no political affiliation and no donations on the record. She is perceived to be a social liberal but downplays any partisanship on television.
- CBS News anchor Scott Pelley is not affiliated with any party and has given no donations. He plays it straight on TV.
- Anderson Cooper hosts a primetime program on CNN. In 2004, he was a registered democrat. No political donations have been made in his name. He has openly criticized the Tea Party on a number of occasions and is perceived to be liberal.
- Piers Morgan is also a CNN primetime host. A British subject, he is openly liberal on the air and, earlier this month, wrote an opinion article for London's Daily Mail newspaper where he called Mitt Romney all kinds of names.
- Charlie Rose cohosts the CBS Morning News and was a registered Democrat early in his career. He is widely considered sympathetic to the left but has asked tough questions to liberal politicians on occasion.
- George Stephanopoulos cohosts ABC's Good Morning America and is a registered Democrat who worked as an advisor to President Clinton. Stephanopoulos downplays his political affiliation on the air.
- Matt Lauer is the cohost of the Today Show on NBC. He is not registered with a political party and there are no political donations in his name. Widely considered to be socially liberal, Lauer is generally courteous to all points of view on the air.
The one thing all of the above newspeople have in common is that none of them is conservative. Also, I would be stunned if any of them votes for Mitt Romney.
So, how will that affect press coverage with the election around the corner? Well, the actual on air reporting will likely be straight, but expect stories like Libya, not favorable to the President, to be downplayed. In addition, any gaffe the governor might make will definitely be highlighted.
As Walter Cronkite, a devoted liberal man, once said: "and that's the way it is." It shouldn't be that way. There should be more balance among TV news anchors. But that will never happen in this country.
Such is life.
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