Steve Rhodes, media critic and Senior Editor, Chicago magazine

Some fear being labeled unpatriotic

“Yes. I think many news organizations have been afraid to be more challenging to the administration because they don’t want to seem unpatriotic. They have done the country a great disservice by not questioning the government on its actions after 9/11. The most patriotic thing a journalist can do is to do their job right and not be a cheerleader for whoever is in office in Washington.”

Craig Aaron, Managing Editor, In These Times

Flag images hinted at bias

“I think we saw some of that in the immediate wake of the attacks. We saw it more on TV, where reporters went out of their way to show they were wearing American flags. The Chicago Sun-Times was putting American flags in the paper, which to me seems not to be the purpose of the newspapers. If people want to have flags in their window, that’s fine with me, but a major news publication shouldn’t use that as a way of going about covering a story that affects our nation.”

Laura Washington, Chicago Sun-Times columnist and Publisher Emerita, Chicago Reporter

Some reporters are afraid to criticize Bush

“I think there are some people in the media who are afraid of criticizing President Bush and his administration on the way they’ve handled the war on terrorism because they’re afraid they’ll appear to be unpatriotic. I think most people do, and because of that, they are afraid to speak out.”

John Cruickshank, Vice President of Editorial, Chicago Sun-Times

Journalists are under pressure to be unified

“I think there may be pressure on journalists, just as there is pressure on politicians, to be unified. Just as you see politicians divided on issues, you see journalists keeping a distance from politicians and any pressures from them to mediate the truth.”

Gerardo Cardenas, Exito! reporter

Be wary of generalizations

“I wouldn’t make a generalization. Media outlets like the New York Times haven’t changed. I think they have been more critical of the actions of the Bush administration. If you see the news networks like CNN, they've become more biased, and have become more conservative in their views, especially on the talk shows. Each media outlet is different, depending on the market they are in. If the market is more conservative, that is going to be their angle. I wouldn’t generalize.”