Uganda, Feb. 23 -- We often hear from news subjects accusations of "media bias" either in relation to a particular story or in general reporting about an event or series of events. The media's response is usually to dismiss such accusations as diversionary.

Both are right. Yes, the media is sometimes quite biased in its coverage just as news subjects sometimes also seek to evade accountability by deflecting issues correctly written about them.

Last week, a regular reader of this column called to ask if I had ever written about the subject of media bias and if not, could I do so. Now this is a very expansive subject to explain in a few hundred words. I shall attempt, touching the salient points.

Well, media bias usually occurs through t...