If you've ever wondered why local television news is so often so bad, the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) has the answer. PEJ surveyed local news directors and rated local television news in 14 cities. The first of a number of very troubling findings -- 53 percent of the news directors "reported advertisers try to tell them what to air and not to air and they say the problem is growing." The pressure to do puff pieces is constant and routine.

"Proving that irony is alive and well post-Sept. 11," observe Steve Rendall and Peter Hart, "a book deriding the national press corps for its flagrant liberal bias has been the subject of enormous attention in the same mainstream media that, the book argues, suppress conservative views." In their critical review of Bernard Goldberg's book, Bias, they note that "right-wing media watchdogs ...

James S. Kunen works in corporate communications and muses on Enron's 'Visions and Values' statement. Kunen notes that "a statement of Vision and Values, setting forth lofty goals and bedrock beliefs, is an absolute must for the modern corporation. The "V&V," as it's called, pleases investors and customers ... and supports employee morale by reminding one and all that the company strives to do good, not just do well. ...