It’s an interesting thing that people on both the left and the right are utterly convinced that the traditional media are biased against them. The thing is, it’s basically true, but in a very unequal way. The left’s biggest complaint about the media is that they take objectivity to a point where it is no longer objective. Hunter S. Thompson once justified his Gonzo style of non-factual journalism by saying “you can’t be objective about Richard Nixon.” And you can’t be objective about Scooter Libby feeding you a line of crap about aluminum tubes or Mitt Romney saying he “takes a lot of credit” for the upswing in the auto industry. If someone is lying to you and you just repeat it as a report on what was said, then you’re distorting the truth yourself. And it is just a fact of life that Republicans utilize lies as a basic feature of their political arguments. All politicians like to be selective in their use of facts. Many Democrats will make misleading use of statistics or present facts in a grossly unfair way. But there’s nothing on the Democratic side to compare with the denial of global warming or the complete foolishness of the trickle-down theory. The GOP’s entire fiscal philosophy is based on a lie. Their energy policy is bought and paid for by the oil industry. The result is that we wind up debating what constitutes reality rather than what policies make the most sense.
As for the right, the media is biased against them, too. They’re biased against them because they don’t share their worldview. A New York Times reporter might be personally opposed to abortion but they’re unlikely to think a good way to prevent abortions is to deny people sex education and access to contraception. Most reporters have been educated at top-flight schools in deep blue states, many of which are located in our biggest and most diverse metropolitan areas. They don’t have a whole lot in common with the average Fox News viewer. They’re also well-paid and successful, which makes them happier in general with the status quo than the average person. The system is working just fine for them, so they have trouble relating to the Tea Party (or the Occupy Movement, for that matter).
One final note is that the traditional media also think our system and our government are inherently good. This puts them at odds with many people on both the left and the right who think our system is fatally flawed or generally rotten or badly broken. The media think part of their job is to build respect for our laws, institutions, and leaders, even if they also think part of their job is to keep those things honest. This presents a bit more of a problem for the right than for the left. The left at least partly agrees that our system is good. It believes it can function and do worthwhile things. The right just wants to tear the whole thing down.
