Masking media bias

Bias in television news is blatantly obvious. During the coverage leading up to the election, it was possible to tell whether or not a newscaster was an Obama or a McCain supporter based on their body language, tone and comments. At this point, most U.S. citizens feel that the news is biased, so why do networks go to such great lengths to deny it?

Most people are familiar with Bill O'Reilly's so-called "No-Spin Zone." Unfortunately, the information that is delivered during the hour-long program is full of nothing but spin -- essentially transforming news into right-wing propaganda.

More recently, CNN has added the new show "No Bias, No Bull" hosted by Campbell Brown. While one could argue that this show is less one-sided than "The O'Reilly Factor," CNN is still well-known as a "liberal" network. It is apparent that the show's claim of being bias-free is, in fact, bull.

The act of simply labeling news unbiased in no way guarantees accurate news. So why do these networks make this feeble attempt to mask bias? Why do they go out of their way to make these claims when they make little to no attempt to hide bias in their news stories and reporting?