"Why Can't Foreign Lefties Learn to Be Objective Like Us?"

"Why Can't Foreign Lefties Learn to Be Objective Like Us?" by Christian Christensen has some excellent insights into the state of journalism in the Western world today and is highly recommended. Here's a snippet:

"Let's couple this with a quick look at some of the objective news people who sit on the board of Tribune Company:

• Enrique (Rick) Hernandez, Jr: Chairman and chief executive officer of Inter-Con Security Systems Inc.; on the board of McDonald's Corporation, Nordstrom Inc. and Wells Fargo & Company.
  
• Betsy D. Holden: President of global marketing and category development at Kraft Foods, Inc. from January 2004 through June 2005; co-CEO at Kraft from 2001 to 2003; president and CEO of Kraft Foods North America from 2000 to 2003; on the board of directors for Kraft Foods and Tupperware Corporation; on the Advisory Board of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and serves on the boards of the Grocery Manufacturers of America and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.
  
• Robert S. Morrison: Retired vice chairman of PepsiCo, Inc.; retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Quaker Oats Company; from 1994 to 1997 served as chief executive officer of Kraft, Inc.; serves as a director of Aon Corporation, 3M Company, Illinois Tool Works, Inc., the Economic Club of Chicago and the Grocery Manufacturers of America.
  
• William A. Osborn: Chairman and chief executive officer and a director of Northern Trust Corporation and its principal subsidiary, The Northern Trust Company; a director of Caterpillar, Inc., Nicor, Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
  

"In sum, while owning 26 major-market television stations that reach 80 percent of U.S. television households, and newspapers that are read by 9.3 million people on weekdays and 12.5 million on Sundays, the Tribune Company also has board members who work (in various capacities) for McDonald's, PepsiCo, Kraft, 3M, Nordstrom, Wells Fargo, Quaker Oats, and the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA). The GMA, by the way, is the lobbying arm of the retail food industry ..."