A new Rasmussen Reports survey [1] finds most Americans (51%) say the average reporter is more liberal than they are, and nearly as many (48%) think the media are "are trying to help" President Obama pass his left-wing agenda. Perhaps as a result, the poll finds an astonishing two-thirds of the public (66%) are angry with the media, "including 33% who are very angry" with the press.
Most Americans seem to have a low view of journalists' integrity and professionalism. Rasmussen discovered that "68% say most reporters when covering a political campaign try to help the candidate they want to win," vs. 23% who think most reporters "try to offer unbiased coverage." At the same time, "54% of voters think most reporters would hide any information they uncovered that might hurt a candidate they wanted to win, up seven points from November 2008."
Rasmussen also discovered that Republicans and independents are most offended by the media, with a plurality of Democrats (43%) who "say their coverage is unbiased."
This new poll is consistent with many others from the past decade showing rising discontent with the press and a growing awareness of the media's liberal bias. The Media Research Center has posted a collection of relevant polls - along with polls of journalists showing how their views differ from the general public - on our "Media Bias 101 [2]" page.
Here's an excerpt from the June 15 report by Rasmussen, based on their poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted on Sunday and Monday (June 13-14).
Sixty-six percent (66%) of U.S. voters describe themselves as at least somewhat angry at the media, including 33% who are very angry....
Now 48% of voters think most reporters when they write or talk about President Obama are trying to help the president pass his agenda. Only 18% think most reporters are trying to block the president from passing his agenda. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say they are simply interested in reporting the news in an unbiased manner....
Fifty-one percent (51%) say the average reporter is more liberal than they are, consistent with earlier findings on the question. Fifteen percent (15%) say the average reporter is more conservative than they are, while 27% say the average reporter shares roughly the same ideological views that they have....
Seventy-six percent (76%) of GOP voters and 56% of unaffiliateds think most reporters are trying to help Obama pass his agenda. Among Democrats, 33% say they are trying to block the president's agenda, while 43% say their coverage is unbiased. Just 15% of Democrats say most reporters are trying to help the president.