The problem with the media isn't a liberal or conservative bias - this country thrived when each city had a few party-affiliated newspapers, that bought their own perspective to a story - it's the current media ownership situation. It is similar to an oligopoly.
Up until the 80's, most papers, radio stations and TV stations were independently owned, or part of small chains. The networks were all independent as well. They all had their own newsrooms, that competed against each other to produce a good news product. As such, they covered local and regional stuff much better.
The big networks were independent as well, and each had foreign bureaus. While they had pressure from advertisers, their independent nature and competitive forces held that in check.
Then came cable, and the lessening of ownership regulations under the Clinton administration. NBC became part of GE (The biggest military defense contractor) CBS became part of Viacom (The huge cable TV/entertainment conglomerate) and ABC part of Disney (Another huge conglomerate)
You started to see TV commercials during the news for companies like Lockheed and Boeing - companies that don't sell to TV consumers, but have a vested interest in how the news is presented. Regulations on advertising prescription drugs were relaxed, and the airwaves were flooded with ads from big pharma, telling the consumer to go to his doctor with self-diagnosis. Suddenly, news divisions were yet another profit center, and bureaus were closed and operations curtailed. The important message became whatever the advertisers and the network's corporate parents deemed appropriate. Radio stations, which had been consolidated under clear channel, followed suit.
Rupert Murdoch, the corporate activist disguised as a conservative, started Fox news, and hired a former Nixon media consultant as well as President Bush's cousin to run it. It operated at staggering losses for several years, only to be bailed out by the same group of corporations consisting primarily of defense and pharma companies. It still has a very small part of the ratings pie, but it has created its influence through its deep corporate pockets.
So there you have it. We get lowest common denominator "newsertainment" (Missing girls, celebrity gossip, car chases, fake investigative reporting) all designed to distract rather than inform. Trouble is, theres a minority of Americans out there that lack critical thinking skills, and that group is big enough to maintain the status quo.
Sorry for my rant, but this is one of my pet peeves. Local TV news, in particular, is inane.
