The Battle for Bias

We were looking for a counterpoint to "Jack Dunphy's" assertion in The Times earlier this week that the paper was biased against the LAPD and that it was particularly telling in their coverage of the Devin Brown shooting. Dunphy presents an interesting case but his own desire to be "fair and balanced" in his critique of the Times seems to do his point a disservice.

On the other hand, Media Matters pulls no punches when chastising Bill O'Reilly for his coverage of the same incident. Rather than merely show bias, Media Matters asserts that O'Reilly out and out lies when he presents statements about single parent homes and changes to policy in the LAPD in the aftermath.

But that's besides the point. What really interested us was the revelation by Media Matters (and the US Census Bureau) that, of the five major metropolitan American cities, Los Angeles ranks fourth in single parent homes. New York City, Chicago, and Philly all have a higher percentage of families with only a mom or a dad and New York City has well over twice as many in number.

We're Number 4! We're number 4! Take that O'Reilly!