In classes on Mass Communication, a budding reporter/journalist is taught to be “impartial”. Reportage is meant to be educative and informative – it should describe an event as it happened, without any sort of personal or political bias. In the 21st century, of course, we know that true “impartiality” is a practical impossibility. Each individual is different, so if two people talk about the same thing, they will definitely carry and broadcast different impressions of it.

While this unintended distortion is not something which reporters should be blamed for, it has far-reaching consequences. One thing to consider is that the media is responsible for informing people about events – events that influence crucial decisions, such as who to vote for in the next election.

Also, in this age where very few people read books, the writers of newspapers and the speakers on talk shows and TV channels are the ones to shape the philosophical views of the growing youth. This is a huge responsibility, which must be discharged with maximum honesty. Under these circumstances, what is a reporter to do?

Most reporters and journalists in the USA are of a liberal bias, which renders the reported news leaning markedly towards the left. The argument presented by these journalists is that it is more ethical for them to present the views they themselves believe in, rather than creating a forced equality or neutrality to their views – which is, in effect, lying to the people.