Is there hope for the MSM (mainstream media) to preserve any sort of objectivity as election day approaches? Based on the events of the last 24 hours I think I concur with Jason the answer is becoming a resounding no. As Bomb Gate unfolds, the biases are becoming easier and easier to spot.
Despite the NBC reports discrediting the "news" dimension of this "breaking story," and a statement from 60 Minutes that they had planned to hold this recycled story until just before the election, all these angles have been set aside in today's New York Times, for an AP story that makes it sound like Bush and Kerry are just arguing back and forth and no one knows what really happened.
Hmmm. Do you think 60 Minutes relationship with the NYT has anything to do with this? HIGHLY unlikely.
I don't get quite as excited about the supposed withholding of a videotape of a new terrorist threat on America. It seems to me those are a dime a dozen, and source verification is important to separate hoaxes from hijackers. But I think ideology is trumping objectivity, and the public are the ones who are losing out.
Blogs can help mitigate this, but audience is everything, and the Seventh Age Nielsen Ratings don't match CNN or the NYT, yet.