Federal Judge Claims Democrats Are Close to Controlling All Major News Outlets

[IceWizard]

A man walks past The Washington Post in Washington on Aug. 5, 2013.
(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)






Federal Judge Claims Democrats Are Close
to Controlling All Major News Outlets



BY ZACHARY STIEBER
March 20, 2021
Updated: March 21, 2021


A federal judge last week said that the Democratic Party is close to controlling
the press as he detailed what he described as shocking bias against Republicans.

D.C. Circuit Court Judge Laurence Silberman outlined his opposition to the
Supreme Court’s key decision in 1964 in New York Times v. Sullivan, which
has since protected many media outlets from lawsuits.

Silberman, a Reagan appointee, wrote that the ruling is “a threat to American
Democracy” and must be overturned.

“The increased power of the press is so dangerous today because we are
very close to one-party control of these institutions. Our court was once
concerned about the institutional consolidation of the press leading to a
‘bland and homogenous’ marketplace of ideas. It turns out that ideological
consolidation of the press (helped along by economic consolidation) is the
far greater threat,” he said.

“Although the bias against the Republican Party—not just controversial
individuals—is rather shocking today, this is not new; it is a long-term,
secular trend going back at least to the ’70s. (I do not mean to defend
or criticize the behavior of any particular politician). Two of the three
most influential papers (at least historically), The New York Times and
The Washington Post, are virtually Democratic Party broadsheets. And
the news section of The Wall Street Journal leans in the same direction.

“The orientation of these three papers is followed by The Associated Press
and most large papers across the country (such as the Los Angeles Times,
Miami Herald, and Boston Globe). Nearly all television—network and cable—is
a Democratic Party trumpet. Even the government-supported
National Public Radio follows along.”

The news outlets mentioned didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

The judge also expressed concern about the influence that Big Tech wields
over how news is distributed, referencing how Twitter limited the spread of
a New York Post article about President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey later told lawmakers that what happened was a
mistake.

Silberman added that there are few notable exceptions to the outlets he
mentioned: Fox News, The New York Post, and the Journal’s editorial page.

“It should be sobering for those concerned about news bias that these
institutions are controlled by a single man and his son. Will a lone holdout
remain in what is otherwise a frighteningly orthodox media culture?
After all, there are serious efforts to muzzle Fox News. And although
upstart (mainly online) conservative networks have emerged in recent
years, their visibility has been decidedly curtailed by Social Media, either
by direct bans or content-based censorship,” he wrote.

The uniformity of news bias has a political impact, the judge said, pointing
to author Tim Groseclose’s 2011 book “Left Turn.”

The George Mason University professor said in his book that he found that
the way outlets report more favorably on Democrats aids the party’s candidates
by 8 to 10 percent in a typical election.

Silberman was writing a partial dissent in the case of Liberian government
officials Christiana Tah and Randolph McClain versus Global Witness Publishing,
an organization that investigates human rights abuses.

“It should be borne in mind that the first step taken by any potential authoritarian
or dictatorial regime is to gain control of communications, particularly the
delivery of news. It is fair to conclude, therefore, that one-party control of the
press and media is a threat to a viable democracy. It may even give rise to
countervailing extremism,” Silberman said.

“The First Amendment guarantees a free press to foster a vibrant trade in
ideas. But a biased press can distort the marketplace. And when the media
has proven its willingness—if not eagerness—to so distort, it is a profound
mistake to stand by unjustified legal rules that serve only to enhance the
press’ power.”

[Bubba Gamps]

The media outlets have been under Democratic control for quite some time. This is very concerning since this is what happens in communist countries. Most people only see news stories from this bias perspective. Any negative stories, such as the crisis at the border, are down played or blamed on the previous administration. If this bias news coverage doesn’t change soon, there will be no checks and balances to our government and the constitution will become a worthless piece of paper.