What Are We Going to Do About Media Bias?

The risks and the rewards of a national press beholden to one political party.

President Barack Obama fist-bumps custodian Lawrence Lipscomb in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building following the opening session of the White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth, Dec. 3, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

There seems to be a modern misunderstanding in the press about the purpose of journalism in a Democracy. Some say this misunderstanding happened during the Trump years, that it arose as a natural and noble response to the great evil that is Donald Trump. In reality, it happened long before.

The media isn’t really supposed to help politicians from one particular political party get elected, and for good reason; but it is.

In a perfect world, politicians would have to serve their constituents well in order to receive positive press coverage. And even then, good luck. In that scenario, it would be a politician’s actions, their policies and voting records, as faithfully reported by an objective press, which would serve to get career politicians elected and reelected. Or not.

Instead of this excellent system of checks and balances- whereupon elected officials must live in constant anxiety that any misdeeds, broken campaign promises, or lack of progress might dim their career prospects- we now have an army of journalists anxious to express and perpetuate the political opinions of journalists.

Opinions which, as evidenced by 2016 and 2020, are overwhelmingly one-sided, liberal, white-collar, and…