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My sister and brother-in-law are both well-placed at The Seattle Times. Both are liberal, as are virtually all of their co-workers and reporters. (However, there are some moderate conservatives on the editorial board, which somewhat softens the liberalism of the editorial page and makes the paper less liberal than the Seattle P.I. But the news staff are TOTALLY liberal, and it shows in the news selection, top story selection, headlines, etc.)

I would say that these people are generally well-intentioned, but that there is an arrogance and elitism that they are scarcely aware of and would vigorously deny. They truly think they are objective and resent allegations of "liberal bias," which they regard as a tired canard. But I think they assume "liberal bias" means willfull, conscious intent to manipulate the news for partisan purposes, whereas that is not how I use the term. I think it is more often an instinct, a powerful set of beliefs, themes, and filters that dictate which stories are emphasized and which are not.

When you see a media feeding-frenzy, it is because a story has tapped into and resonates with one of the dominent themes of the media; in such circumstances, even a trivial story (e.g., the RATS story alleging Republican subliminal messages during the 2000 campaign) can get major play. What are some of the major media themes? A partial list:

Republicans play dirty politics.
war = quagmire (especially under a Republican president)
Conservative Christians are pre-fascists.
Corporations are corrupt.
Gays are good, better than the average person.
Christians are sexually repressed.
Conservatives are stupid.

I appreciate your insights. Your assrtion that the media sees "Republican lead wars" as inherently bad particularly resonates in this day and age. Does anyone believe that the media would not have reported Iraq differently if Al Gore had been the Commander-in-Chief (I know, I know, Al Gore would still be at the UN demanding another resolution in real life---but let's pretend).