I have always had a big problem with people who claim that “free” journalism (Public Radio and TV, that’s you!!!) is bias-proof because they are not being paid for by a corporate machine. From Michael J. Totten, an article by Nick Confessorre where he bitches (yes, that’s right you sad bastard) about Tech Central Station getting corporate money. Salient excerpt:

[I]t’s only human nature to put more trust in the arguments of seemingly independent observers than those of paid agents of an interested party. And that’s why a journalist willing to launder the arguments of corporations and trade groups would be so valuable. A given argument, coming from such a journalist, would have more impact than precisely the same case articulated by a corporate lobbyist.

Michael’s reply:

Any suggestion, implicit or otherwise, that TCS articles are vetted by its corporate sponsors is silly. None of my articles have had anything to do with any TCS sponsors in the first place, but that’s not true of every piece published there. Daniel Drezner says one of his articles directly contradicts the agenda of a TCS sponsor.

I know there is a logical fallacy somewhere here. If not, I know there is a huge insult here, to assume, first of all that a person’s opinion columns must reflect what a media company’s corporate sponsor believes. I know it exists to some extent, with selection of content, and by being attuned to the needs of its readers. Why else would Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd have such blatantly terrible (and occasionally false) columns on The NYT anyway?

If Nick’s contention is that TCS’s columnists are “bought,” then I would contend that the content being shown on NPR and PBS TV are just as bought by donations of people, that their content is decided by their audience in as much as they may choose to no longer donate if they don’t like the programming.

Does this ensure “integrity?” I do not think so. I do not know if the character of NPR programming nationwide is as Leftist as that of what I hear on WETA, Washington, D.C.’s NPR station. If you counterpoint what you think is “extreme right-winging news” with the same degree of Leftist opinion, I do not think that is balance at all. What I believe to be balanced opinion is to first of all admit one’s bias towards a particular position, and then to present, and refute as necessary, opposing points on their merits. I do not hear that on NPR, which is why, in the redistributionist spirit of PBS, I will continue to freeload off of the cultural gems that public broadcasting turns out from time to time. Between those, I’d rather switch to a LiteFM station when talking heads come on in their waves.

UPDATE: It seems this was the issue du jour in the sphere among the libertarian crowd; I totally missed it. Late to the fire once again, woo hoo.