All Biases Are Not Created Equal

Are Fox News and CNN two sides of the same coin?

This is not an idle question. Fox just cancelled its Democratic presidential debate because the top candidates (Clinton, Obama and Edwards) didn't see the percentage in letting themselves be interrogated on a pro-Republican network. (Fox claimed it was because of a "scheduling challenge," but then they also claimed Saddam had WMDs in the basement and Osama on speed-dial, right?)

Some have argued that Republicans ought to respond in kind by boycotting CNN's debates -- CNN being, in their view, as far to the left as Fox is to the right. I'd be interested to get your take on this.Here's mine: While CNN may be run mostly by liberals -- which by no means makes it unique -- it's not a liberal network in the same way that Fox is a conservative network.

It's a question of intent. Fox was started as a counterweight to the perceived biases of the "liberal media." CNN wasn't started as a counterweight to anything. Journalists striving for objectivity can and do police themselves -- not perfectly, but pretty successfully -- but give them permission to wear their biases on their sleeves and they'll do it.

For proof of the intent that still animates everything Fox does, you need look no further than the infamous directives issued by news chief John Moody, such as his memo claiming that "Iraqi insurgents must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled congress." For all the talk of Ted Turner and the "Clinton News Network," no one's ever produced an equivalent smoking gun for CNN.

Or am I just blinded by my own biases? What do you think?