Charges of media bias have never been louder than they are today. Both liberals and conservatives complain about slanted coverage of central events such as the war in Iraq and the presidential campaign. CBS was universally condemned in September for basing a report about President Bush on fake documents, but every major media outlet has come in for its share of criticism. The Fox News Channel and popular commentator Bill O'Reilly have been called little more than spokesmen for the Republican Party. And Fox, The Wall Street Journal and MSNBC have all come under fire recently for the perceived right-wing slant of their reporters and political commentators. With distrust so rampant, experts are asking whether the American public as a whole can ever agree about what constitutes the truth. In an era of polarized politics, if citizens can't even agree about what the facts are because they don't trust major sources of information, it is that much more unlikely that the populace will be able reach consensus on the major issues of the day.

Alan Greenblatt has been writing about politics and government in Washington and the states for nearly two decades. As a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, he won the National Press Club’s Sandy Hume award for political journalism. While on staff at Governing magazine, he covered many issues of concern to state and local governments, such as budgets,taxes, and higher education. Along the way, he has written about politics and culture for numerous other outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR.org.