I was in middle school when our English teacher asked students where we find trustworthy news. I smugly suggested "non-biased" news publications and received a well-deserved dressing down. Didn't I know that every publication has biases? Every editorial decision—from story selection to sources to sentence structure—inevitably reflects the writer's preference or bias, he noted.
Point taken. I remembered that lesson when I pursued a journalism career. I've worked on news pages, but found opinion writing more freeing than trying to suppress my own point of view. The media have since changed dramatically, as the internet, social media, talk radio, and cable news have swamped Americans with alternative sources, thus bypassing traditional gatekeepers.
The new media environment seems more opinionated than ever, yet one old debate—dating to the Reagan administration—has come to the fore. That's the battle over federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Founded in 1967, it provides tax funds to NPR, PBS, and their member stations. Congress recently voted to slash that $1.1 billion (over two years), which will go into effect after Donald Trump signs the budget. He previously called for such cuts.
