Vast Right Wing Media Conspiracy: 70% of Sunday Show Guests Are Republicans

Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 02:26 pm

Contrary to Mitt Romney’s claims of vast left wing media conspiracy, a new study by FAIR has found that 70% of Sunday news show guests are Republicans.

A study of the network Sunday morning news shows by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) found an extreme Republican bias in ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. According to FAIR, 70% of the interview guests were Republicans. Despite the fact that Democrats control both the White House and the Senate, 166 Republicans were interviewed on these programs. The programs interviewed just 70 Democrats. Eighty six percent of the Sunday morning guests were male, and 92% of guests were also white.

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Of the thirty six interviews of women, eighteen featured Michele Bachmann. Of the fifteen interviews of African Americans, seven of them featured Herman Cain. The roundtable segments were also dominated by Republicans and conservatives. Republicans and conservatives outnumbered Democrats and progressives 282-164, and the gap is getting bigger.

Those on the right may want to attribute the tilted coverage towards the right to the 2012 Republican primary, but the GOP primary doesn’t explain the conservative media bias that was present on these shows in 2004 when Democrats were vying to unseat Republican incumbent president George W. Bush. In 2004, Republicans/conservatives outnumbered Democrats/progressives 57%-43%. In eight years, the right wing bias of the Sunday news shows has grown by 13%.

Mitt Romney’s claim that there is a vast left wing media conspiracy doing Obama’s bidding is complete and total nonsense. A Pew Research analysis last fall found that President Obama received the most negative coverage of any of the 2012 presidential candidates. Romney received nearly three times more positive coverage (26%) than Obama did (9%). Romney was simply trying to use an old Republican myth to amp up his own victimization in eyes of the Republican base.

Sunday morning has become the home base for right wing messaging and propaganda. The demographics of the guests on these shows reflect those of the Republican Party. The Sunday morning shows like the GOP are overwhelmingly old, white, and male.

Is the corporate media trying to stifle progressive/Democratic voices? The media itself will say no, but how can they explain the staggering advantage that they have given to the right’s point of view? Republicans aren’t a majority of the electorate, so why are they given a virtual monopoly on the Sunday morning airtime?

The corporate media doesn’t want you to be awakened to the fact that there is no liberal bias in the media. Talk radio is dominated by conservatives, and cable news is lorded over by Fox News. The real bias is inherent in the corporatization of the media. Our corporate controlled mainstream media uses its resources to promote the conservative politicians and political party that protects their financial interests.

Based on these numbers it can be argued that the Sunday morning shows are not only biased in favor of conservatives, but that they are actively working to suppress the liberal/progressive point of view. If Democrats and the left are going to succeed, they are going to have to overcome the corporate media bias that confronts them every day.

The worst kept secret in both media and politics is that if it’s Sunday, it’s time for right wing propaganda.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association