Liberal Bias of Journalism

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Liberal Bias of Journalism

"Dear Ann: I have a problem. I have two brothers. One brother is in television, the other was put to death in the electric chair for murder. My mother died from insanity when I was three years old. My sisters are prostitutes, and my father sells narcotics to high school students. Recently I met a girl who was just released from a reformatory where she served time for smothering her illegitimate child to death, and I want to marry her. My problem is—if I marry this girl, should I tell her about my brother who is in television?” (Goldberg 117)

Bernard Goldberg’s book, Bias, reveals the truth of journalism, rather than its art. He pinpoints the inevitability and reasoning behind the majority of the media, the nation’s informant, slanting the news in a liberal direction. Clear examples and statistics highlight the condition; denied by the media moguls, already identified by the country.

The problem with the media, as Goldberg points out, is the unintentionally manipulative liberal vernacular employed without fail by the leading news anchors. For instance, “right-wing” and “conservative” are commonplace vocabulary for introducing a politician, activist or public figure not liberally aligned. If balanced by labels like “left-wing” or “liberal”, this would not be an issue. However, even the far-left figures are viewed and portrayed as “middle of the road”. CBS News anchor Dan Rather labeled the New York Times editorial page the same way, despite the constant partiality to letters in favor of abortion, strict gun control and affirmative action; all clearly liberal standpoints.

In reporting national issues, objectivity should be priority number one for the media. Instead, the stories ...

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...y view the world. Given the duration of time over which this has occurred, the lens has morphed into a kaleidoscope, skewing objectivity with deceptive speech. To be fair, if conservatives controlled the networks as the liberals do, a conservative bent would be just as evident.

Webster’s denotes what journalism should be: the style of writing characteristic of material in newspapers and magazines, consisting of direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation. The media connotes what journalism is: a presentation of the news, following its passage through a sieve of obstinate and influential liberal viewpoints, and removing the excess pulp of impartiality from the scene.

Works Cited

Goldberg, Bernard. Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing Inc., 2002.

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