On bias in journalism

At GetReligion, Mollie Ziegler reflects on a recent column by the Washington Post ombudsman, Deborah Howell, which examines whether there is any truth to what many Americans believe – that most in the media lean left. Strangely, Ziegler (herself a confessed liberal) notes, Howell quite typically denies the reality of bias, admitting only that there is a perception of bias. Writes Ziegler:

“I love how stories dealing with media bias always paint journalists as the good guys. Imagine a story about some major problem at Enron or in the Bush Administration where it was just asserted that the hearts and motivations of the players were good . . . but some external factor was to blame for the malaise.”