MSNBC and some other news outlets are reporting that journalists donate to democrats over republicans by a nine-to-one margin:

  • MSNBC.com identified 144 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 17 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties.


Not a terribly surprising story, given the obvious leftward tilt of the media's news reporting over the years. However, it is a bit more suprising to read some of the specifics of who donates, especially when the donations are violative of their employers' policies:

  • Randy Cohen...writes the syndicated column "The Ethicist" for The New York Times. The former comedy writer gave $585 to MoveOn.org in 2004 when it was organizing get-out-the-vote efforts to defeat Bush.

It turns out that "the Ethicist" isn't very ethical. The Times prohibits its reporters from making political donations:

  • some major newspapers and TV networks ...prohibit all political activity aside from voting no matter whether the journalist covers baseball or proofreads the obituaries. The Times in 2003 banned all donations


Also surprising to some may be the democrat donors who work at Fox News:

  • Codie Brooks, of Brit Hume's "Special Report," gave $2,600 last year to the Senate campaign of Harold Ford Jr., the Memphis Democrat. She said she raised much of the money from friends. "A lot of Fox employees have contributed to Democratic candidates," she said. "I know I'm not the only one."


Some of the journalists tried to defend the donation by saying the cash contributions were part of a process of openess and accountability:

  • One of the recurring themes in the responses is that it's better for journalists to be transparent about their beliefs, and that editors who insist on manufacturing an appearance of impartiality are being deceptive to a public that already knows journalists aren't without biases.


In principle, as I've stated before, that's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, as the article itself notes, the reporters aren't being transparent and, in fact, often go to great lengths to hide their donations:

  • Apparently none of the journalists disclosed the donations to readers, viewers or listeners. Few told their bosses, either.


According to the article, one reporter claimed his donations to John Kerry were irrelevant because he didn't cover U.S. news. He defined U.S. news so it excluded the U.S. war in Iraq. Another claimed that a donation was her husband's until confronted with the documents. A third claimed her father, not her, made the donation to a candidate, even though her "facebook" page showed her endorsing that candidate.

In short, the reporters aren't just biased, they are liars.

No wonder distrust of the media remains at an all time high.