Funmurphys: the Blog

Media Bias in Action

The debate over embryonic stem cell research came up in the Talent/Carnahan debate the other night. Just to get it out, I'm against abortion except to save the life of the mother and against destroying embryo's for research because I believe what starts at conception is a human being and thus worth protection; the only objection I have to reproductive cloning is that it currently represents non-consensual experimentation on a human. Anyway, what I'm trying to point out is how on the one hand, the media is all up in arms about how troglodyte pro-lifers are blocking embryonic stem cell research while far more sympathetic to efforts by a different group blocking the use of genetically modified foods. And yet on the one hand you have a principled objection about killing people (whether you agree or not, that's the objection) over research that would work better with adult stem cells both ethically and medically and which while promising hasn't actually moved beyond research, and on the other you a great deal of respect for an objection based on fear of technology over use of something that would have an immediate and obvious impact on reducing starvation and improving people's health through better diet. And that tells me where the sympathies of the people in the media are, and how important is to have diversity of opinion in the media to combat bias; relying on a near uniformly biased group to self-control their way to objectivity just doesn't work. Far better to have multiple sources provide multiple biases and viewpoints.