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Good Post Moral, let me add a little more too it.
Most Canadian right wing analysts base the assertion of a 'liberal media' on a study done by Cooper and Miljan for the Fraser Institute a few years ago. This study trotted out the point that most newsmakers were liberal in their voting patterns and supported the liberal end of political discourse (i.e. support abortion rights, alternative family arrangements, affirmative action, etc.).
This study was so fundamentally flawed, that none of it could be printed in an academic journal. And no, before somebody starts, there is no liberal bias conspiracy theories that apply in a meaningful way to academic journals. Dr. Ted Morton at the University of Calgary has never had problems getting his articles criticizing the Supreme Court of political activism printed. The same goes with clinical trials results from the major drug companies.
As for the Cooper and Miljan study, they filtered out all evidence that would have countered the claim of liberal bias. For instance, small market media outlets were excluded. Let's face it, the base of conservative support is in small towns and rural areas. Also biasing this study is the emphasis on Ontario and Quebec outlets, ignoring more conservative regions of the country.
Cooper and Miljan have also created a false link between publishers political leanings and the content of their newspapers. The most obvious example from this study was the Asper family. Yes, they are Liberal voters, candidates and supporters, however, their newspapers and TV News does not reflect a liberal bias, rather one that is centrist, if not slightly conservative in its bias.
This study is so flawed, I used it in my Intro Research Methods class to demonstrate to my students common Type I and Type II research errors. That conservative pundits still use it to defend their 'liberal bias' accusation is laughable - more homework needs to be done.
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