NewsBusters has a strange habit of being the embodiment of Stephen Colbert’s declaration that reality has a well-known liberal bias. Mark Finkelstein plays into that again in an Oct. 10 NewsBusters post in which he cites Politico’s digest of news items to declare the publication to be hopelessly liberal:
To be sure, “Post-recession income falls” is not good for President Obama, reporting as it does that Americans’ incomes have fallen faster during his presidency than they did even in the depths of the recession. But every other story would surely be welcome at the White House. Here are the stories, in the order they appear in the email:
“Rove vs. the Koch brothers”: An “emerging rivalry between the two deepest-pocketed camps in the conservative movement could undercut their party’s chances of taking the Senate and White House in 2012.” Internecine warfare on the right? Surely something to warm a liberal’s heart!
“POLITICO Primary: Time to vote”: the story touts the appeal of a third-party presidential candidacy, and urges readers to vote for their favorite third-party candidate. Yes, Hillary is on the list. But in an election cycle that would seem to strongly favor the GOP, a third-party candidacy could be the only thing to save President Obama’s bacon.
“Mitt’s Mormon issue returns”: Story summary: “The Values Voter Summit in Washington this weekend left no doubt about it: The issue is back.” So, troubles for the Republican front-runner.
“Post-recession income falls”: see above.
“Pelosi rebuts Cantor on protests”: Story summary: “She pushes back on criticism of Occupy Wall Street.” You go, Nancy!
“NPR prepares for a new reality”: A focus on NPR’s survival strategies.
So there you have it. Sure, it’s just a snapshot in time, one day’s headlines. But also suggestive of Politico’s generally center-left line.
Apparently, Finkelstein thinks that any news article that does not positively portray Republicans is evidence of “liberal bias.”Which, of course, is pretty much the modus operandi of its parent, the Media Research Center.