A Measure of Media Bias

Tim Groseclose and Jeffrey Milyo
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Tim Groseclose: Department of Political Science, University of California at Los Angeles

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2005, vol. 120, issue 4, pages 1191-1237

Abstract: We measure media bias by estimating ideological scores for several major media outlets. To compute this, we count the times that a particular media outlet cites various think tanks and policy groups, and then compare this with the times that members of Congress cite the same groups. Our results show a strong liberal bias: all of the news outlets we examine, except Fox News' Special Report and the Washington Times, received scores to the left of the average member of Congress. Consistent with claims made by conservative critics, CBS Evening News and the New York Times received scores far to the left of center. The most centrist media outlets were PBS News Hour, CNN's Newsnight, and ABC's Good Morning America; among print outlets, USA Today was closest to the center. All of our findings refer strictly to news content; that is, we exclude editorials, letters, and the like. Copyright (c) 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Date: 2005
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