For the past couple of years the media has been the subject of a great deal of criticism. Conservative politicians, columnists and radio talk show hosts have made a habit of pouring derision upon the “liberal media.”

A reference by Cal Thomas to “the big guys in the liberal media” is typical. Oliver North, now a radio talk show host, has even gone so far as to claim that the media is part of a leftist conspiracy.

It is not surprising that the rhetoric of these media critics contains a half-truth.

The charge that the “liberal media” is deserving of criticism is certainly true. In fact, it deserves a great deal more than it gets. That the media possesses a liberal bias, however, could hardly be more false.

A quick look at the Parks Library database of articles printed in the Des Moines Register reveals just how hard the “liberal media” is working to ensure that conservative goals are accomplished.

Let us start by considering how the Des Moines Register has covered the labor dispute between the UPIU Local 7837 and A.E. Staley in Decatur in Illinois. Some background is probably required since the media has been so deficient in its reporting of this story.

On June 27, 1993 A.E. Staley in Decatur locked 760 workers out of their jobs after nearly one year of failed contract negotiations.

To put the matter simply, Staley was demanding (and is still demanding) that workers make concessions even though huge profits were already being made by the company. Staley then proceeded to hire replacement workers. Today, over two years later, hundreds of families are still suffering under the lock out.

How many times was this brought to the attention of the Iowans in the Des Moines Register? From June 28, 1993 until June 28, 1995 the existence of this situation was mentioned in only four articles.

Let us consider another story which the Des Moines Register seems to consider much more worthy of newsprint: the trial of O.J. Simpson. It does not seem necessary to provide any background information. The “liberal media” has already pounded it into your skulls.

Between June 13, 1994 and June 28, 1995 a total of nearly six hundred articles mentioning O.J. Simpson were printed in the Des Moines Register. Nearly six hundred!

It should be acknowledged that a number of these were merely asides in fluff columns. Still, the enormous amount indicates just how persuasive coverage has been, and a significant proportion of this total number were more than mere asides.

Perhaps even more telling is the fact that O.J. Simpson was mentioned at least eight times during the period beginning June 28, 1993 and ending June 13, 1994.

This means that even before his ex-wife was murdered O.J. Simpson was mentioned twice as often as the situation in Decatur, in half the amount of time.

Information on the labor dispute has been printed in the Des Moines Register. So what? Does it matter that it has been brought to the attention of readers a total of four times in over seven hundred daily editions, when O.J. Simpson has been mentioned in almost six hundred articles in less than four hundred editions?

The “liberal media” is sending a message which is not very liberal: the voyeuristic drama of a celebrity’s trial is more important than the welfare of seven hundred workers and their families.

Noam Chomsky could not be more correct when he claims that this type of inconsequential and uncritical media coverage causes the public to be “reduced to its traditional apathy and obedience” and “driven from the realm of political debate and action.”

The problem is not so much that the “liberal media” openly promotes conservative causes. The O.J. Simpson trial per se is not a conservative nor a liberal issue. The main point is that it is not an issue at all.

By extensively covering insignificant stories, the “liberal media” renders the public blind to problems which exist in our society.

As a result, the over privileged remain over privileged, the underprivileged remain underprivileged, and nothing changes. How remarkably instrumental the “liberal press” is at assisting conservatives in achieving their goals.

Tyler Wayne Roach is a senior in philosophy, English, and religious studies from Des Moines.