Conservatives urged to call into CSPAN and charge them with liberal bias

[IsItJustMe]

If anybody knows anything about CSPAN, they would know that it is very fair with their call in programs, book reviews and political coverage.

I was watching it this morning and a conservative woman called in. She said that she had received several emails from conservatives telling her to call CSPAN and charge them with being biased to wards the liberals.

She said she could not do that because it simply wasn't true. I watch CSPAN every morning and they are constantly being harassed with this type of charge.

Could it be that news organizations get the same organized business?

[FormerDittoHead]

1. I suspect NPR to get this kind...

The right gets conservative economist interviews, conservative political interviews, Grover Norquist interviews etc.

WE get "blues guitar legend" profiles...

Oh, how much I'd LOVE for Mediamatters.org to get a weekly show in NPR...

[Wheezy]

2. I heard this caller too this morning

it was the first time I've heard one like that -- but it seemed really odd. I was glad this conservative called in to say this.

[IsItJustMe]

4. I hear it all the time. There have beena few liberals that called in

about two months ago when an article came out by fair.org stating that they did a study and said CSPAN leans to the right.

But 95 percent of the time it is conservatives who are making this charge and it simply has to be an organized effort.

I just wonder what type of effect this has upon the people at CSPAN.
This constant drum beat charge can't be good.

[Douglas Carpenter]

5. here it is from FAIR

link:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2780

"Action Alert

C-SPAN Slanting Right
Washington Journal's guestlist lacks balance

12/19/05

In the December issue of Extra!, FAIR published a study of the guest list on C-SPAN's Washington Journal. Though C-SPAN's "flagship viewer call-in program" prides itself on its reputation for fairness, FAIR's study found that reputation does not reflect reality. But C-SPAN's response thus far has been silence.

Extra! studied Washington Journal's guestlist, tabulating all 663 guests who appeared on the show in the six-month period from November 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005. Guests were classified by gender, ethnicity, party affiliation (if any) and occupation. The study also looked at the think tanks most prominently represented on the show.

Among the most striking findings:



Of the partisan guests, Republicans outnumbered Democrats nearly two to one (134 to 70). Not a single representative of a third party appeared during the study period.


People of color made up only 15 percent of Washington Journal's guestlist (100 out of 663). People of African and Asian heritage accounted for 4 percent each, while those of Middle Eastern and Latin American descent represented 3 percent each. No Native Americans were identifiable during the six months studied.


Male guests outnumbered women by four to one, at 80 percent to 20 percent. Moreover, 69 percent of guests were white males, while just 3 percent were women of color.


Journalists accounted for nearly a third of all guests (32 percent), the largest single occupational group on the guestlist. Of opinion journalists, 32 were right-of-center while only 19 were left-of-center.


Citizen-based organizations and public interest groups accounted for just 9 percent of total guests.


"Balance is our No. 1 goal," Peter Slen, Washington Journal's executive producer and part-time host, once said, adding: "We keep official stats on the Washington Journal, OK? Republicans, Democrats, conservative, liberal, moderates—we try to stay within the week nearly perfect as far as the balance goes."

But since publication of the study, C-SPAN has declined to comment on the results, saying only that they would "keep it under advisement." They also turned down a FAIR offer to appear on Washington Journal to discuss the issue.

ACTION:
Please contact C-SPAN and let them know your thoughts about the study.

CONTACT:
C-SPAN
Washington Journal
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

If you're concerned about the imbalance on Washington Journal, you can also call the viewer hotline this week to voice your concerns over the air:
[phone]

The show usually airs weekdays from 7-10 AM and weekends 8-10 AM EST."

[slor]

3. Yeah, bush is fucking up...

and it is the liberal callers that are causing it. I think I heard that lady, and you are right, several people pointed out the CSPAN had "changed". I have never seen so many people of a particular political stripe, need such protection. These people are the "grown-ups"?

[NobleCynic]

6. If CSPAN is anything

it's boring, that's what. Nothing that bland could biased one way or another. Cripes.

[caledesi]

7. C-Span, if anyhing, is fair nt

[CAG]

8. Repukes would believe Faux news was liberal if any conservative

idiot repeated it over and over for a couple of hours.

[seabeyond]

9. of course they get it and accused of it, and buy into it.... they

are falling all over themselves to prove they are not liberal media and repugs are laughing all over the f*in place

[Catherine Vincent]

10. The moderators always have to remind the callers that the

republican line is open. I have never heard them say it about the Democratic line. I'm assuming there are a lot of pissed off Dems because of Bush's fuckups and the republicans are apparnetly satisfied with his fuckups because he's a "good christian man".