There are two main Pittsburgh Newspapers. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Each of these papers has it's good and bad. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette leans to the left, the Tribune Review toward the right with a bit of a Libertarian slant. If these leanings were not true than why do these papers endorse candidates. Granted at times these endorsements cross party lines but that is an exception rather than the rule. It should be the responsibility of any media outlet to report on politics and not endorse candidates or take a partisan stance on the news. This however is not practical given human limitations and ego. I personally do not believe we will ever see true neutrality in reporting. The Pittsburgh newspapers I am discussing are just an example of the media in general in the United States, while the bias is a problem things could be worse. At least we know they are not government controlled.
These Pittsburgh newspapers the Post Gazette and Tribune review suffer from the same problems that most media outlets do. Unfortunately some people get there news from an even worse source. I prefer to refer to them as the windbags . These windbags are not journalists. For the most part I don’t believe they claim to be. Some people however use them as their source of news. This is not so much a problem in Pittsburgh Newspapers and other print media as the opinion and editorial section is clearly labeled. Be warned, sometimes these windbags do get print space in other parts of the paper though. Who are these windbags? It is not hard to spot them. These windbags generally do not try to hide their political opinions. They tend not to ever sway in their support of certain politicians even when faced with evidence of misdoings by said politicians. Most of these windbags are closed minded people not willing to truly see the other side of the argument. Windbags of one side will often battle opposing windbags in hopes of increasing ratings. Just a couple of examples are Keith Olbermann and Bill O’reilly. It is important to realize these windbags are not journalists. They are commentators. The so-called news they report has been totally spun before dissemination. The windbags are indeed fun to watch at times but are no more enlightening than The Jerry Springer Show. We do have windbags in Pittsburgh News papers, I’ll let you decide who they are.
There are some solutions to the problem of media bias in Pittsburgh Newspapers as well as any media outlet.
First you could not read the paper, not watch the news and be an uninformed citizen. This is not really a good solution and is not being a responsible citizen.
The other solution is to read both (sometimes there are more than two) sides of the story. In my opinion this is the perfect solution to an unavoidable problem. To become truly informed get out of your comfort zone. If you only get the news from a source who’s political leanings agree with yours, you will never really be informed. There are three sides to every story. Get the rights take on it, the lefts take on it, and you should find the truth somewhere in the middle.
I do not believe there is middle ground in any media that exists today. The thought of no bias in reporting is a bit of a pipe dream. It is the responsibility of journalists however to not let this bias actually jeopardize the dissemination of fact. To be properly informed especially on matters that may be political one should probably read both Pittsburgh newspapers, and come to a judgment decision or opinion based on the case presented by either side.
I realize that my take on the Pittsburgh newspapers may not be the same as everyone else’s. I guess that make me a commentator. The views that have been expressed are my opinions. I’m sure some may even call me a windbag. I just feel that it is the responsibility of every citizen to become informed especially in such an important election year. So the next time you pick up a newspaper in Pittsburgh why not pick up a copy of the Post Gazette as well as a copy of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
http://city-of-pittsburgh.net
About the Author:
N. Perri III writes freelance articles for various websites including city-of-pittsburgh.net. There you can read more aboutPittsburgh newspapers.
Pittsburgh Newspapers
