The "liberal media" is a myth invented by conservative fanatics to pin their problems on: "Well, sure, Tom DeLay got caught on video fucking a dead chicken, but it's not his fault -- it's the Liberal Media always looking for a way to hurt Republicans!"

Seriously, the major media are large corporations, owned by and interlinked with even larger conglomerates. They sell one product -- advertising -- to a small customer base -- other large corporations. Now, is any business going to go out of its way to hurt its own bottom line? Certainly not. That's why there are so few negative stories on the news about major American corporations -- negative stories hurt businesses, which may then retaliate by pulling their advertising from the news outlet, which in turn hurts the TV network where it counts -- in the pocketbook.

Does that sound like the action of a liberal organization? Does it even sound like something a conservative organization would do? Actually, it's the action of a business protecting its own best interest, and that is an action which knows no political affiliation.

Of course, it's more fun to whine that the media soft-pedals liberal scandals. But they've also given minimal coverage to Republican scandals -- Newt Gingrich's extra-marital affair, carried on while the GOP was demanding Clinton's ouster from office for doing the same thing, got short shrift from the networks, and George W. Bush's refusal to answer questions about his past has been, for the most part, respected and even praised by the national media. Does this mean that the media has a conservative bias?

And yes, most reporters consider themselves liberals (try working for some of these slavedriver papers for low wages and no time off, and you'll become a union supporter, too). And bias certainly does creep in. Does it happen because they're evil Democrats and they're pushing a hidden agenda to convince kids to smoke crack, worship Satan, and vote for Ted Kennedy? No, it happens because they're human, and they're not perfect. The fact is most reporters I've known (and I've known a lot, both in broadcast and print media) work hard to leave their biases behind them when they get to work.