(This column originally appeared in Appen Newspapers Inc.’s publications on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2007. It is being reprinted with the permission of the writer.)

One of my oldest friends is a senior NASA scientist. He’s a smart guy.

We have a small disagreement though about the media, which finds us at odds. You see, my friend thinks that media is “liberal” and that “the liberal media” is in a conspiracy against us. I think that is hogwash, or, as they say here in Georgia, that dog just won’t hunt. Heck, that dog can’t bark or even lift his leg as far as I can see.

Part of the problem is that people get sidetracked by issues, and they suspend part of their rational thinking and logic. Instead of just looking at the facts, they get a single thought in their brain and don’t let go. That’s a real bad idea.

When this happens, people tend to become fodder for opportunistic politicians — and talk show hosts — who “fish” with bait like “immigration,” “taxes,” “patriotism,” “amnesty,” “the border,” “gay marriage” and, yes, the “liberal media.”

If I had a dime for every time the talk show folks try to cram the “liberal media” down our throats, I would be a multi-millionaire.

Also, when people allow others to do their thinking for them, they often tend to end up supporting ideas and causes that are destructive and wrong. Think Salem, Mass. Think post Weimar Germany. Think Joseph McCarthy in the ’50s. Think “immigration” today.

We are much better off thinking for ourselves instead of indiscriminately believing what others tell us.

Many people allow actors like Rush, O’Reilly and Hannity to make their decisions for them. Sure, a portion of what they say is well thought out and sometimes rational, but at the end of the day, most of these guys are just bad actors shouting “fire” in a crowded theater hundreds of times a day.

The “liberal media” is in large part their creation of convenience, just as Mickey Mouse is Walt’s.

The “media” today is print, broadcast, podcast, the Internet and more. The “media” is not The New York Times. The “media” is not the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but both newspapers are part of the print media — a very, very small part.

In this country there are perhaps 2,500 daily newspapers and 5,000 non-daily newspapers give or take a few. In 2005, the circulation of non-daily newspapers (now about 45 million) passed that of daily newspapers, and this gap is now accelerating.

Is the “media” liberal? Is it conservative? Well, first tell me which one you are you talking about — print, broadcast or the Internet. Then, if print, which paper? And after you tell me the paper, I’ll probably want to know if you refer to a specific columnist, reporter or editor.

And finally I may want to know about the frequency of the “liberalness” — all the time, sometimes or just that article you read last week.

Calling the media “liberal” is kind of like saying that everyone who drives a red car has leftist views or that everyone who is not married is gay. It just doesn’t work that way. I don’t care how many times O’Reilly tells you that it does.

The news business is about as decentralized a business one can imagine. The news that you get — whether it is a big national story or a local story about something that happened at the high school, will generally be written by a reporter who will have his or her name attached to the story. The vast majority of these reporters have a thing about editors messing with the substance or veracity of their stories. They really have a problem if someone tries to spin the story — their story. My point is that for the media to be “liberal” (or conservative) it must be biased, and if it is biased then the reporter who wrote it and who signs their name to it must knowingly — essentially agree to lie. And most of them just won’t agree to do that. Publishing something other than the truth ends careers. That is, the self interest of real journalists dictates objective reporting. And editors can no more force their reporters to spin their stories on a significant scale than they can make pigs fly. There is no conspiracy — promise.

The bulk of the media in this country — large and small — report your news as best they can as objectively as they know how. They’re more reliable, because they’re held more accountable. And the accountability is to, yes, you guessed it, you. Their credibility is their primary and arguably only major asset. This is the part that the public just never seems to understand. Self-interest ordains they protect that asset to the bitter end, no matter what. They can’t afford to be liberal or conservative in their news reporting.

So, the next time you’re invited to join in the “liberal media bashing” shtick, you might stop for just a moment and consider if it is really in your best interest to help damage this “media” that is primarily responsible for protecting this way life that we so take for granted in the west. It’s not a game, and taking your “free press” for granted is probably the worst decision of all.

(Ray Appen owns and publishes a group of weekly newspapers on the north side of Atlanta. Included in the Appen Newspapers Inc. group are the (Alpharetta & Roswell) Revue & News, the Forsyth Herald, the Johns Creek Herald, the Milton Herald, North Atlanta’s Real Estate Report, and North Atlanta’s Business Post. Previously, Ray worked at the Miami Herald and the Suburban Journals in St. Louis, Mo. Ray can be contacted by email at appen@northfulton.com, and his company’s website address is www.northfulton.com.)

Add comment February 25th, 2007