Media bias? Most influential political pundits in US

[Fire Fly]

Link
I seem to have problems with their website due to some sort of script error so I caution viewers when they open up the link; it seems to upload slowly.

So we often hear how the US media is liberally biased. The UK Telegraph recently did a short analysis of who they think are the most politically influential pundits. I went through the list and placed an L (liberal) and a C (conservative) by each name and only for those who were overtly liberal or overtly conservative. I'm sure that one could label each pundit but I'm not familiar with some of them and left them blank and some of them really don't warrant a label (i.e. David Gergen has worked in both conservative and liberal circles). So other viewers should try it themselves and see what they come up with.

Anyways, its interesting to note that conservatives dominate the upper tier whereas liberals tend to be on the lower tier. And here, I present to you the top 10 most politically influential pundits in the US:


Left to right: Mark Halperin, David Brooks, Jon Stewart, Tim Russert, Matt Drudge
John Harris & Jim VandeHei, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Chris Matthews, Karl Rove



The entire list:

50. RACHEL MADDOW (L)
49. MARY MATALIN (C)
48. PAUL KRUGMAN (L)
47. JC WATTS (C)
46. MARK LEVIN (C)
45. FRED BARNES (C)
44. JEFFREY TOOBIN
43. PAUL BEGALA (L)
42. BILL BENNETT (C)
41. MARK SHIELDS (L)
40. TONY SNOW (C)
39. DEE DEE MYERS (L)
38. MICHAEL BARONE (C)
37. EUGENE ROBINSON
36. NEWT GINGRICH (C)
35. JOE TRIPPI (L)
34. HOWARD KURTZ (C)
33. ROLAND MARTIN
32. WILLIAM KRISTOL (C)
31. JUAN WILLIAMS (C)
30. PEGGY NOONAN
29. RON FOURNIER
28. JAMES CARVILLE (L)
27. PAT BUCHANAN (C)
26. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (L)
25. MICHAEL SAVAGE (C)
24. LAURA INGRAHAM (C)
23. MIKE ALLEN
22. DICK MORRIS (C)
21. DAVID GERGEN
10. MARK HALPERIN
9. DAVID BROOKS (C)
8. JON STEWART
7. TIM RUSSERT
6. MATT DRUDGE (C)
5. JOHN HARRIS AND JIM VANDEHEI
4. RUSH LIMBAUGH (C)
3. SEAN HANNITY (C)
2. CHRIS MATTHEWS
1. KARL ROVE (C)

C=20
L=8

[Thanas]

No Colbert?

[weemadando]

Do we need another conservative on the list? :roll:

[Fire Fly]

Hmm, I was wondering why those numbers weren't adding up; apparently the website kept directing me to the wrong pages.

Revised

50. RACHEL MADDOW (L)
49. MARY MATALIN (C)
48. PAUL KRUGMAN (L)
47. JC WATTS (C)
46. MARK LEVIN (C)
45. FRED BARNES (C)
44. JEFFREY TOOBIN
43. PAUL BEGALA (L)
42. BILL BENNETT (C)
41. MARK SHIELDS (L)
40. TONY SNOW (C)
39. DEE DEE MYERS (L)
38. MICHAEL BARONE (C)
37. EUGENE ROBINSON
36. NEWT GINGRICH (C)
35. JOE TRIPPI (L)
34. HOWARD KURTZ (C)
33. ROLAND MARTIN
32. WILLIAM KRISTOL (C)
31. JUAN WILLIAMS (C)
30. PEGGY NOONAN
29. RON FOURNIER
28. JAMES CARVILLE (L)
27. PAT BUCHANAN (C)
26. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (L)
25. MICHAEL SAVAGE (C)
24. LAURA INGRAHAM (C)
23. MIKE ALLEN
22. DICK MORRIS (C)
21. DAVID GERGEN
20. JOE KLEIN (C)
19. DONNA BRAZILE (L)
18. FRANK LUNTZ (C)
17. ANDREW SULLIVAN
16. GLENN BECK (C)
15. BILL MAHER (L)
14. CHUCK TODD
13. KEITH OLBERMANN
12. BILL O'REILLY (C)
11. STEPHEN COLBERT
10. MARK HALPERIN
9. DAVID BROOKS (C)
8. JON STEWART
7. TIM RUSSERT
6. MATT DRUDGE (C)
5. JOHN HARRIS AND JIM VANDEHEI
4. RUSH LIMBAUGH (C)
3. SEAN HANNITY (C)
2. CHRIS MATTHEWS
1. KARL ROVE (C)

C=24
L=10

Anyways, I didn't put some of the people as liberal since I don't feel being critical of the administration equates to being liberal. If they're overtly partisan, sure. I also wasn't sure where to place ex-Republicans and Libertarians so I just left them out. But like I said, judge for yourself. One thing is clear though, one partisan group clearly dominates.

And yes, I forgot Stephen Colbert. He's up now.

[Straha]

I disagree with quite a bit of the list's placement, but I'd point out two things:

A. A lot of people who are definitely liberal are listed as nothing there. I.E. Jon Stewart, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews most egregiously.

B. This doesn't necessarily challenge the validity of the argument that "the media" is controlled by 'liberals'. (NOTE: I do not agree with that argument.) It just makes it more nuanced. In the top twenty five most influential people there are 12 conservatives. Five of them (Savage, Ingraham [What the hell is she doing on the list?], Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity) started off as, essentially, DJs or local talk show hosts who then got bumped up because they were commercially succesful. Bill O'Reilly had a similar start, though as a television Anchor in Dallas I think. Drudge became influential because he ran a website which linked to other people's stories back in 1996 (influential, yes. But why is he in the top ten?!). And Joe Klein is there because he's an amusing author. There are very few (David Brooks) people there who came up inside what are perceived as traditional media organs.

What most people who say that "liberals control the media" contend is that the people who run media outlets are liberal and other people who come up the ranks tend to be liberal too. In order for a conservative to be successful, they contend, he has to be a commercial success and be promoted for the express interest of making money off of popular fervor.


I think their argument is questionable, but I can see where they're coming from. The obvious retort is that the entire media industry is about making money, whether the guy who brings it in is liberal or conservative doesn't really matter to the people in charge.