Politicians and the media are natural enemies. When politicians turn the public against the media, everyone loses - especially unbiased and courageous news reporting. Worse, when traditional reporters and media are displaced, the pundits and alternative media take over.

These days the truth is hard to find. If the press is not believed--or believable--because politicians have turned the public against it, then the press is not free, and without a free press, there is no democracy. Includes behind the scenes stories about reporters and politicians in conflict, an objective look at the ongoing debate over liberal and conservative bias in the news media, an engaging story of the Internet's positive and negative impact on the reliable flow of information, and a media resource guide to the best sources of objective reporting.