I think one way of looking at why media treats republicans poorly compared to democrats is not based on ideological differences but based on class.

Journalists and most democrats belong to the professional managerial class. That's not always true with republicans.

This is why the media does treat republicans who embody professional class values such as Marco Rubio or Nikki Haley well while crapping on religious conservatives like Ted Cruz or Mike Huckabee.

It's a combination of class, social status and ideology.