Using the internet for news and perceptions of news organization bias

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reveal perceptions of news organization bias among people who use the internet. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were drawn from the Pew Research Center June 2005 News Interest Index. Respondents were asked if news organizations were politically biased in their reporting. Another question asked respondents if news organizations had a liberal or conservative bias. The final question asked respondents to judge news organization bias on political and social issues. Findings – In two of the three perceptions of internet user/non‐user ratings of ideological bias in news organizations, internet news users surveyed rate news organizations as more biased than non‐users. However, when asked to ascertain either liberal or conservative bias in news organizations, non‐internet news users were more likely to claim that news organizations were biased. Research limitations/implications – More valid measures of the dimension of liberal and conservative bias could help in analyzing the effect of this particular variable on the use of the internet for news. Also, there is the possibility of some confusion in identifying internet news sources. Practical implications – Advertising revenue of traditional media could decline as news use shifts to internet sources, and customers of the traditional US news networks would continue to migrate to the internet. Originality/value – As this new media technology has the potential to reach new markets throughout the world, consumers who perceive that traditional news media are ideologically biased may favor the new medium over more traditional sources of news.