It pains me to see lost subscribers and revenue, especially
when newspapers are shrinking. Conservative complaints
can be wrong: The mainstream media were not to blame for
John McCain's loss; Barack Obama's more effective campaign
and the financial crisis were.
But some of the conservatives' complaints about a liberal
tilt are valid. Journalism naturally draws liberals; we like
to change the world. I'll bet that most Post journalists voted for
Obama. I did. There are centrists at The Post as well. But the conservatives
I know here feel so outnumbered that they don't even want to
be quoted by name in a memo.
Journalists bristle at the thought of their coverage being viewed
as unfair or unbalanced; they believe that their decisions are
journalistically reasonable and that their politics do not affect how
they cover and display stories.
Tom Rosenstiel, a former political reporter who directs the Project
for Excellence in Journalism, said, "The perception of liberal bias is
a problem by itself for the news media. It's not okay to dismiss it.
Conservatives who think the press is deliberately trying to help
Democrats are wrong. But conservatives are right that journalism has
too many liberals and not enough conservatives. It's inconceivable
that that is irrelevant."
Group think can not be good for business. (Especially in a business that is slowly
collapsing.)
Also, did you notice in the column she talks about the "perception of bias" and
never actually admits that there is an actual problem of media bias? Isn't the
first step to rehabilitation admitting you have problem?