My boss is glad I finally got cable TV because I have access to more news that the standard MSM outlets. I’m happy for another reason: I’m happier. No, this is not a truncated sentence: “Extrapolating from recent polling research, I think it’s fair to conclude that journalists are depressing the hell out of us,” writes Jon Ham. Ham refers to the MSM.
“Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans report having excellent mental health, compared to 43% of independents and 38% of Democrats. This relationship between party identification and reports of excellent mental health persists even within categories of income, age, gender, church attendance, and education.
“And since journalists self-identify as Democrats by about a 9-to-1 margin, it’s not a huge leap to assume that these findings apply to most of the mainstream media.
“The finding that Democrats view the world through dung-colored glasses could explain why the media are so quick to bury good news about such things as the war in Iraq, the economy, Christmas shopping trends, etc. More generally, it might explain why good news always seems to take a back seat to bad news. Just check your local paper or 6 o’clock news if you doubt me.
“I have some experience with this phenomenon. Some years ago, as I made my turn from leftism to conservatism, I found it increasingly uncomfortable to be in my newsroom. My newfound optimism about life in general was suddenly badly out of sync with the jaundiced worldview that predominated in my newsroom and, I would argue, that predominates in most newsrooms.
“High doses of suspicion and cynicism characterize most reporters. They like to think this makes them good reporters, but it really just makes them tiresome to be around.”