December 20, 2005

Et tu, C-SPAN?

'Fair and balanced,' or tilting?

"Balance is our No. 1 goal," Peter Slen, Washington Journal's executive producer and part-time host, once said, adding: "We keep official stats on the Washington Journal, OK? Republicans, Democrats, conservative, liberal, moderates—we try to stay within the week nearly perfect as far as the balance goes."

Extra! studied Washington Journal's guestlist, tabulating all 663 guests who appeared on the show in the six-month period from November 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005. Guests were classified by gender, ethnicity, party affiliation (if any) and occupation. The study also looked at the think tanks most prominently represented on the show.

Among the most striking findings:

  • Of the partisan guests, Republicans outnumbered Democrats nearly two to one (134 to 70). Not a single representative of a third party appeared during the study period.

Read the rest: C-SPAN slanting right

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