Sunday is Still Conservative

Sean Hannity is apoplectic; his hypocrisy set on high. Today, he started off
his show blasting MoveOn.org for being, well, effective. Then he began ranting
on and on about those liberals and, well, how effective we\’ve been, especially
lately. He\’s especially upset about his gal pal Ann Coulter getting slammed
and losing business, but also about his boss getting embarrassed by Democrats
shunning the network over a presidential debate. This wouldn\’t be any big deal
if it weren\’t such a new phenomenon. The talking points by Rush, Sean and the
rest of the wingnuts have been effective in the past. \”Support the troops\” worked until just
recently, when it was finally found to be wholly bankrupt. But the most ludicrous
talking point of all is the charge that there is a liberal media out there supposedly
condemning conservatives to the sidelines. It certain isn\’t the case on Sunday
mornings, which is the most watched day for political news all week.

Media Matters has done
another study on the conservative bias on Sunday programs. It\’s an empressive
report with damning findings. You really should take the time to check it out.

SINCE THE 2006 ELECTION To supplement these findings, the study also examined the performance of all four shows since the Democratic victories in the 2006 election. Among the findings: Although it had been significantly imbalanced in the past, ABC\’s This Week has been the most balanced of the four programs since the midterm election, dividing almost evenly between the two sides. Despite the fact that Fox News Sunday remains the most unbalanced broadcast overall, they have made an improvement in the balance of its elected and administration guests. While there were nearly twice as many Republicans as Democrats on the program in 2005 and 2006, the two parties\’ officials have been equally represented since the 2006 election. It should be noted, however, that because Fox News Sunday\’s roundtable discussions are skewed so dramatically to the right, overall there are still substantially more Republicans and conservatives on the program than Democrats and progressives. Meet the Press and Face the Nation have both performed poorly since the election, with both their overall guest list and the list of administration and elected officials featured on the shows skewing to the right. COMPARING THE SHOWS IN 2005 AND 2006 The following tables summarize the results from 2005 and 2006. During this period, Republicans and conservatives had the advantage on every show, in every category measured. If it\’s Sunday it\’s Still Conservative

I run down the number of women on the Sunday shows regularly. But if we can\’t
even get liberals on \”Meet the Press,\” it\’s unlikely women will be
included regularly either.