Two Views of the Same News Find Opposite Biases

TWO VIEWS OF THE SAME NEWS FIND OPPOSITE BIASES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Shankar Vedantam]
Partisans, it turns out, don't just arrive at different conclusions; they see entirely different worlds. The tendency to see bias in the news -- now the raison d'etre of much of the blogosphere -- is such a reliable indicator of partisan thinking that researchers coined a term, "hostile media effect," to describe the sincere belief among partisans that news reports are painting them in the worst possible light. The hostile media effect seems to apply only to news sources that strive for balance. News reports from obviously biased sources usually draw fewer charges of bias. Partisans, it turns out, find it easier to countenance obvious propaganda than news accounts that explore both sides.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/23/AR200607...
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