JayRosen talks on Radio Times about the Sunday talk shows -- and the lies and distortions in the mainstream media.
JR: I think there is such a thing as confirmation bias. I think the echo chamber effect is there. The fact that there are so many more sites now, so many more sources, makes that more possible. That's all very plausible. But I think it's naive to assume that this is evenly distributed. I bet if you totaled up the fact checks on Fox vs. MSNBC, you wouldn't find them equivalent, even though it's easy to say, "Well, there's Fox on the right and there's MSNBC on the left." I think this false equivalence and assumption of symmetry in our politics is not only naive but a distorting assumption that works for journalists. It allows them to play a more innocent role but actually doesn't tell us what's going on. It's definitely possible for one party, for example, to invest more in denial than the other. I think we're in a situation like that in our country right now. But I don't expect the political class to tell you about it.
Radio Times: Sounds like you're saying, Jay, that when you look at the two parties or the left and the right conservatives and liberals, you see more exaggeration,distortions, even lies coming from the right.
JR: I think the right is less reality-based than the left, and there are specific historical and political reasons for that. Yes.Radio Times: And is there a thirty-second description about why that is?JR: Because political leadership on the right has decided to make itself profitable that way. It has proven to work in the narrow sense that politics like that work. It's been a collective decision by leadership on the right to do that. But this is also fracturing the Republican coalition. There is a deep divide between reality-based conservatives and the other kind led by Palin. I think that's one of the most interesting political stories around right now. ... more here
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