Believing The Media

Here is a vivid example of how the media distorts the news. From OpinionJournal:

Are There Two Different Fort Bennings?

"Bush Cheered at Fort Benning: FORT BENNING, Ga.--President Bush, surrounded on Thursday by cheering soldiers in camouflage, defended his decision to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq and cautioned that the buildup will not produce quick results. 'It's going to take awhile,' he said."--headline and lead paragraph, Associated Press, Jan. 11

"Bush Speaks and Base Is Subdued: FORT BENNING, Ga., Jan. 11--President Bush came to this Georgia military base looking for a friendly audience to sell his new Iraq strategy. But his lunchtime talk received a restrained response from soldiers who clapped politely but showed little of the wild enthusiasm that they ordinarily shower on the commander in chief."--New York Times, Jan. 12

OK, so which was it? Did the troops cheer, or just clap politely? I have no idea - I wasn't there. The news media is supposed to give us the facts without imposing their own ideological opinions. They don't do so. They got away with this bias for generations, but thanks to competition from bloggers and other alternative media, they are finally getting caught.