Did the press help elect Barack Obama? In the 2008 presidential race there was no doubt among conservatives that journalists abandoned any semblance of skeptical detachment. The Left doesn't see it, however. So McCollam offers a few ideas:
1)Check Your Sources If the MSM didn't say it, don't reflexively blame them for spraying it.
2) Look Who's Talking -- An interesting note buried inside a 2008 election study was that researchers excluded talk radio in their assessment of the tone of coverage.
3) The New News Game -- Many of the bias complaints were actually thinly disguised laments about the lack of "standards" in modern journalism.
4) Absence of Evidence Can Be Evidence of Absence -- Another frequent conservative complaint was that the press was not letting the public in on the "real" Obama. Sometimes where there is smoke, there is fire, and sometimes there's just a smoke machine.
5) Open Your Ears, Your Mind Will Follow This is equal-opportunity advice for liberals and conservatives. One of the less-savory aspects of media proliferation is that, if we choose, we can get our news exclusively from outlets that reflect our own views back at us. This should be resisted.
