Chuck Todd Slams 'Conservative Echo Chamber,' Says There's No Such Thing as 'Media Bias'
Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s “Meet The Press,” cut off CBN News political reporter David Brody when the latter noted a significant majority of Americans view the main stream media as biased, telling the journalist that belief is only held in the “conservative echo chamber.”
During a panel discussion on Sunday’s program, Brody began to make the point that President Donald Trump is wise to make the media his foil based on the numbers.
“I think one of the best things going in Donald Trump’s favor, we all know this, is the mainstream media,” Brody said. “I hate to say it — I know I’m sitting on a ‘Meet the Press’ roundtable. but the truth of the matter is 62 percent think the media’s biased. So, if you look at the approval rating of Donald Trump and the approval rating of the mainstream media …”
Todd interjected saying, “Well, the conservative echo chamber-created environment. It’s not — no, no, no. It’s been a tactic and a tool of the (Fox News founder and former CEO) Roger Ailes-created chamber. So, let’s not pretend it is not anything other than that.”
Brody countered that Trump’s base is not just made up of conservatives, but also independents, so it’s not only the right who view the media as biased.
Todd responded: “I take your point. I’m just saying it was a creation. It was a campaign tactic. It’s not based in much fact.”
The Media Research Center’s Newsbusters pointed out in February 2013 that Todd also dismissed the notion of media bias against conservatives.
“There’s this whole sort of mythology of this, ‘the media’s out to get conservatives,’” he said, explaining why conservative officials are reluctant to appear on non-Fox shows.
“I think that it’s, I think that the mythology of the big, bad non-conservative media has gotten into some offices,” Todd argued. “I feel like it’s a mythology that now younger staffers believe and then it infuses, and then these guys, they actually believe the spin that’s out there, ‘Oh, my God, that’s what the mainstream media does. They do anything to disrupt the conservative agenda.'”
A study released in May 2017 by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy found that Trump received 80 percent negative coverage by mainstream media outlets during his first 100 days in office, the Chicago Tribune reported.
NBC and CNN had the most negative tone, with 93 percent of their stories being negative toward the president.
Fox News was found to be — as its motto states — “fair and balanced,” with 52 percent negative and 48 percent positive.
By contrast, Obama received 60-40 positive to negative coverage from main stream media outlets.
A Pew Research Center study of Trump’s first 60 days reached similar results, NPR reported.
The liberal mainstream media has taken their attack on @realDonaldTrump to unprecedented levels. #LiberalBias #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/fOKkXNkw18
— Markwayne Mullin (@MarkwayneMullin) October 6, 2017
According to Pew, five percent of the stories about Trump were positive, 33 percent were neutral and 62 percent were negative.
Again in the case of Obama, the findings with just the opposite, with 42 percent positive, 38 percent neutral and 20 percent negative.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
