The Media

Most of the books found in this section have to do with the conservative contention that much of the media -- especially the major newspapers and the major television networks -- displays a liberal/left bias.  This bias is by and large aimed against conservative, Christian and traditional values.

Chafets, Ze'ev, Double Vision:  How the Press Distorts America's View of the Middle East.  New York:  William Morrow and Company, 1985.  349pp.

Drawing on his involvement in journalism, and his experience as a resident of Jerusalem, Chafets documents and exposes the double standards involved in the Western press's coverage of events in the Middle East.  He describes the pressures put on journalists by hostile Arab states, the PLO and other anti-Israeli groups, and shows how and why most journalists end up following an anti-Israeli line.  A good expose of the dualism inherent in much of news media's treatment of the Middle East.

Efron, Edith, The News Twisters.  Los Angeles:  Nash Publishing, 1971.  355pp.

Conservatives have long made the charge that the media -- especially the network news -- has a Leftist bias.  Efron documents this charge, highlighting the coverage of the 1968 U.S. Presidential campaign as a major example.  After two years of extensive research she came up with this well documented expose of liberalism in the media.  The amount of evidence educed cannot easily be gainsayed.  Although somewhat dated, the conclusions reached in this book are as relevant today as ever.

Lichter, S. Robert, Stanley Rothman and Linda S. Lichter, The Media Elite.  Bethesda, Maryland:  Adler and Adler, 1986.  342pp.

This volume is the result of a ten year study sponsored by several universities.  It includes "a survey of the backgrounds, attitudes, and psychological traits of journalists at national media outlets, and content analyses of how these outlets covered some of the major social controversies of the past fifteen years".  The results of these findings reveal what conservatives have long believed:  the media elite are by and large left of centre in politics and ideology;  they do not reflect the thinking of the American mainstream;  and they exert inordinate power and influence over American society and values.

Muggeridge, Malcolm, Christ and the Media.  Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans, 1977.  127pp.

The media, especially television, exercise an enormous influence in today's society, argues Muggeridge.  This influence is "largely exerted irresponsibly, arbitrarily, and without reference to any moral or intellectual, still less spiritual guidelines whatsoever".  He examines the mainly negative effects of the media from a Christian perspective and comments on how Christians might work within it.  Muggeridge was deeply involved with the media as a radio and TV commentator since 1930.  In the late 1960s he converted from scepticism to Christianity, and was an important apologist for it until his death in 1990.

Olasky, Marvin, Prodigal Press:  The Anti-Christian Bias of the American News Media.  Westchester, Illinois:  Crossway Books, 1988.  246pp.

Until the early 19th century American journalism was mainly Christian in orientation.  Today the press is predominantly not just secularisitic, but anti-Christian.  How and why did this change come about?  Is it possible to reverse this trend?  These issues are carefully covered in this well documented volume.  An important examination of the liberal, humanistic American press.  Olasky is a journalism professor at the University of Texas.

Rusher, William A., The Coming Battle for the Media.  New York:  William Morrow and Company, 1988.  228pp.

"It is the thesis of this book that in recent decades the principal media in the United States, responding to liberal intellectual trends ... have allied themselves with those political forces promoting liberal policies (meaning primarily the Democratic party), and have placed news reportage at the service of those policies."  Rusher documents this thesis with illustrations, examples, case histories, and statistics.  He also discusses the responsibilities, privileges and immunities of the media;  looks at the history of media bias;  and offers prospects for reform.  Rusher was publisher of National Review from 1957 to 1988.

Thomas, Cal, Book Burning.  Westchester, Illinois:  Crossway Books, 1983.  158pp.

Thomas, a journalist, and former associate of Jerry Falwell, demonstrates in this book the anti-Christian bias of most bookstores, libraries and schools.  He argues that books representing conservative political ideas, traditional values, and Christian principles, are subject to censorship and discrimination by the liberal secularists, who dominate much of the media and educational positions in America.  An alarming expose of some dangerous trends in American life.