Morning Joe Questions Media Objectivity

Joe Scarborough surprised many of us by taking Don Imus's spot early in the mornings on MSNBC. It was a surprise because Joe is very conservative for a network rapidly becoming known for its liberal bias. On today's show, Joe Scarborough pointed out how the NBC newsroom broke out in "boos" when President Bush delivered the State of the Union Address in 2003. He discussed such with a managing editor and it never happened again.

He brought this up after a Seattle newspaper editor criticized colleagues for breaking out in applause when Karl Rove announced his resignation last week. View his comments as they appeared today.

Scarborough comment raises an important point -- the blatant bias that exists in media today. Joe is noted as a conservative, which is fine in my opinion. Does this mean that he and I are hypocrites? I don't think so. There are, in fact, more than one aspects to the news. There is "hard news," which should be "just the facts." That is the approach that should be burdened on every news person in news delivery.

There is also the editorial department. The Joe Scarboroughs and Bill O'Reillys who clearly have an axe to grind. Editorial can be biased, as long as they make it clear they have their own agenda. My concern and the concern of Scarborough and others are those who ostensibly come across as objective, but clearly are not. When a newsroom of reporters feel they can comfortably attack someone because he (or she) is conservative, indicates a culture that has clearly lost sight of what "objective" means. Scarborough, and the rest of us, have legitimate reason for concern.