The easy illustration of this is Fox News. They are unashamedly biased toward the right, and their “Fair and Balanced” tagline is, to put it mildly, misleading. The recent revelation that News Corp., parent company of Fox News, donated $1 Million to the Republican Governors Association further raised eyebrows about Fox’s ability to fairly report the news. Other media outlets also struggle to uphold their journalistic integrity. The New York Times, once the bastion of this country’s newspapers, has committed a series of gaffes in recent years. One startling example was how their editorial department handled the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case. The young men were assumed guilty, and their side of the story was ignored.

In many ways, it feels like the media has returned to the days of yellow journalism in the early 20th century. They allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians, celebrities and dozens of PR firms. I just wonder whether there are any journalists that have the guts to go for the truth. We sure do need it.

In the case of the 2006 Duke lacrosse team, then district attorney Mike Nifong used the media extensively to lambaste the team. He eventually charged three players with a crime. National news publications, most notably The New York Times, took a pro-prosecution slant before any of the actual facts came out. Talking heads like Nancy Grace also piled on. When the charges were eventually dropped, there was only grudging admissions of a rush to judgment. It’s not a stretch to see how the media helped shape the public’s view of the three defendants.

What all this says to me is even the most reputable news sources make editorial mistakes regarding the slant of their coverage. It is only exacerbated when there is a refusal to recognize and own up to a mistake. Our free press is one of greatest treasures as a nation. However, it can be our ruin if those in charge don’t present the news in a fair and even-handed way.