Karl Rove: Confidence in media hurt as journalists become more partisan

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Media top headlines June 17

Biden snapping at a reporter, being mocked for again using a prepared list of journalists to call on in Geneva, and a New York Times reporter claiming that teachers can’t explain Juneteenth to students for fear of ‘critical race theory backlash' round out today’s top media headlines

Fox News contributor Karl Rove slammed journalists and the media Wednesday over what he described as a more open display of partisan and ideological bias in their reporting.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Rove argued the American public's confidence in the media was continuing to hemorrhage amid ongoing instances of "journalistic malfeasance," and called on the industry to take action to restore public confidence. 

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"Journalists used to aspire to objectivity. Now they barely even bother to pretend," Rove wrote.

According to Gallup, the American public is "largely distrustful" of the media with only 9% of Americans saying they have "a great dea" and 31% "a fair amount" of trust in its ability to report the news "fully, accurately, and fairly."

"The media faces a growing crisis of confidence … And does anyone doubt that those numbers have dropped since then?" Rove said, acknowledging the Gallup numbers. 

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Rove cited multiple instances of what he referred to as "journalistic malfeasance," including left-wing CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin's return to the liberal network following a Zoom masturbation scandal, a story by The Washington Post suggesting selfish intent by Republican governors in ending additional unemployment benefits early to encourage people to return to work, and CNN anchor Jake Tapper's refusal to interview Republicans who questioned the results of the 2020 election while continuing to interview Democrats who questioned the 2004 election results. 

"It has long been an iron rule that the mainstream media doesn’t treat liberals with the same scrutiny as conservatives. What’s different is how open, persistent and routine this double standard is today—and how dangerous that is," Rove wrote. 

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"The sad truth is that journalists are increasingly showing their ideological and partisan bias, even while insisting that their personal views don’t influence their coverage," he added. "They should recognize that they do and take action to restore public confidence in their impartiality. And if they can’t do it, their editors and producers must."