Supreme Bias

There's no question that the mainstream media has in the past openly rooted for liberal Supreme Court nominees, and campaigned against conservative ones. Rich Noyes of the Media Research Center has done a little research and has compared the network news media reactions to both Sam Alito and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The results are not terribly surprising to anyone who has followed media bias for very long:

New Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has been a Justice Department lawyer, a U.S. attorney and a federal judge. Bill Clinton's first Supreme Court nominee, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was a federal judge, too, but she also had been a liberal political activist, most notably as director of the Women's Rights Project for the American Civil Liberties Union.

But in the first hours after each was nominated, network reporters assured viewers Judge Ginsburg was a "moderate" and a "centrist," while journalists characterized Judge Alito as a right-wing extremist.

Indeed, even before President Bush announced Judge Alito's nomination, reporters were in a labeling frenzy. ABC's Charles Gibson called Judge Alito "very conservative" and "the most conservative member" of an otherwise "liberal appellate court." Over on CBS, Gloria Borger dubbed Judge Alito "quite conservative," the same label applied on CNN by early-morning anchor Carol Costello. On ABC's "Good Morning America," a breathless Jessica Yellin labeled Judge Alito as "conservative" five times in 50 seconds.

That night's newscasts carried the same message. ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas called Judge Alito a "staunch conservative," while CBS' John Roberts warned that "if confirmed, Alito would wipe out the swing seat now occupied by Sandra Day O'Connor, tilting the Supreme Court in a solidly conservative direction." (In contrast, NBC anchor Brian Williams agreed Judge Alito was "dependably conservative" but also saw an "independent streak," as did NBC reporter Pete Williams.)

Twelve years ago, those same networks denied Judge Ginsburg's liberal ideology. A few hours after President Clinton announced Judge Ginsburg's nomination on June 14, 1993, NBC's Andrea Mitchell pronounced Judge Ginsburg "a judicial moderate and a pioneer for women's rights." The next morning on ABC, "Good Morning America" co-host Joan Lunden asked legal editor Arthur Miller: "We hear words like 'centrist,' 'moderate,' 'consensus builder.' How will she fit into this court?" Mr. Miller, a longtime friend of Judge Ginsburg, wrongly predicted she would be a centrist justice.

It just goes on and on, and it quickly becomes obvious that the mainstream media is very good at reading the talking points of the liberal left. Read the whole thing here.