Bias

In Bias, Bernard Goldberg shares his view of how the media, particularly television news, is not balanced as claimed. This book, at times, is a somewhat angry recollection of his treatment by Dan Rather and others. Despite segments clearly presenting the author’s frustration, Goldberg states the book is not an angry work, not his way to receive vindication. Goldberg reminds us that he worked for CBS News as a correspondent for 28 years, his tenure ending in Summer 2000. His downfall came through his opinion piece regarding media liberal bias published in the Wall Street Journal. Labeled a traitor and disloyal, Goldberg endured estrangement from his previous colleagues at CBS. Although his view on bias finally was made public, Mr. Goldberg believes the general public had been aware of journalistic slant for years. The book claims that the network executives want their bias to be hidden.
The work goes beyond the author’s troubled career and provides a short history of politics and the media in the 1960-1980s. It tells how the media manipulates social policy by carefully choosing and presenting certain advocates of the unfortunate. Journalists use manipulated statistics and become advocates for causes such as AIDS and homelessness. The book provides specifics. Goldberg writes of the impact of special interest groups on news. However, he veers a bit off the track at times, with complaints about injustices within the social system that go beyond media coverage. It is hard to maintain a balanced view of Mr. Goldberg, as he seems to be a bit biased himself. His conservatism seems very apparent at times.
The major anchormen are a source of real frustration for Goldberg. He claims that these “stars” present editorials labeled as pure news stories. Goldberg writes of the ironic use of terms, such as “substance” for anemic evening news segments, and the careful use of words designed to promote viewpoints. He points out examples of omissions swaying a story. Goldberg doesn’t see this as a conspiracy, but just a mistaken point of view. It is sad and inevitable, according to Goldberg, that reporters’ individual views color their presentation of news. The author’s main contention is that liberals dominate the media, determining what, why and how the news is presented. He is upset about what he sees as an apparent lack of balance, and argues that there is a lack of opposing voices. Goldberg provides quotes and statistics to support his contention.
Bias tells how news programming has evolved from the days of Edward R. Murrow into a moneymaking segment of television. Bernard Goldberg laments that news has become another form of entertainment. He feels that liberal bias exists in television news, pushing political correctness at the expense of truth.