When I was in college, I was taught that journalists were like Joe Friday from the television show “Dragnet.” All they cared about was “just the facts, madam” and nothing more. That may have been true once. It is no longer the case. Today many journalists put ideology ahead of the news and the profession has been the poorer for it. If one were to take a look at organs like the New York Times, The Star Ledger, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and other outlets, you can tell that there is very much of a liberal bias in how the news is reported. They will deny it and say that “bias is in the eye of the beholder,” as the late Peter Jennings did, but in surveys, in the journalists’ own words, in the choice of content, in the prominence of play, there is no denying this truth. It is because of this bias that people are going elsewhere to get their information whether on the internet, talk radio, other cable channels or elsewhere.
A good example of this is census controversy. Recently, President Barack Obama, along with his chief of staff, Rham Emmanuel, has requested that the Census Bureau operate from the White House and not the Chamber of Commerce. This story gives the impression that the President is making a power play to control population count to benefit him and his party. The story was big news on talk radio, the internet and some cable outlets. One newspaper, the New York Post also reported on the story. As far as other media, they did not touch it at all. It was not news on CBS, it was not news on ABC, it was not news on CNN, it was not news on NBC and neither was it news in the New York Times, the Daily News, Star Ledger or other. Because of this silence, I have to wonder.
Thomas Jefferson considered the press as a watchdog on government. He believed that the press was the instrument that could keep a watchful eye on that entity and the people’s representatives. Today, the press covers up for those who share their views. Is it any wonder why now most newspapers and press organs are literally losing circulation and viewership? This is what you get for promoting ideology instead of reporting the news.