The cherished myth that the media are independent, balanced, value free and have no point of view is crumbling. Noam Chomsky, Michael Parenti and others have documented that the media are not objective but rather promote certain biases. Media economics have been transformed. Local small town newspapers are now owned by large corporations. TV and radio stations are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. As a result media, ratherthan challenging the status quo, have become stenographers to power.

Martin Lee
Martin Lee is co-founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), a New York-based media watch organization, and an award-winning journalist and author. He is co-author of Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media. He has investigated the CIA and its drug experiments. His classic book on the topic is Acid Dreams.