[aquila48]

“I agree with you that much of the media is pro-Obama biased in the US, but it is not state-owned, like in Russia. The bias here is a voluntary one based on shared liberal values.”

A distinction without a difference... in results.

It may be the case that in the US, the liberal politicians are “owned” by the media and the elites that run it.

[elhombrelibre]

No, it's a real distinction. If a consensus exists among the US population or the news media, and that consensus is freely arrived at, it's not the same as a top down driven news reporting. Most of the US news media was against Hitler. Were they only against him because they were forced to be so or did they share a common belief that NAZISM was a moral evil? I think we both know the answer.

Also, we do have opposing views in the US media. FOX NEWS is hated by liberals because it's not pro-Obama. That ought to count for something. Likewise, with print journalism we have many opposition outlets. If you're unaware of them and truly don't know this, I'll come back to the thread and name them. Just ask me.

As for Russia, Putin's got the market nearly totalitarian tight.