RIGHT BIAS
These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward conservative causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using an appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports, and omit information that may damage conservative causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Right Bias sources.
- Overall, we rate WFTW – 1260 AM – Fort Walton Beach Right Biased based on the political affiliation of conservative radio hosts. We also rate them as Mixed for factual reporting due to poor sourcing and hosting news show personalities with poor fact-check records.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Radio Station
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY
History
WFTW – 1260 AM – Fort Walton Beach is a Fort Walton Beach, Florida, talk radio station. The radio station features conservative news talk shows, while the website publishes local and political news. The web domain for the station is wftw.com.
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
WFTW – 1260 AM – Fort Walton Beach is owned by Cumulus Media, a publicly traded American broadcasting company that owns over 400 radio stations. Cumulus Media is owned by its shareholders, including hedge funds and institutional investors. A review of political donations indicates more favoring Republican candidates and PACS. Advertising through radio and the web generates revenue.
Analysis / Bias
WFTW – 1260 AM – Fort Walton Beach publishes local news stories that utilize minimally loaded language, such as this: Atmore News publisher, reporter charged with leaking grand jury secrets in county school board investigation. This story, like all other local stories, did not provide hyperlinked sourcing to the information.
The radio station and website broadcast a daily lineup of news radio hosts who generally hold conservative perspectives. They also feature nationally syndicated Cumulus hosts like Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin, who have poor fact-check records.
Editorially, the majority of radio hosts hold conservative viewpoints. While local news reporting is usually not opinionated, they do republish opinionated political content from other sources, such as the questionable Newsmax, which is a source known to advance conspiracy theories and misinformation. In general, local news appears to be fact-based but not properly sourced. Radio shows exhibit a conservative bias and sometimes promote misleading or false claims.
Failed Fact Checks
- The sources used (Newsmax) and radio hosts frequently fail fact checks.
Overall, we rate WFTW – 1260 AM – Fort Walton Beach Right Biased based on the political affiliation of conservative radio hosts. We also rate them as Mixed for factual reporting due to poor sourcing and hosting news show personalities with poor fact-check records. (D. Van Zandt 10/30/2023)
Source: https://www.wftw.com/
Last Updated on October 30, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources