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No.
Studies have found some evidence of liberal leanings among journalists, but not radical viewpoints.
Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab said everyone has a different idea about what constitutes news.
Media Bias rates most media in a range of “strong left, skews left, middle, skews right or strong right.”
Of the remainder, media rated “hyper-partisan right” or “most extreme right” outnumber those rated “hyper-partisan left” or “most extreme left.”
AllSides, which rates online U.S. political content, rates most media as “lean left,” “center” or “lean right.”
A 2022 Syracuse University survey said 52% of 1,600 U.S. journalists identified themselves as independent, 36% Democrat, 3% Republican.
A 2020 study by researchers from three U.S. universities concluded that “a dominant majority of journalists identify as liberals/Democrats,” but exhibit “no bias against conservatives” in what they cover.
The office of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., didn’t provide evidence to back his May 9 claim that “most” American news media are “radical leftists.”
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- 13th & Park: Senator Ron Johnson on Taking On Washington, Border Battles & Saving America’s Future
- Nieman Lab: “News” in 2025 is in the eye of the beholder
- Ad Fontes Media: Media Bias Chart
- Harvard Library: News Media Across the Political Spectrum
- AllSides: AllSides Media Bias Chart
- Syracuse University: The American Journalist Under Attack
- Science: There is no liberal media bias in which news stories political journalists choose to cover
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