Coming out of the news closet

If you pick up a newspaper in the U.K., chances are you'll know beforehand where that newspaper's politics lie: the Guardian is unabashedly on the Left, the Times of London more on the political Right (or what passes for the Right in ultra-PC modern Western Europe), and the Telegraph somewhere in between. And they make no bones about it; the politics of each are clear and acknowledged.

American news media, however, refuse to acknowledge their own political biases. Instead they play a little game of "don't ask, don't tell," vociferously protesting any accusation that they have any slant to their news at all. Of course even an occasional reader of the New York Times will be all but bopped in the face by the Times' clear leftward tilt, but the Times itself bristles at any suggestion of anything but lily-white neutrality. Likewise with CBS News, AP, and our other major news media.

I think the Brits have it right -- better to acknowledge one's biases than to pretend they don't exist. So instead of trying to reform our news media to be less biased, perhaps we should just encourage them to come out of the closet and admit their political proclivities. It's worked for others, why not the American media?