But as reporters acknowledge, there's a pro-official bias that privileges whichever party is in power. My own research has uncovered little evidence of a pervasive liberal or pro-Democratic bias in the news. Recent polling finds a majority of Americans agree that 'the news media fuels political division,' with 61 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of independents and 23 percent of Democrats agreeing that the media are 'hurting democracy.' Half of Americans think that national news outlets 'intend to mislead, misinform, or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting.' The response from much of the public, including the GOP base, is what one would expect, with rising distrust of the news media. These attacks are driven by the assumption that the media has a liberal bias, and is responsible for routinely purveying 'fake news' and systematically manipulating the public as a result. These developments are part of a larger right-wing assault on media freedom and the right of journalists to critically report the news.

Wade should be prosecuted, incarcerated and then raped in prison.

Not to be outdone, Trump weighed in on the question of how to punish journalists, suggesting that reporters who published the leaked Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Ron DeSantis, now a presidential candidate, recently endorsed a legislative effort to curtail press freedom by designating anonymous news sources as 'false' for legal purposes in defamation cases and eliminating the 'journalist's privilege' protection, which shields reporters from having to identify anonymous sources in defamation lawsuits.Īmerica's mainstream media still wants to save the GOP - but that's impossible

The assault on press freedom is also nothing new for the Republican Party. Such attacks are hardly new for Trump, who in May reportedly became angry with questions from NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's criminal investigation, tried to grab Hillyard's phone and then told aides to 'get him outta here.' When Donald Trump was asked in June about the federal prosecution against him for illegally retaining classified government documents, he attacked the 'fake news' media for their 'continuation of the witch hunt' against him 'that's been going on for literally seven years.' Allegations of media bias are ubiquitous among Republicans.

Chip ingram is liberal or conservative