as by the selection of sources, bias by spin, bias by labeling, bias by policy endorsement or condemnation. 4 I am going to discuss some of these categories as well as discuss other matters that support my belief that there is a liberal media bias. I am also going to present the liberals belief that there is not a liberal bias.Bias by commission is a pattern of passing along assumptions or errors that tend to support a position. This is the most common form of bias. It basically states that a reporter must provide roughly equal time to both sides of the issue. If the reporter presents only one perspective or passes along only the “facts” espoused by his/her beliefs without any acknowledgment that others disagree, then he/she has committed bias by commission. “Some examples of “facts” being presented by liberals regarding the Bush/Reagan presidencies were: that the Reagan and Bush Administrations cut funding for social programs (when in fact social spending rose dramatically in both administrations); that the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer during the Reagan years (when all income groups grew richer); and that there were three million homeless people in the United States (when every reputable study places the number well under one million). 4 Another example of commission bias would be the following. The 1993 debate over Clinton’s budget showed how reporters committed bias by commission by choosing the interpretation of one side. “At the time, Republicans claimed the plan had far more taxes than spending cuts while Democrats insisted the ratio was one-to-one. Some reporters endorsed the Democratic view. A “USA Today” reporter said Clintons’ plan had slightly more spending cuts than tax increases.” A CNN anchor reported the economic package now in the Senate reduces the federal deficit by more than $500 billion dollars with spending cuts and $249 billion...
