There has been accusations of media bias as far back as when mass media began in its earliest forms. According to Wikipedia.org, in the United States there were accusations of media bias back in the 1700s. In 1798, Congress is reported to have outlawed any outright criticism of the government, but that was reversed in 1801.
However, it appears that now at least the perception of media bias has reached a point that it has damaged media credibility more than at any time in the past.
In 2011, Gallup Polls indicated that most Americans do not have confidence in mass media and its ability to report the news fairly. A 60 percent majority reported bias, with 47 percent saying the slant was liberal and 13 percent saying it was conservative. Only about 36 percent of the public indicated that they believed the media reported the news fairly. According to Gallup, since 2002 more Americans think the bias is liberal than conservative.
Do you personally trust the media to give you the news without any bias, either liberal or conservative? What bias do you perceived in the news reporting you see - either liberal or conservative?
Objective journalism died when the huge companies came along and started buying up the news outlets and larger circulating newspaper companies. I hold little to no respect for any journalist these days because it's only about the amount of advertisements that they can bring in for these news corporations. Everybody has a slant. The problem is the slant in media has become so extreme the news outlets have alienated huge portions of demographics to satisfy their own egos.
Yes, MSNBC has a decidedly liberal slant in their opinion programming but their news shows are much more balanced. And there are some bright spots there. Chris Hayes weekend show UP is the best political talk on TV and Maddow's reporting is always solid.
What's even worse than the political slant of some outlets is the devotion to "narrative" over facts at others. At least with Fox News and MSNBC, you know you're getting right-leaning or left-leaning reporting and can consider its value accordingly. Too many news outlets now don't necessarily have a political bias, but skew their reporting to fit the narrative they think is most interesting. Case in point: The "Al Gore is a serial exaggerator" meme from the 2000 election. News outlets reported that Gore had said things that he provably did not say, and twisted or misquoted things he did, to make it seem like he regularly exaggerated or fabricated things to make himself look better. Was that true? Not in the least. But the media thought it was a good narrative, so they went with it. Without taking a position on whether Gore would have been a good president, it is entirely possible that the media's emphasis on narrative over substance cost him the election.
Conservatives will never let the facts get in the way of a good spin.
George Zimmerman isn't suing Fox News for doctoring his 911 call. You can kind of rest your case on that one.