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It's not true that I'd have to believe the media to be conservative if I don't think they're liberal! That's one of the logical fallacies rampant these days that keep people at each others' throats in political discussions.

The most fundamental point is this, and everyone needs to think about it: a democracy can't exist without a free press. Thomas Jefferson said that a free press without a government was preferable to a government without a free press.

Truthfully, to guide you to "sites" that can shed light on this would be difficult for me. I'll need to think about books you can read. Keep in mind that this has been my field since undergrad, and I've been teaching it for 15 years.

But these are some important points:

The biggest constraint on news media today is the market, which is neither liberal nor conservative, but apolitical. I would like to see all news take the public service model, as was attempted before the demise of the Fairness Doctrine in 1980, meaning that stations couldn't advertise during their news hour.

Calling the press "liberal" began with Barry Goldwater. His ideas at the time were considered way on the fringe of political thinking, and when the press quoted him and then quoted others who opposed him, he thought they were "liberal." You can start by looking at the rhetoric surrounding him. Nixon and Agnew were huge opponents of the media and tried to shut down the brand new public broadcasting service, which was reporting on the Vietnam war.

Justice Powell in the 1970s thought that "corporations" were being scorned by society and sought to remedy that by attacking the press as too "liberal." Back then, conservatism was associated with business. Then the think tanks started up. Do you ever wonder who they are and what they do? They're not academics, only a very few perform any research. How are they funded? Why are they taken seriously? They're on all the talk shows, their columns are in the newspapers. Pay attention even if they give you facts and figures. "Facts" and "figures" are often used to mislead.

And look how corporatized everything is these days. It's almost like the robber barons have returned from the dead.

The purpose of the press is to be a watchdog. We should WANT the press to be critical of WHOEVER is in power. If you think the press right now is critical of Bush, recall how they skewered Clinton and then Gore. If the Monica Lewinsky story wasn't kept alive by all the newspapers and all the networks, we wouldn't have been aware of it. Journalists are trained (or at least used to be trained) to ask tough questions on behalf of citizens so that we can make informed choices.

I'm sorry, but all the attacks on "liberal" media are only serving to undermine confidence in the press by everyone. It's working. Undermining our confidence in anyone's ability to attempt to be objective will then allow for all "opinions" to be viewed as equally valid. Want to be a cannibal? That's fine. That's your opinion. How about a child molester? No problem. Now let's hear from the other side.

See?