Bias?
Surprise, surprise, NY Times and Boston Globe have endorsed John Kerry for President. Chicago Tribune endorsed Bush.I do find this strange in a way. Newspapers are supposed to be the embodiment of impartial journalism. NY Times has this great piece of having two of its critics discussing why they think the paper is biased. While I think the Times does its best to be fair, it is difficult to do when a majority of its reporters and op-ed columnists are slanted to the left, or at least have more socially liberal views on issues. Though I think it is certainly possible to believe in liberal ideals yet to do unbiased reporting, perception is often more important than the reality. Perception is very important, important enough that the U.S. Supreme Court had decided that perception of corruption was sufficient to uphold state limits on political contribution, and paved the way for campaign finance reform. That's why I find the practice of institutions of journalism endorsing political candidates, which certainly would give a perception of bias to their readers, awkward if not hypocritical.
posted by hedgehog @ 10:55 PM
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