>I was not trying to imply that journalists simply give up >but that they stop using the ideal of objectivity as a >smokescreen to disguise their bias or the bias of their >employer. This only creates an illusion of truth which is >then sent out to hundreds of thousands of people who accept >it as absolute. Few would dispute the apparent political agenda of the broadcast media, but I've come to believe less and less that it's deliberate. They don't use objectivity as a smokescreen; rather they mistake their assumptions for truth (What I feel to be true must be true). And I think there's an inherent political bias in the very nature of the medium -- TV news deals with short bursts of emotional imagery rather than rigorous extended debate -- thus the "liberal" leaning. As for Mencken's "booboisie," I suppose there'll always be those willing to eat what's dished out to them. That's not likely to change. kjf