) As a result of such divergent and competitive political opinions is a set of charges that television news programs coverage of presidential elections is biased. .
Journalism as a whole is populated with individuals that identify themselves as being politically more liberal than average. As a result it is often assumed that reporters and editors choose and cover stories that reflect the beliefs of a politically liberal agenda, and promote political candidates that have the same ideological beliefs. Therefore, television news supports liberal causes and thinking to the detriment of legitimate conservative positions and beliefs, thereby influencing the populace to prefer liberal presidential candidates to conservative candidates. (Allen & D"Alessio, 2000.) .
Conversely liberal critics argue that there is a conservative slant in the coverage of presidential elections on television news, based on the nature of media as a business. The liberal argues that the liberal writers and editors are employed by publishers, and business people who are typically more conservative than average. Thus television news exhibits preferences for conservative viewpoints and candidates (Allen & D"Alessio, 2000.) .
Types of Television News Bias.
The first type of television news bias considered is "gatekeeping". In which writers and editors select from a body of potential stories those that will be presented to the public, and by extension, also deselect those stories of which the mass audience will hear nothing (White, 1950). In White's "Mr. Gates" (1950) study, he noted that the editor selected among stories provided to by his wire service on ideological grounds. Concerning presidential elections Allen & D"Alessio, (2000) stated, "In some sections of the country the entire press was hostile to the Roosevelt administration." However, in absence of population data, although it is safe to presume that gatekeeping bias dose occur, it is impossible to know it's magnitude (Allen & D"Alessio, 2000).
