CHAPTER SIx • PublIC OPInIOn, POlITICAl SOCIAlIzATIOn, And THE MEdIA 139
To be sure, many media outlets have an explicit political point of view. This is espe-
cially common in the blogosphere, but it is true of some cable news channels as well. Fox
News, for example, takes pride in avoiding what it sees as the liberal bias of the main-
stream media.
Some progressives, however, have accused Fox and other conservative outlets of
allowing politics to interfere with their objectivity. They argue that conservatives find lib-
eral bias even in reporting that is scrupulously accurate. In the words of humorist Stephen
Colbert, “Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” An example was the widespread refusal
of conservative media to believe opinion polls that showed Barack Obama leading in the
2012 presidential race.
Other observers contend that the issue of media bias is declining in importance due
to the rise of the Internet. Today’s technologically savvy media consumers can easily find
information from a wide variety of sources, mainstream and alternative, liberal and conser-
vative. The best answer to bias may be a willingness to consult a wide range of sources.Commentator Bill O’Reilly is one of the stars of Fox News. Fox is known for its
conservative slant on the news, and it is also more popular than its competitors. Why might
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