Yet, when it comes to public meetings, press conferences, or anywhere individuals in the audience might have something to say, some question to ask, the media’s audio equipment is from the dark ages. They don’t have the simplest cordless microphones or boom-mics used by talk and game show hosts or Hollywood grips, much less the super pick-up equipment that their owners make and could probably provide free of charge. How come???

Is this because they don’t believe that members of the audience can possibly have anything worthwhile to say? Anything that their own monitor readers can’t screen and relay more effectively, perhaps putting their own spin on the question. Or is it because the audience might be full of competitive reporters and journalists that might upstage the network’s performers and experts?

If you haven’t noticed this obvious lack of effective equipment before this, you can certainly witness it daily in the current media coverage from South Florida. Even during open forums where, under Florida’s Sunshine Law, citizens can observe and participate. Any sound from the audience is muffled or sounds like it’s coming from inside a windstorm. The audience has to carry signs to be heard.

And the media has other tricks. Just the other day, when the Miami/Dade County Board of Election Commissioners was holding one of its open meetings to decide whether to hand count, representatives or consultants from the two major parties were actually given a podium to address the board. And the media was there to cover it.

I forget whether it was CNN or Fox that I was watching, but the Democratic representative was given his full five minutes to tell everyone that a hand count was the only way to ensure the public’s right to vote and be certain our veterans didn’t fight and die for nothing. But when it was the Republican’s turn to take the stand, everything changed.

The Republican representative started out by reminding the board of some dirty trick the Democrats pulled at the last meeting. The demo objected, and the Chairman had to remind him that this wasn’t a court of law and any guest could say whatever they wanted so long as they didn’t curse.

Evidently, the network didn’t like this. They immediately went to commercial and never returned to the meeting. Instead, they brought us important shots of people trying to stare holes through IBM cards in Palm Beach. But remember, there’s no bias involved with network news coverage.

It was hours later that we heard about the Miami/Dade decision to go ahead with hand counts. A subject which, by the way, Al Gore told us days ago they were already conducting.

The longer South Florida’s drama continues, the more we see the details of our Fourth Estate at work. Pay attention, there are hundreds of examples of media bias and spin displayed for all to see. And still we debate the subjective element of people hand picking and mentally deciphering the intent of voters in selected counties.

We might as well spend our time listening to the Columbia School of Journalism lecture us on the quest for true objectivity in the students they’re grinding out. A religion that is only paid Sunday lip service in the real world.