ABC's This Week Commended for Balance

Report Shows This Week Is the ONLY Sunday Morning Network Talk Show to Provide Balance Between Right and Left Since Dems Won House & Senate

Report is available online at www.SundayShowReport.com.

Washington, DC - Media Matters for America commended ABC's This Week today for being the only Sunday morning network talk show with a balanced lineup of guests on the right and left since Democrats won control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. NBC's Meet the Press, CBS's Face the Nation, and Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday continue to offer conservative voices a lopsided advantage on their broadcasts despite the shift of power in Congress.

"ABC's This Week should be commended for offering a level playing field for guests from both the right and the left, a feat not met by its competition at NBC, CBS, or FOX," said David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America. "It is unfortunate that Meet the Press, Face the Nation, and Fox News Sunday have failed to follow This Week's example. We congratulate ABC and hope they continue to pave the balanced path they have set out on."

In response to Media Matters' initial 2006 report, "If It's Sunday, It's Conservative," which analyzed more than 7,000 guests on the Sunday shows during the Clinton and Bush presidencies and found a rightward tilt during both administrations, network executive producers attributed their lack of balance to the Republican control of Congress and the White House. On Monday, Media Matters released "If It's Sunday, It's Still Conservative," a report documenting the continued dominance of Republican and conservative voices on the influential network Sunday morning talk shows. ABC's This Week is the only show studied to provide a rough balance of guests from the right and left since Democrats regained the majority in the House and Senate following the 2006 midterm elections.

About the Report & Media Matters for America

The report analyzed ABC's This Week, CBS' Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press, and Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, classifying each of the more than 2,000 guests in 2005 and 2006 as well as guests since the 2006 midterm elections by party and/or ideology. It follows on last year's report, "If It's Sunday, It's Conservative," which analyzed more than 7,000 guests on the Sunday shows during the Clinton and Bush presidencies and found a Republican-conservative tilt during both administrations. As the new findings demonstrate, despite some improvement, considered as a whole the Sunday shows still don't offer a full range of diverse view to the public.

Media Matters for America is a not-for-profit, progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Report is available online at www.SundayShowReport.com.

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