Most journalists in US donate to Democrats, left-wing groups

BY A CORRESPONDENT

23 June, 2007:

An investigation has disclosed that about 9 out of 10 journalists in the United States who made political donations gave money to Democrats or left-wing groups. The list includes the writer of ‘The Ethicist’ column for The New York Times.

The investigation made into ‘media bias’ by Bill Dedman, MSNBC’s investigative reporter, reveals the names of 144 employees – reporters, editors and producers – from media organisations across the United Nations who have contributed money to candidates since 2004.

Highlighting the leftward bias of the press, 125 of the workers (or, 87%) financially supported only Democrats and liberal causes, while only 17% aided Republicans, says a report in New York Post. Two reporters gave money to both parties.

Candidates are required to file with the US Federal Election Commission the names of all donors and their employers, which provided MSNBC the starting point for its investigation.

A majority of those who donated to politicians work for mainstream daily newspapers and wire services. Others come from ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as two donors from Fox News Channel and three from Fox affiliates around the United States.

Fox is the only one of the four networks that does not bar employees from making such contributions.

Codie Brooks, a researcher for Brit Hume’s Special Report on Fox News, collected $2,600 from friends and donated it to the Senate campaign of Democrat Harold Ford Jr. in Tennessee.

Corey Flintoff, who works with National Public Radio, gave $538 to Howard Dean’s presidential campaign in 2004.

Timesman Randy Cohen, whose column The Ethicist is syndicated across the United States, donated $585 to MoveOn.org in 2004 as the radically left-wing group was doing its best to oust President George W Bush, end the Iraq war and expel a number of other Republican candidates from office.

Cohen was among three at The New York Times mentioned in Bill Dedman’s report. Of seven separate donations by The New York Times staffers, just one went to a Republican.

A good number of other New York-based journalists favoured the Democrats.

Two people at the New York Daily News donated to Democrats, but none to Republicans. Among them, Celia McGee, former reporter of Daily News, gave $1,000 to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2005. Celia McGee gave another $1,000-donation in 2007 while freelancing for The New York Times.

A photographer of Daily News donated to John Kerry’s failed presidential attempt in 2004, according to MSNBC’s investigative report.

No reporters for New York Post were named in the report.

In all, 10 writers and editors for The New Yorker donated over $13,000 to political candidates and organisations – all of which went to Democrats or liberal groups.