CRB: Measuring the slant

This morning we continue our preview of the new (winter) issue of the Claremont Review of Books (subscribe here — please). One of the good things about the magazine is its occasional presentation of books that escape review in other publications aimed at a general audience of intelligent readers.

One such book is Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind, by Tim Groseclose. Groseclose is a distinguished professor of political science. He is the Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics at UCLA. He holds joint appointments in the political science and economics departments. He has held previous faculty appointments at universities including Stanford and Harvard. He is not, shall we say, a right-wing ranter, and his book has been published by a respected commercial publisher. Yet it has evoked the sound of one hand clapping.

We thought that the publication of Professor Groseclose’s book last summer was a signal event. To the vexed question of media bias, Professor Groselose brings the methodology of the social sciences. With Professor Groseclose’s permission we posted generous excerpts of the book that remain accessible here. For some reason, however, Professor Groseclose’s book has remained a secret against which editors have faithfully guarded readers of the New York Times, the Washington Post and other organs of the mainstream media.

The CRB asked James Q. Wilson — the man who is perhaps the most prominent living American social scientist, “the Sinatra of social science” — to review the book, and Professor Wilson has answered the call in “Measuring the slant.” Thanks to the editors of the CRB for letting us bring the review to your attention. Please check it out, and please spread the word.