Media

Left Turn: How Media Bias Distorts the American Mind

America’s true political center can be found by examining the state of Kansas, Salt Lake County, Utah, and NASCAR fans.

Many liberals may have just blanched at that thought, but this is the argument Tim Groseclose makes in “Left Turn: How Media Bias Distorts the American Mind.” Groseclose argues that a liberal media bias distorts the average American’s political viewpoint and tilts the political field to the left. He also claims conservative news organizations such as Fox News actually present a centrist point of view.

Media

Former Supreme Court reporter talks about the court

New York, N.Y. – Anthony Lewis is a friend of the First Amendment. But the former New York Times Supreme Court reporter said last week that the court had gone too far in recognizing the free speech of hateful funeral protesters and corporations that spend big money on politics.

Lewis said the current Supreme Court is “reluctant to draw any lines” on the First Amendment. The court’s approach seems to be so simplistic as to say “it’s speech so it’s free.”

Lewis, who wrote books popularizing First Amendment history, made the comment Wednesday evening at a Media Law Resource Center dinner where he was receiving the Brennan Defense of Freedom Award, named after the late Justice William J. Brennan Jr. award.

Media

Reporter records his own arrest

This story is another reason why it’s important for media and citizens to have the right to videotape and record police. This could have been illegal in the state of Illinois although a number of recent rulings are cutting into Illinois’ strict eavesdropping laws. Read Bill Freivogel’s piece on Illinois eavesdropping laws here.

Media

University of Kentucky media relations at it again

The University of Kentucky’s media relations department keeps making the news. This time the department banned a Lexington Herald-Leader reporter for changing the wording of a question in a question/answer session with an athlete. The Herald-Leader admitted to its mistake and corrected it but that wasn’t enough to keep the reporter from being banned. Earlier this fall, the media relations group banned a sports reporter from the student newspaper for interviewing an athlete without the media relations’ permission. This drew the wrath of numerous journalism groups. Sports information members should take the same approach referees take for a basketball or football game, or umpires for a baseball game — life is much better when you aren’t noticed. Someone needs to point this fact out to the Kentucky media relations group. Read the Kentucky Kernel’s story here.