by G.K. Dickey

Created on: June 05, 2008

Media bias and political coverage is a volatile combination. At the same time, bias in the media, or slanting the news, is a necessary ingredient in the pursuit of quality journalism: Every story has two sides (sometimes more). Different points of view, especially in ongoing complicated stories, are essential, though often uneven.

The challenge for news consumers is learning how to recognize the difference between preferential reporting and incomplete reporting.

Producing the news is a totally human endeavor and embraces the value of relying on journalists with varying perspectives borne of differing life experiences. Of far more concern than an individual reporter injecting an "opinion" into a story is the corporate influence cleansing newsrooms of fundamental journalism standards and practices.

FOX News makes a mockery of the basic meaning of "fair and balanced." CNN's Lou Dobbs and Jack Cafferty diminish the word "curmudgeon" to new lows with commentary that often crosses the line into frantic hyperbole. Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball" is almost as full of himself as Rush Limbaugh.

Such high profile, seemingly ever-present, sources of news and opinion-mongering are like watching cartoon characters: exaggerated in their bias, easily detectable and just as easily dismissed. The more insidious and dangerous form of media bias in politics is in the proliferating corporate influence on newsroom management, editors and reporters.

The most recent, glaring and disconcerting example of this corporate consolidation was the purchase of The Wall Street Journal by Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox Broadcasting Corporation, TV Guide, and The London Times. Murdoch also owns various other media outlets from England to Australia, including the supermarket tabloid, the Star. In harmony with his expanding empire, circulation was built on oversized sensationalized headlines and "news" coverage emphasizing sex and crime.

While Murdoch's News Corp. is the most far reaching multimedia conglomerate, there are several other major newspaper chains, such as Gannett, Knight-Ridder, McClatchy, Hearst, and Lee Enterprises. In many cases, these print entities are marrying up with television and radio stations. Virtually every media operation today also has its own Internet Web Site.

The greatest impact of this centralization is the infusion of a corporate culture that permeates up and down the corporate ladder: Toe the line or find the door. This mentality is an extremely potent form of

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