The German Bush-blog Medienkritik is featuring a new report by Medien Tenor – Institut für Medienanalyse that purports to present evidence of anti-American bias on German television. You can access the German version of the report here (free registration required). Medienkritik has translated it into English:
Despite the short-term positive reporting of the Bush visit at the
end of February, the negative trend in the portrayal of US-American
protagonists and institutions that has been ongoing since 2002
continues in German television. This is shown by a current, long-term
analysis done by the independent Bonn media research institute Medien
Tenor of the main news programs of ARD, ZDF, RTL, SAT1 and PRO7. "Since
the German federal government backed away from its ‘unconditional
solidarity’ in the year 2002, the rating has gone continually downwards
in the television news," explains Roland Schatz, the Director of Medien
Tenor. The short "Bush-Schroeder pageant" in Mainz also did not bring a
sustained change to the news reporting.The negative trend was also not limited to political figures, but
also encompassed news reporting on business. Scandals and crises have
predominantly marked the picture of the American economy since 2002.
"Successful developments clearly stand in the shadow of scandals and
are barely portrayed," Schatz analyzes. The news prefer to repeatedly
present their viewers with information on Enron or the investigations
of Eliot Spitzer instead of reporting on success stories like those of
Dell.For the analysis, Medien Tenor evaluated 14,703 news reports in
seven German TV news programs. ARD Tagesschau and Tagesthemen, ZDF
heute and heute journal, RTL Aktuell, SAT1 NEWS (18:30), Pro7 NEWSTIME.
Time period: January 1, 2002 to March 31, 2005.
Medienkritik points to this report as irrefutable evidence of widespread anti-Americanism in the German press. I have several problems with this analysis. First, the report limits itself to the "portrayal of US-American protagonists". I am not sure what that means, but most likely it refers to key figures of the Bush administration. Since these individuals – with the exception of Colin Powell, now gone from the State Department – have done little to conceal their contempt for Europe, it is not surprising that they have been cast in a negative light. Secondly, the report refers to US business. It is simply a fact that reporting on scandals makes better copy than reprinting press releases from Dell or IBM about profit projections. If you research the front page stories of the Wall Street Journal – hardly an anti-American publication – you would also find primarily critical stories about US businesses and their leaders. These stories sell papers. Finally, I question the methodologies of Medien Tenor. I note that the institute has come under criticism for its flawed statistical approach, and both the ARD and ZDF networks refused to accept awards from Medien Tenor due to doubts about the group’s integrity. I am not familiar enough with the inistute’s work to judge whether it displays a political bias in its "research".
As for the Bush-blog Medienkritik, the threshold for "anti-American bias" is extremely low. The blog believes it is the mission of the free press to praise President Bush . Any criticism of Bush is seen as "pro-terrorist", "socialist" or – even worse – "French". The news sources they cite with approval are usually the right-wing Fox News Network or Reverend Moon’s Washington Times – a paper that is considered a joke by all except for a small group of neoconservatives, and, of course, Moonies everywhere.
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I have seen the Medienkritik site and I think some of their anecdotal evidence; and at times it seems a bit contrived. Most of the bias that I see is slightly more veiled, and not quite as overt as Medienkritik would claim. However, it cannot be argued that the German media is not fervently anti-Bush. In fact, the media there has been anti-Republican for at least the last thirty years. If this translates into an Anti-american bias, I’m not sure. I also don’t think it can be argued that this does not effect the psyche of the German population.
There was an interesting story in Der Spiegel a while back entitled “Could Bush be Right?” http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,343378,00.html
It tells of the German disdain for Ronald Reagan as well.
Most Americans would not say that what is portrayed in the media is an accurate depiction of America. The problem comes when we realize that what the Germans know about us is only what they see in their media. Even American media focuses only on the outrageous stories. We are more likely to realize that what is on the television is not mainstream America.
I think it’s a bit bizarre that most in Germany think that American media has been taken over by conservatives (you refer to right wing Fox News). Do most in Germany realize that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, The NY Times, LA Times, etc… are all as far to the left is Fox is to the right?
Also, why is it that critical stories about American business leaders is “what sells newspapers in Germany?” Stories about the German cannabal is not used to sell papers in America.
Kuch,
it’s fair to find it “a bit bizarre that most in Germany think that American media has been taken over by conservatives (you refer to right wing Fox News).”
Than, you ask whether “most in Germany realize that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, The NY Times, LA Times, etc… are all as far to the left is Fox is to the right?”
Well, most in Germany very likely don’t realize it because it is simply not true. For one thing, outfits like “Mother Jones,” “The Nation” or “tompaine.com,” which are truly left-wing and always complain about the mainstream media, would have very big problems with that contention. Second, Fox News devotes most of its coverage to commentary, its shows are dominated by right-wing pundits and its commentators are far more often conservative than centrist. Finally, outfits like the New York Times are editorially center-left, which Fox News is decidedly to the right, which makes your comparison very hollow.
Orson
I would grant to you that Fox News is different from mainstream news in that it is basically news commentary. How many conservative voices can be found on CNN? and on how many programs? Alan Combes, Greta, VanSesteren, Geraldo Rivera can all be found on Fox News (In fact all have their own shows), and all are left of center. A Pew Research Center for People and the Press Poll of American Media members last year showed overwelmingly that the vast majority of members of the media are in fact…Liberal. http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/journalist_survey_prc4.asp With Liberals outnumbering conservatives by a count of 34% to 7%, please explain how it is that the 7% are able to “dominate the media coverage.”
Perhaps this is why so many on the left are so threatened by Fox, because it puts their monopoly in jeapordy. Let’s look at the Fox News Primetime lineup: The O’reilly (He would claim to a Traditionalist, but most would call him conservative -so let’s do the same). Hannity and Combes (Hosted by on coservative and one liberal). On The Record with Greta Van Susteren (Clearly not conservative -probably slightly left of center – at least she was when she was with CNN). Finally, Geraldo Rivera is also no conservative (He was certainly left of center during his days at MSNBC). So, I don’t believe this indicates a dominance of right wing commentators.
Who at broadcast news (ABC, CBS, NBC) does not lean to the left? Could the difference be that conservatives are more willing to honestly announce their political leanings? Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and Tom Brokaw are all left of center, but are afraid to admit it.
Medienkritik von “Medien Tenor”
http://www.nd-online.de/artikel.asp?AID=70888&IDC=33
Robert –
Thanks for the link! If Neues Deutschland (ND) is correct, then the CEO of Medien-Focus has ties to the conservative parties that at the very least raise some questions about his objectivity.
But what about ND itself? It used to be the propaganda organ for the SED? Has it found an independent voice, or is it affiliated somehow to the PDS?
-David