You can’t have a strong in-group identity without simultaneously experiencing a strong sense of resentment against the out-groups.

When I hear compelling but conflicting theories about reality, my mind starts going to where each can be right. So conservatives think the dominant media is liberal, and liberals think the dominant media (like Fox News) is conservative. Are they each right in different ways?

ChatGPT says:

Yes — they can both be “right,” but they’re talking about different slices of the media landscape and measuring dominance in different ways.

• By audience share: Fox News has been the single most-watched cable news network for years. In that narrow arena, conservatives can credibly say the top dog in TV news is right-leaning.

• By total reach across all platforms: Network TV news (ABC, CBS, NBC), major newspapers (NYT, WaPo), most big newswires, and a lot of cultural media lean liberal in tone and staffing. Liberals dominate here in terms of newsroom demographics, framing choices, and cultural prestige.

• By agenda-setting influence: The big national dailies and wire services often drive the topics all other outlets, including Fox, end up covering. This gives liberal-leaning institutions disproportionate power in deciding what’s news in the first place.

• By partisan echo effect: Fox and a few other right-leaning outlets have high loyalty and high message discipline, making them feel dominant to liberals in the political conversation, even if their raw audience is smaller than the total liberal media ecosystem.

So the paradox is that conservatives point to cultural and journalistic power skewing left, while liberals point to raw cable TV dominance and the cohesiveness of right-wing outlets. They’re both measuring “dominance,” but in different currencies — prestige vs. ratings, agenda-setting vs. echo-chamber reach.

A Media Power Grid: how both sides can be right

“Dominant media” depends on what you’re measuring. Conservatives and liberals are often talking about different layers of the ecosystem—ratings vs. reach, agenda-setting vs. amplification, prestige vs. persuasion. Here’s a compact map.

Metric	Who looks “dominant”	Why conservatives say “liberal media dominates”	Why liberals say “conservative media dominates”	Representative links
Cable news ratings	Right-leaning outlets (e.g., Fox News) often lead single-channel ratings.	They see the top dog on cable setting the daily TV narrative and GOP talking points.	They see a cohesive right media bloc with high loyalty that can swing the conversation.	Pew: Cable News fact sheet Overview of Fox News ratings (summary page)
Broadcast/network reach	Legacy broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC) and public media still reach large, general audiences.	They view these newsrooms as culturally liberal, shaping tone and norms.	They point out these outlets strive for mainstream balance and aren’t overtly partisan like cable talk.	Pew: Network TV news fact sheet
Agenda-setting power	National dailies and wires (NYT, WaPo, AP, Reuters) heavily influence what becomes “news.”	They argue liberal-leaning prestige outlets decide which stories get oxygen.	They argue this is professional gatekeeping, not partisanship, and everyone—including Fox—follows these leads.	Agenda-setting overview (Oxford Research Encyclopedia) Associated Press: About & global footprint
Newsroom ideology/culture	Surveys show U.S. journalists lean left relative to the general public.	Conservatives see this as a built-in frame that skews coverage and story selection.	Liberals say professional norms (verification, sourcing) check bias more than partisan outlets do.	Pew: U.S. journalists’ views vs. public
Digital distribution	Platform algorithms, newsletters, podcasts, and influencers fragment the audience.	They argue legacy outlets still prime stories that cascade across platforms.	They point to powerful right media spheres on YouTube, Facebook, podcasts, and talk radio.	Reuters Institute Digital News Report
Message discipline & echo intensity	Right media ecosystem is smaller but tightly coordinated.	Conservatives still see themselves as fighting a broader liberal culture industry.	Liberals feel “outgunned” by the intensity, repetition, and partisan alignment on the right.	Pew: Media polarization & echo chambers

Why both perceptions feel true

• Different currencies: Conservatives point to cultural and agenda-setting clout (prestige outlets, newsroom culture). Liberals point to mass persuasion engines (Fox’s ratings, talk radio, certain podcasts) and message cohesion.
• Layered ecosystem: The outlets that choose what’s “news” aren’t always the ones best at selling it. One side can set the agenda; the other can dominate the spin.
• Fragmentation: In a splintered environment, “dominance” can be narrow but deep (a loyal niche) or broad but shallow (general reach). Both matter.

A quick rubric you can use

1. Ask “dominant where?” Cable ratings, total cross-platform reach, or elite agenda-setting?
2. Ask “dominant for whom?” General public vs. highly engaged partisans.
3. Ask “dominant how?” Setting topics vs. shaping interpretations vs. mobilizing action.

Bottom line

Each side is right in its own frame: the left is strong in agenda-setting institutions and professional culture; the right is strong in cohesive, high-engagement channels that punch above their weight. If you don’t specify the metric, you’ll talk past each other.