Conservatives often feel that the “mainstream media” doesn’t give their “side” a fair shake. This outsider view has inspired a cottage industry on the right that points to examples of this bias. It ranges from noting that PolitiFact rates the same statement differently depending on the party of the speaker to sifting through example after example of what we perceive to be unfair reporting.
I try to stay optimistic that these problems can be addressed and resolved, but a toxic news cycle in the last month has led me to believe that there isn’t a path out of the journalistic bias spiral. It is the media coverage (from both sides) around the students who have spoken out in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
One problem that stymies every attempt to point out bias is the fact that every situation, every individual on the left or right, is different. You can’t compare Kevin Williamson, formerly of National Review, and the attempts to get him pre-fired from his new position at the Atlantic to someone on the left because his views are unique, the Atlantic is unique, and any person you compare him to on the left will have their own unique positions and statements that live in a unique context.
