I can't say I'm surprised by much I've heard about Bernard Goldberg's new book, "Bias," regarding left-wing bias in the mainstream news media. Well, the line about Dan Rather and his "jailhouse bitches" did catch me completely off-guard, but it just provided one more reason to read a book that promises some slashingly good humor as well as anecdotal support for what everyone with an understanding of the media and its ideological spectrum already knows.
I've had my own experience with mainstream media bias, you see. After four years of writing a weekly game review column for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, during which time I'd become only the sixth columnist from the paper to become nationally syndicated, I decided to ask for a regular spot on the editorial page when I heard of two vacancies there.
I knew that my libertarian politics were a little unusual from the paper's perspective, but in a town where serious lunatics like Jesse Ventura and Barbara Carlson were the two leading radio commentators at the time, my ideologically-challenged views didn't seem like much of a problem in comparison.
I knew there wasn't any question about my ability to string words together in a coherent manner. My first novel had been published a few months before by a large New York publisher, and I'd even written a 750-word article which had appeared on the editorial page of the rival Minneapolis Star Tribune. I was at least 10 years younger than any other editorial page columnist, and the clincher, I thought, was that by adding a second writer to the right of the paper's usual neo-Marxian slant, the Pioneer Press would be able to distinguish itself more clearly from its larger rival and ideological twin, which is known locally as the Star and Sickle.
The move only seemed to make sense, considering that Minnesota has a strong conservative minority which comprises perhaps 40 percent of the population, our shameful performance in presidential elections notwithstanding. Minnesota Republicans read the paper too, even if they haven't sent any votes to the Electoral College since Abe Lincoln was first starting to think about sporting the chops and whatnot.
So I fired in three sample columns, plus the article which appeared as a Counterpoint in the Red Star, and confidently awaited a phone call from the gentleman responsible for running the editorial page. When it never came, I called up to see what was going on. I will say this for the man, he did his best to avoid any outright dishonesties, and even had the grace to sound somewhat embarrassed when he told me that I was "just not a good fit" for the paper. He conceded that my writing was of an acceptable standard, that my arguments were logical and reasonable, and even that my style was entertaining, but remained staunch in his insistence that the editorial page simply was not the place for me. Game reviews, sure, but editorial? Forget it!
Perhaps I should mention that the Star Tribune article was one supporting gun rights and advocating the passage of a carry law being debated at the time by the state legislature. One sample column was an attack on government-financed sports stadiums, based on free market principles and supported by a landmark study which exploded the myth of the economic benefits of such stadiums, benefits that were being assiduously promoted by the St. Paul paper. I don't recall the content of the other two, but WorldNetDaily readers familiar with my previous columns will have no doubt that they were more than a little offensive to left-wing sensibilities.
Now please understand, I'm not looking for sympathy here, or a shoulder to cry on. I'm delighted to be writing novels and now a regular Monday column for WorldNetDaily. But I believe it is important for everyone to know that the bias of which Mr. Goldberg writes is not accidental, and that the editors of the commentary pages across the United States see themselves as an elite group of guardians, vigilantly standing atop a sacred wall across which the un-illuminated shall not pass. Ideological soundness is all, and one's qualifications do not matter in the least if one cannot be trusted to bleat in the approved boot-licking manner.
It's worth mentioning that I am not the only one to notice the leftward tilt at this particular paper. About a year ago, I telephoned a business writer to discuss a four-part series on the decline of the Twin Cities as a technology leader to which he'd contributed. This was a major series, one that probably took up something on the order of 15,000 words, and not once was it mentioned that Minnesota suffers from one of the highest state income taxes in the country, 9.5 percent. Now, everyone in the local business community knows that the high taxes are the primary reason so many small business owners pull up and leave for friendlier climes – I once attended a party thrown by a $50 million corporation, and 12 of the 13 board members were former Minnesotans now living out-of-state – but the writer told me that the paper's editors "don't believe taxes are an issue."
I suppose they think the real reason businesses are leaving is that the voters still won't let the state pay for the Twins' new stadium. Yes, Virginia, the mainstream news is biased toward the left, and if you don't believe me, then read Mr. Goldberg's book. He was there, and he knows the truth about what goes on behind the scenes at ABCNBCCBS, the Washington Post and the New York Times. And now that you know the truth as well, understand that there is only one thing you can do about it. Turn them off and tune them out! Cancel your subscription and let them know why!
WorldNetDaily has shown the way; may a thousand WorldNetDailys spring up to fight the mainstream media and its poisonous message of slavish dependency!
Question of the week: In this world, does anything survive that has abandoned its reason for being? Can anything survive that has outlived its usefulness and core mission?
Thus spake Vox: The answer, all too often, is yes. But we live in a fallen world, and so we should not be surprised when institutions eventually devolve into rotting parodies of what they were originally meant to be. Still, hope springs eternal and we are always free to roll up our sleeves and begin the process anew.
Related offer:
Get Bernard Goldberg's new book, "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distorts the News" in WND's online store.