Boycott NYT: Media Bias Reached New Lows in 2008 Campaign

Boycott NYT: Media Bias Reached New Lows in 2008 Campaign

WASHINGTON, Today /Christian Newswire/ -- On the release of an October 22 Pew Research Center survey that found 70% of Americans think the media favors Senator Obama over Senator McCain, Boycott The New York Times editor Don Feder noted that media bias reached new lows in this election.

"As bad as The New York Times has been before, it's nothing compared to the way the paper has managed, manipulated and mangled coverage of the 2008 campaign," Feder observed. "Not a day goes by that The Times doesn't misrepresent John McCain, ridicule Sarah Palin, refuse to report a revelation that reflects badly on the Obama-Biden campaign, or rationalize Obama's radical past."

The Pew study found that only 9% of voters think the media favors John McCain, in contrast to 70% who believe journalists favor Barack Obama. At this point in the 2004 campaign, a Pew survey found that 50% of Americans thought the press favored John Kerry, compared with 22% who thought it preferred George W. Bush.

A study of media coverage of the candidates in the six weeks following the nominating conventions, by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, showed four times as many negative stories about McCain as about Obama.

Feder further notes that according to a Rasmussen report earlier this year, only 24% of Americans have a favorable opinion of The New York Times, "making the paper almost as popular as trial lawyers."

Feder calls Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal's recent claim - in a speech to the Association of National Advertisers - that the paper aims to ensure opinion and news are kept separate - "stand-up comedy at its most hilarious."

Feder's commentary at BoycottNYT.com is available here.

About Boycott The New York Times:
Boycott The New York Times is a project of Accuracy in Media (AIM), the nation's oldest media watchdog group. AIM, founded in 1969, is dedicated to correcting media inaccuracies and one-sided news coverage. For more information, please visit www.boycottnyt.com and www.aim.org.

About Don Feder:
Don Feder is the editor of Boycott The New York Times. A former Boston Herald editorial writer and syndicated political columnist, Feder has appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity and Colmes," "The 700 Club," and "Fox & Friends."

To arrange an interview with Don Feder, contact Sarah Schaerr Norton at (202) 364- 4401 ext. 107 or sarah.schaerr@aim.org.

3mnewswire.org