The politics of conservative elites and the "liberal media" argument

Recent evidence suggests that conservative elites' claims of a liberal medi a are having an impact upon public perceptions of news coverage. With this in mind, we examine two related questions in the context of the 1988, 1992, and 1996 presidential elections. First, what factors may be prompting cons ervative elites to make allegations of liberal media bias? Second, what fac tors may influence when news media report these criticisms during president ial campaigns? Findings suggest that these criticisms of news media are at least partly strategic and reflect a dynamic relationship between political elites and journalists during a presidential campaign.