Bias in Reporting

News, whether it's print, internet, live or televised is supposed to be objective. This is the most basic code of journalism. Editorials, much of which comprise this blog, are understandably biased and opinionated. There is nothing wrong with biased information, as long as it is delivered in the proper context. A reporter on CBS News should not inject bias, for his only job is to deliver the facts. His audience is the general public. A lecturer on college campus delivers information in a more private (as opposed to public) setting. He is able to speak more freely and express his opinions as though they were facts. The listeners are left to decide what they believe. This atmosphere of free and unrestricted dialogue is why universities have historically served as the crucible of societal change.

Yes, this blog is biased. Although I strive to maintain fairness and consider opposing positions on the issues I address, I believe that empassioned writing is more effective and definitely less boring than a "compromising" style of writing. This is precisely how the Republicans made their gains in 2000, and how the Democrats lost touch with the American people. The Republicans had a clear message that was easy to understand, whereas the Democrats stood for just about everything. The fact that the Republican message was emotionally charged and emphasized the fear card made their message all the more powerful. They invented weekly "talking points"-- basically, a carefully selected, bulleted list of items designed to promulgate the conservative agenda, piece by piece. The talking points (probably drafted by Karl Rove and Dick Cheney) were distributed to Republican lawmakers and media outlets and repeated over and over again. In 2000, the conservative movement was like a fine-tuned machine, military-like with a command and control center. It moved together, in synch like a school of fish. A Republican spokesperson in Florida would quote a bullet item on local news; another Republican in Iowa would quote the same thing a few hours later. They were clear. They were consistent. The clever Republicans knew that the attention span of most people is a few seconds, so they had to break their message up in snippets, and have them repeated over and over again by their agents at Fox News and conservative radio stations. Brilliant idea, flawlessly executed.

Fox News resorted to fear tactics and selective, unbalanced reporting following the 9-11 attacks and during the last two presidential elections. This was an irresponsible act, because as a mass media outlet, they abused their power and served as the messenger for the conservative agenda. They wrongly "took a side" when they should have remained neutral. It's like having the Super Bowl announcer favor one team over the other in his commentary.