Those of you who think journalists are too ‘liberal’ or too ‘conservative’ are not likely to change your mind by what I write, but the question of ‘liberal’ bias in the media is one I get constantly.

It may not hold totally true here in Charlotte or in much of the South, but yes, I would agree that most journalists in their political beliefs lean more to the liberal side.

I don’t know the percentage of doctors, teachers, insurance salesman, race car drivers, musicians or engineers who are liberal and I don’t care.

My only concern is that a doctor knows what he is doing, an insurance salesman knows his product, a musician is talented and an engineer designs something that won’t fall apart.

I don’t think the political beliefs of people in those professions affect the way they do their job and I feel the same way about most journalists.

For me, the question has never been ‘is a reporter liberal or conservative?’ but ‘is the ‘reporter good at what he or she does?’ And what he or she does, or should do, is report. And report with objectivity and without bias.

Certainly, some reporters have allowed their political bias to slip in, but I would argue that percentage is very small and much of the public’s perception of widespread bias is colored by their own biases, whatever they may be.

It used to be that at 6 o’clock every night, local and network anchormen would tell you how the world was today: how many accidents, how many fires, how many battles, how many passed bills and how many forgettable phrases were uttered by politicians.

However, that has changed in recent years it seems to me. Now, it seems, people don’t want you to tell them how the world was today, they want you to confirm for them how they think the world is. And if your telling doesn’t match their belief then you are a biased ‘liberal’ or a biased ‘conservative.’

By and large, reporters want the same thing out of their jobs that you want out of yours: recognition of their peers, the chance for advancement, a bigger paycheck, praise from the boss and a satisfying career. In a profession built upon objectivity, bias that shows up in reporting is likely to sidetrack a career, not enhance it.

The subject of bias in the media is a hot button issue and I’ve only touched on it here. There is a great deal more to be said and in the future I’ll say it.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Actually, I should say books. The baseball season is less than a month old and I think the following three books are must reads for a die-hard baseball fan:

‘Ball Four’ by Jim Bouton, published in 1970.

This is Bouton’s hilarious re-telling of his 1969 season while pitching for Seattle and Houston. He takes readers inside the dugout and the clubhouse and while he was criticized by many in the baseball establishment for telling tales out of school, it is the best book ever written about how things really are: the silliness, the laughter, the prejudice and the poignancy of a sport that grabs many when they are young and sometimes never lets go. A baseball fan who has not read it has missed much.

‘The Glory of Their Times’ by Lawrence Ritter, published in 1966.

Ritter talked with players who played major league baseball in the teens, the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. It was a time when baseball was far and away the number one sport and the book evoked a different era, long before artificial turf, big salaries and the designated hitter. For a look at how the game was so many years ago, it can’t be beat.

‘The Boys of Summer’ by Roger Kahn, published in 1969.

Kahn revisited members of the great Dodger teams of the 50’s, doing so with fond remembrance, a sharp eye for detail and a poignancy about life that has seldom been matched in any book, let alone one centered on baseball. His word portraits of Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Carl Erskine and others make it a classic, not just of baseball writing, but writing in general. I’ve read it many times and can’t recommend it highly enough.