Brent Bozell and Dan Rather

For those who don't know, Dan Rather claims there is no media bias, which is probably not exactly the truth. (The media probably is biased liberal on many social issues and biased conservative on many economic issues. Also they are sensitive to being called Liberal so they play softball with President Bush while reaming Democratic Presidential candidates like Al Gore or Howard Dean.) Brent Bozell claims that there is vast media bias. Brent Bozell offered to donate $1 million dollars to a charity of Rather's choice if an independent media research company proved Liberal Media Bias. Bozell's latest article is all about this grand-standing stunt (kind of reminds one of David Horowitz and his stunts on campus).

But Bozell makes an interesting admission a little bit into the article. "In an interview with Jane Hall in the most recent Columbia Journalism Review, Brokaw suggests there is no such thing as liberal media bias ... and then asserts that liberal bias is an "obligation" of journalism. Journalists should "represent the views of those who are underrepresented in the social context, or the political context, and to make sure that they're not overlooked, and that their wrongs get the bright light of journalistic sunshine."

He's not talking about pro-lifers. He's not talking about tax cutters. He's talking about the "little guy" and the journalist's noble quest to better his world. Try to put that puzzle together. There is no liberal agenda. There is only a journalistic agenda to extol the virtues of the liberal impulse."

So in other words, concern about the poor or the ill or the disenfranchised is naturally a Liberal impulse. Conservatives (well, Brent Bozell anyway) are willing to concede that any attention paid to the poor and needy in our society will have to come from liberal impulses, as they either aren't interested or they believe that being aware of the poor and the ignored are better off if nobody pays attention to them.

Bear in mind that Dan Rather wields no power. He can't pass a law. He can't enforce a law. He can't pass judgement in any legal sense. All he can do is talk on his news program and bring stories to light as he sees fit.

He then proves Dan Rathers Liberal Bias by proving that Dan Rather is a Liberal (by quoting him in several contexts where he is speaking as an individual and not when he is behind his news desk. That's not really the same thing, unless Brent Bozell thinks there's something wrong with an American being a Liberal, which presumably he does.