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Having gotten the mainstream press to admit a problem - that Pew report was covered in this newspaper, among others - is not the same as fixing it. May I ask conservatives: What are you going to do about it?
Because the press is doing something. I see it all around me. People are taking greater care. Fairness is an open part of news discussions. The old professional virtue of not letting one's personal views drive news coverage, it seems to me, is becoming something not merely pursued privately but discussed publicly.
This only goes so far. Newsrooms heavy on liberals, even fair-minded ones, will see the world as liberals do. They need conservative colleagues.
The blogosphere and National Review are dandy, but ultimately they repackage news, not originate it. If conservatives want news they can believe, they must involve themselves in the daily reporting, photographing, editing, headlining and producing of news as eagerly as do liberals.
Honestly, it's not a hard field to get into. It's fun, and you'll find there are other conservatives, too (as well as a lot of reasonably friendly liberals).
Besides, standing outside an institution and complaining has never been a good fit for conservatives. It feels so Naderesque. They'd rather go to work and end up bettering the world without talking too much about it.
So send a graduating senior our way. Send yourself. Don't whine about the press; be the press.
- Patrick McIlheran, "Stop complaining about the liberal media," milwaukee journal sentinel March 26, 2005
posted March 28, 2005 in politics. 20042001