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In a candidate's effort to win an election, the practice of politics rewards those candidates who can respond to questions without actually answering them. The purpose of media in the political election arena is to, without bias reveal the true nature and beliefs of candidates. This is done by asking those questions that will enable voters to derive enough information to vote responsibility, but what if certain questions are just not asked?

While voters are trying to establish a trust in the assurances that the candidate is putting forth, many candidates rely on planned responses that may or may not be the true views of the candidate. In many instances candidate's are following the edicts of a committee that has formed answers in the best interest of the entire party. So, if questions are made available prior to the asking and the candidate has a standard script to follow, there is little spontaneity and therefore, little chance to get to know the real beliefs of the candidate unless they veer from the suggested responses which probably doesn't happen too often.

There has long been somewhat of an endearing notion of the media that investigative reporters like the characters based on The Washington Post's, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the movie, All the President's Men, are always out there seeking the big "scoop" and no matter their personal affiliations, they are going to report it. For those too young to remember, All the President's Men is a true story about sitting President Richard Nixon's involvement in the illegal activities known as "Watergate." At the time, President Nixon was a very popular President who had been re-elected in one of the biggest landslide election victories in U.S. political history. The articles exposing the illegal activities of those connected with the White House relied on information obtained by a confidential informant with very little corraboration from other sources. The articles and the subsequent fall out forced the resignation of the President. One has to wonder if the reporters of The Washington Post would have put forth such an effort or if their efforts would have been printed in this day and age. The Washington Post did not begin formally endorsing candidates until the year 2000 and did endorse the campaign of Barack Obama in 2008.

Another recent controversy that draws attention to possible media bias involves a 2003 videotape that was turned over to The Los Angeles Times on which Barack Obama is reportedly speaking

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