Do You Think "Media Matters" is Biased(Are its studies valid)?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

On Edit: To Clarify, saying that one is progressive or works towards progressive values does not mean that they skew their research or results to make their own views prove true. So I suppose the question should be "Do you believe the Media Matters Studies are Credible/ Updated question.

[rinsd]

1. Of course they are! Its in the their mission statement.

"Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."


http://mediamatters.org/about_us/

[SteppingRazor]

3. Get outta my head, Rinsd!

:hi:

[rinsd]

7. Oh boy a DU mind meld! Took me two weeks to recover last time!

:toast:

[SteppingRazor]

2. Of course it is!

Media Matters itself claims that it is a "progressive ressearch and information center." Even Media Matters claims it's biased toward the progressive side.

[underpants]

9. Don't confuse information with ideas

information is true or not or we're not sure (that's where it gets all fuzzy).

Take the information and make a decision about it. That decision could be any number of things

progressive

conservative

or other

[SteppingRazor]

14. I'm not confusing anything...

Bias (n): A preference or an inclination, esp. one that inhibits impartial judgement (from American Heritage)

Given that definition, I think it's plenty obvious that Media Matters is biased. It's supposed to be.

[ThomCat]

4. No.

They have a stated, up-front purpose of finding deception, misdirection and bias in the media that favors the Neo-cons. So of course they take one side. But they call it honestly and with good research. They don't make stuff up just to smear anyone. They don't have to.

[SteppingRazor]

5. So... you mean yes?

Being biased doesn't mean you make stuff up to smear the other side. It just means you come at things from a certain point of view.

[ThomCat]

10. No.

Being unbiased doesn't mean taking an artificially neutral stance. Newspapers make that mistake all the time, finding some paid shill to represent one side in order to appear unbiased.

That kind of balance is biased in favor of the less factual side. If the facts are on your side you aren't biased.

[SteppingRazor]

But that doesn't change their pro-liberal bias...

if Randi Rhodes gets on the air and tosses out a half-truth (as she does quite often), are you going to hear about it on Media Matters? of course not!

[ThomCat]

17. That isn't within the scope of MM.

Part of the reason Media Matters can do the research that they do is because they focus on the major media.

And as I said, an arbitrary balance is not unbiased.

[Dr Fate]

32. There are 300 RW talk show hosts who can go after Rhode's "half truths"

But something tells me you dont even have an example of her alleged half truths.

Do you?

[SteppingRazor]

33. Here's one example --

Remember when Cindy Sheehan was pulled out of Bush's SotU speech for wearing a shirt that read: "2,245 Dead. How Many More?"

The next day, Randi goes off on a rant about how Cindy had on a shirt that said 2,245. Just a number. How can they pull her for wearing a shirt that just has a number on it? That could mean anything!

Of course, it didn't have "just a number" on it. Randi pulls stuff like that all the time. It irks me a bit, since it's just so unnecessary -- we've got the truth on our side, there's no need for such exaggerations.

Also, I'm certainly aware that there's a gazillion Web sites and radio shows that would be more than happy to count out Randi's factual errors. That's not my point. My point is that Media Matters will not look at Randi's show and find errors, because Media Matters is a progressive media watch dog, uninterested in the occasional mistakes and errors of liberals. That's because Media Matters has a liberal bias. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think it's a mistake for us to defend MM as if there's something wrong with what they are. There's nothing wrong with Media Matters. The organization's watchdog efforts are perfectly valid, its concentration on conservative media notwithstanding.

P.S. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you -- I don't DU on weekends :hi:

[StClone]

6. I voted yes

Bias towards facts, truth and logic. Heresy and fight'n words.

[NI4NI]

22. I voted Yes, too, but

but knowing what David Brock personally knows about, said, and did when he was a Canservative, I don't know if "bias" is the right word.

[Asgaya Dihi]

8. Bias doesn't mean bad

Biased doesn't mean liar, it just means that you work for a cause. They say themselves in their mission statement that they have a progressive bias, who are we to argue? That doesn't mean bad, it just means they lean in a given direction. We've all got our biases based on our past life and experience. It's the lens we view the world through.

Since you edited the question I need to edit the answer ;) Yes, the studies I believe are valid. Where they point out problems I've got no doubt they did their research and have the facts right in the vast majority of cases. The cases they tend to look at are shaped by their mission though, so the first answer.

[wryter2000]

12. Exactly

As long as what they post is true, I don't care about the fact that they're biased toward liberalism. If it's about reporting and news, the key factor is truth as opposed to truthiness.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

11. they're fair and their accurate

anyone whose taken a research class can tell you that their methodolgy as documented in their content analysis studies is fair

[otohara]

13. Hard to Be Called Bias When

most of what they print is exactly what someone said.

[ThoughtCriminal]

15. Contradictory headline question

Yes/No - it's biased?

or

Yes/No - Are its studies valid?

-- So far I have not seen any problems with study methodology at MM, but that's not my area of expertise.

[Placebo]

16. What question am I saying "Yes" or "No" to?

Whether they are biased or whether their studies are valid?

[robbedvoter]

18. OnIf you think "facts have a liberal bias" . They're factual.

at least for the reality based community.


''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And
while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll
act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and
that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you,
all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
Bush aide to Ron Suskind

[Gabi Hayes]

20. Stephen Colbert put it this way

''Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.''

[robbedvoter]

26. You get a clapping Colbert for identifying my source:

[Gabi Hayes]

30. haha...thx....saving that to my animated gif folder

here's a onehanded cheek clap for you!

[thoughtanarchist]

19. Yes.

Yes. They are Biased.
Yes. Their studies are credible.
Yes they are fair and factual.


"reality has a well-known liberal bias" -- Stephen Colbert

[rodeodance]

21. is mm credible. Yes. Biased yes, in the other direction from, a Foxie

bias

[Dr Fate]

23. Dont care. Has media matters presented any false info?

I'm tired of people insisting Democrats be "balanced"- I dont want "balance"- I want the plain facts.

Has MM presented info that was not factual? That is the only "bias" I care about- facts vs. fiction.

[madfloridian]

24. You need to change your post so we will know what to vote on.

Very confusing.

I respect Media Matters work very much, and I am not sure of your point.

[acmejack]

25. I believe they are credible but I voted they are biased

just like the first two respondents, in fact I was laughing with them. My initial response was "Of course they are!"

[William Seger]

27. Yes to the updated question

They're "biased" in the subjects that that investigate, of course, but the information that they present is factual and credible.

[NNN0LHI]

28. You need to start another one of these polls. I fecked up and voted wrong

Too confusing. I bet others did too. I like Media Matters by the way.

At least I think I voted wrong?

Don

[robbedvoter]

29. This is like the freaking butterfly ballot - worthless. Voted "No"

on the original question.
Again, there's no bias in trurh - facts.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

31. Please delete, I'm way too confusing in my title

I tried to amend without nulling the posts first made.

[Finder]

34. Studies are valid...choosing who to evaluate is biased...

but that is not a negative.