[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 190 (Thursday, November 30, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H13809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ROOT OUT MEDIA BIAS

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in order to form opinions and reach 
conclusions, the American people trust the media to present the facts 
objectively. Unfortunately, all too often this is not done.
  Editorials, in the guise of news stories, regularly appear on the 
front pages of newspapers. Some reporters don't wait beyond the first 
paragraph to reveal their bias.
  In the age of 15-second sound bites, positions on complex issues are 
reduced to ``for'' or ``against,'' with no explanations.
  The lack of the public's trust in the media is glaringly revealed by 
two 1995 public opinion surveys.
  A CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll found that 60 percent of those surveyed 
think the media is out of touch with average Americans. In a Wall 
Street Journal/NBC News Poll, only 21 percent said the media are very 
or mostly honest.
  Publishers, editors, producers, and reporters can better protect our 
democracy if they will initiate efforts to root out bias and present 
the facts objectively to a public yearning for the truth.

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