The media's real bias

In Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle, political writer and former Washington D.C. bureau chief Marc Sandalow dissects the "10 Myths of Washington." He questions beliefs that the United States is broke, bitterly divided or that Washington worked better in the "good old days."

He also looks at the view that the media has a liberal bias:

"Yes," Sandalow acknowledges, "Ninety percent of the reporters I've known are Democrats."

However, he continues, "Ninety-nine percent firmly embrace existing norms and institutions, which by definition makes them conservative. Skip the editorials and read the news pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and I'd challenge anyone to identify ideological differences."

He contends that the "real problem with the media" is a "bias toward conflict."

Yes, conflict.

"Conflict--whether it's an election, a World Series or negotiations over the debt ceiling--makes for a good story, goes on the front page and leads the TV news," he says. "Read and watch TV, and you get the one-sided impression that the world--certainly Washington--is defined by conflict."

Isn't that the truth?