An objective test for news bias

The Daily Herald’s Opinion page editor, Jim Slusher, recently wrote a column defending his paper against readers’ accusations of media bias. Like others, I feel that his claim, that the paper doesn’t shade stories and opinion columns with a liberal slant, is disingenuous and self-serving. But I do agree with Mr. Slusher’s point that bias is in the eye of the beholder.

So here’s an objective way to judge bias: Since most of the national stories that the Herald prints are written by news services such as The Associated Press, how does the Herald’s editing compare to versions of the same story printed in other papers? We receive two papers in our household, and the differences can be amusing — with other local papers often printing the full AP article, and the Herald trimming the story in ways that remove context or dissenting opinions. I’d advise readers to try the same test — perhaps you’ll reach a different conclusion than I did, but at least you’ll be objective.

A specific example to start with: Reuters published a lengthy story about George Zimmerman’s multiethnic background, his charity work, the rash of burglaries in his neighborhood, and advice from local police that he purchase a gun to defend against a neighbor’s pit bull. The Chicago Tribune had the full story on its website.

In contrast, the most recent related headline on the Herald site declared, “Police chief in Trayvon Martin case remains under scrutiny.” I predict that the Herald will continue to shade this tragic story one way. Let’s see if I’m wrong.

Burt Leiman

Rolling Meadows