How News Portals (Google) Serve Up Political Stories: conservative bias? (liberal bias/barf alert)

USC Annenberg ^ | 9-24 | J.D. Lasica

[Cableguy]

Google News uses computer algorithms to identify top stories while Yahoo News favors old-fashioned human editors. But do Google's automated search results display a conservative bias?

In newspaper newsrooms, editors often go to great lengths to achieve a semblance of balance in coverage of the two major candidates for president. Some count the story inches devoted to both men. Others make sure that photo size and placement don't favor one over the other. Journalistic fairness demands equal treatment.

But what are the rules for online search engines, where millions of users are turning for their daily news fix? Does evenhanded coverage apply in the bottomless news hole of cyberspace? Does having an editorial team or an automated program get you a better sweep of important news about the political candidates?

These are tricky questions. To their credit, Google News and Yahoo News agreed to pull back the curtain and explain how they acquire and display political news.

[Cableguy]

For an opposite view, check out

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1228729/posts

[Cableguy]

FYI

[jdm]

Google displays LIBERAL-biased news. Google has done this for years now.

[bmwcyle]

Free Republic | latest articles
Search News/Activism (by title: enter all relevant words or partial
title) By Title (Score). O'Reilly....POPULIST HACK. ...

[MNJohnnie]

Balance????

Where has John Kerry been subjected to the same sort of tough, in depth interview that Fox News Bill O'Reilly had with President Bush last night? Where is there ANY sort of tough critical review of Kerry's policies and statements in the "Main stream Media"?

[MisterRepublican]

"Journalistic fairness demands equal treatment."
Now there's a laugh.

[skeeter]

The MSM is so predictable. If a prominent liberal got caught molesting a child they'd run a story the next day entitled 'are all conservatives child molesters?'

[Bogey78O]

Everytime someone leans left they leftist fringe chides them for their conservatism.

[dirtboy]

In newspaper newsrooms, editors often go to great lengths to achieve a semblance of balance in coverage of the two major candidates for president.

Yeah, right.

Some count the story inches devoted to both men.

One can be extremely biased and still devote equal column inches to the two candidates.

Others make sure that photo size and placement don't favor one over the other.

Likewise.

What a load of weasel words, just in a single paragraph.

[quantim]

Pinging Dan Rather.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

No matter what they claim, the closer to the election it gets, the more pro-Kerry the google news has become...even when the story is favorable to Bush, they often have a anti-bush headline...

Although this may be an artifact of the MSM, since Google is posting MSM stories...and they are getting really obvious here of late...

[IamJustright]

Well, if it is done by one of them new fangled computers then I guess there ain't nuttin we kin do.

[talosiv]

Yahoo is RIDICULOUSLY liberal biased. I wish I had a nickel for every time that they posted a link to the "World Socialist" website in their "Full Coverage" sidebar next to legitimate MSM-biased articles. It's insane.

-R

[Quilla]

You are correct - Google news search are liberal leaning. I often find articles as a result of a news search coming from none other than Democratic Underground. I can't recall a Free Republic thread ever listed as a news source on Google.