Enough with the media bashing!
 

I am "the media." I was a newspaper reporter for 17 years and now publish a music magazine. I'm here to tell you all that for every Jayson Blair (the infamous New York Times story fabricator) and Mike Barnicle (who left the Globe in disgrace), there are thousands of honest, unbiased, apolitical print journalists doing their best to present the truth in objective fashion. So stop painting "the media" with a broad brush of condemnation as agents of the liberal agenda. I worked for five different newspapers in my career and observed none of what is constantly being demonized here. In fact, one newspaper I worked for was staunchly REPUBLICAN in its editorial philosophy (opinion pages). Just the same, that never filtered down from the publisher's office through editors to the reporters in their news reporting. I cannot speak for television/radio as I have no experience with those branches of the media. But I can tell you, having worked in the print news business, that credibility hinges on objectively and thoroughly reporting both sides of a story. Most men and women in newspapers and magazines are honest, hard-working people who embrace their professional responsibility to report the news fairly and accurately. A lot of folks in this forum make the mistake of confusing "opinion" (columnists, editorials) with "news." While columnists and editorial writers are obliged to support their opinions with factual evidence, opinion remains apart from the news and by its very nature invites charges of bias. That's as it should be. My suggestion to anyone who really wants to know what's going on in the world is to check out the Associated Press wires online and/or AP stories in your local paper. AP services are used by pretty much every newspaper in the country and are free of political spin. The news, and nothing but the news.

Good point on AP direct sourcing. Curious, what are your thoughts on NPR??

I don't listen to NPR enough to have an opinion. As I said, I don't know much about radio/television, but my feeling in general regarding broadcast news is that it's more "entertainment"-driven for the sake of ratings and advertising sales. Hence, it emphasizes the controversial and sensational. I think if you want to be truly well informed, you'll rely on print media. Anyone who relies on Fox or CNN exclusively is going to be shortchanged amidst big servings of opinion from all directions.

Here, here, Tunescribe, I agree with you. My niece works is a newspaper woman and I've known other newspaper people and media people. Most of them have a very high ethical standard. But, Fox news ... well, that's another story. When I want a conservative point of view, I look at the Washington Times or Wall Street Journal.

I think that everybody brings their POV and baggage to the table. The idea of total objectivity is a myth. 90% of the mainstream media journalist voted for dems. Their POV consciously or unconsciously influences how they see the story. Th ehubris to claim objectivity is what irritates people about the media. I think it is a shock for the media to be questioned and contradicted by the 'unwashed masses' in the blogsphere.

The Rather situation is a perfect example of this.

Media Bias:
Have any of you watched a White House Press conference lately, how about Helen Thomas, now there is a real "fair and balanced" journalist for you, how about Dan Rather, he turned into a national disgrace and an embrassment for all honest news people.

Have any of you ever really wondered why Fox is so popular, could it be that they inform us of many things that the Main Stream Media would rather we not know?
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What did Sandy Burger steal and put in his underwear?
Is Jeffersons money still Frozen?
Are Hillary & Billary still using the spoons they stole from the White House?
Who killed Kathleen Wileys cat?
Does Cynthia McKinney beat her husband?
Oh Jesus!

For the most part, I ignore media bias, but media, going out of their way to be inaccurate, pisses me off.

I am a science/health researcher, and it absolutely drives me batty when they interpret the results of a study wrong (after they've interviewed the friggin authors) or quote someone incorrectly.

If you get most of your "information" from national network broadcast sources (Fox included), you're your own worst enemy. You can pick and choose examples to support your bias 'til the cows come home, but I'm here to tell you that the vast majority of major print news sources are ethical and reliable.

Please cite your source for claiming 90 percent of mainstream media journalists vote Democrat. You need to realize that journalists are trained to be objective, and that accuracy and fairness are cornerstones of the profession. Keep in mind, please, that I am referring to PRINT JOURNALISTS only here, not broadcast journalists, and to news reporting vs. editorial opinion.

I always figure that as far as broadcast journalism goes, CNN, ABC, and NBC are the most honest because both liberals and conservatives complain equally about them. Fox only gets complaints from liberals and CBS only gets complaints from conservatives, so to me that's reasonable evidence they have some bias.