John Leo's syndicated column in today's Albuquerque Journal suggests that John Kerry was wrong in saying that he crossed into Cambodia in 1968. But it's really a media story - Leo spends a lot of time on how the "major" media and "conservative media" are dealing with the Cambodia story. His underlying assumption is that the "major" media is (are?) liberal.
I remember when that was mostly true, in the 60s, even the 70s. Neither the civil rights revolution nor youth culture posed any threat to the corporate owners of the networks and big newspapers, broadcasters ran broadcasting and they gave the reporters (most of them idealists) a long leash
But that was then. Today, the corporate interest gets a new definition. First, because the networks are mammoth, secondly because they are in other businesses, thirdly because they are not run by broadcasters. Result: three out of four are risk-averse. (The fourth is, of course, allied with the White House.)
Also, the nation is split, no moral issue like civil rights unites us and younger newspeople tend to be careerists.
For these and other reasons, the "major media" today are another kind of creature. It makes no sense to talk of them in political terms.
Until, that is, we consider how radio is dominated by right-wingers.
Maybe...no, let's leave it at this - broadcasting is another kind of creature.