News Executive Admits Massive Left-Wing Bias, Finally

It seems to be an article of faith among the mainstream (a.k.a dinosaur) media to never admit its palpable liberal bias. The stubborn tilt to the left is, in part, why many newspapers and magazines have reached the brink of bankruptcy and traditional news networks have seen their market share evaporate. ABC News just recently announced massive staff cutbacks, for example. It's also why Fox News, despite its real and/or imagined faults, has been a ratings juggernaut.

So this candor from the head of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is long overdue, although the admission may be an attempt to get on the good side of the Conservative coalition that is governing the U.K. under David Cameron. The BBC is funded by an annual license fee that is collected from every British household.

BBC Director General Mark Thompson has admitted the corporation was guilty of a 'massive' Left-wing bias in the past.

The TV chief also admitted there had been a 'struggle' to achieve impartiality and that staff were ' mystified' by the early years of Margaret Thatcher's government.

But he claimed there was now 'much less overt tribalism' among the current crop of young journalists, and said in recent times the corporation was a 'broader church'.

...But he said he was optimistic about a good settlement in forthcoming licence fee discussions with the Coalition. [DailyMail]

On this side of the pond in a related story, the Washington Examiner recently revealed some interesting information about the "massive" political donations of network news employees:

Senior executives, on-air personalities, producers, reporters, editors, writers and other self-identifying employees of ABC, CBS and NBC contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and campaign committees in 2008, according to an analysis by The Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Democratic total of $1,020,816 was given by 1,160 employees of the three major broadcast television networks, with an average contribution of $880.

Something to think about when someone claims the three networks or even CNN plays it down the middle.