by Donald Z. Smith

Created on: July 28, 2011

Honest journalism should be the benchmark of all media outlets, especially regarding coverage of politics and political events and elections.  It is a shame that most forms of media today don't report "just the facts, Ma am", but present the news on political issues in a bias way, depending what part of the political spectrum they support.  The media can influence their attentive audience by presenting their spin on the facts on particular political figures or issues.  The days have gone by where the media reports unbiased information on issues and politicians when they are presenting news stories concerning them.

 Instead, most media outlets allow their political belief to help structure their news stories, so as to influence a positive or negative tone, depending where that particular media outlet stands.  In some cases, some media will ignore any negative stories on news events that are current, but cast their political philosophies or politicians in a negative light.  They will limit investigation into events that may discredit politicians they support or political policies they personally endorse.

In a political race I was involved in at one time, two of the major newspapers supported another candidate.  The candidate and I both served in a law enforcement agency and both of us were vying for the chief executive position through an election.  One of the supporters of the candidate running against me had been investigated for thefts from an unattended death and was forced to resign.

 The candidate had the supporter still collect campaign donations for him and had him in photographs as a supporter on his campaign web-page at various fund-raising events.  A local newspaper who supported the candidate knew of the matter and his continued association with this alleged criminal, but refused to investigate or report the matter, so as to keep it from the public and not hinder the election of the candidate to this chief executive position in law enforcement.

Another important newspaper covering the election had their editor interview me during the campaign.  I informed the editor of some inappropriate actions of the other candidate when he served as an administrator in the  law enforcement agency.  I had been assigned an investigation by the chief executive of the law enforcement agency to look into misappropriation of evidence and recovered personal property and discovered the candidate running

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