To answer the question in the title: a lot and not just at the national and international level. The paring down of the press corps and the buying of news outlets by conglomerates has meant that there's definitely a bias not only rightward but also against in-depth reporting.
This is no more evident than at the local level. They've decimated local reporting, so much so that the freelancers (a problem in and of itself because they won't get paid at all if editors don't like their work) who cover local politics do minimal digging and don't provide context. As such, local politics is covered barely at all and poorly when it is. This means people don't know what's going on around them. Poorly informed citizens usually don't hold those in power accountable nor do they vote smart.
I live in Texas, one of the most poorly informed and voter suppressed states around. I've been trying to build a group of citizen journalists to cover the local school boards, city councils, and commissioner court within my county for a few years now. It's a very difficult job, especially as getting people to volunteer for what they think will be boring (sometimes it is but mostly it isn't) is a challenge. I then mash all the information together and write a weekly column summing it all up. I definitely have a bias as well but since I"m not a "real" reporter and we don't hear a lot of liberal bias in these parts, I think it's OK. People have to hear the opposing side. I would say I've been amazed by the lack of general political knowledge but, before 2017, I was just as ignorant. Since we can no longer count on the press to adequately do their job (especially at the local level), then we must step up.
So yes, we must hold the press accountable. But we also must work to change the conglomerate system so we're not fighting a war on multiple fronts.
To answer the question in the title: a lot and not just at the national and international level. The paring down of the press corps and the buying of news outlets by conglomerates has meant that there's definitely a bias not only rightward but also against in-depth reporting.
This is no more evident than at the local level. They've decimated local reporting, so much so that the freelancers (a problem in and of itself because they won't get paid at all if editors don't like their work) who cover local politics do minimal digging and don't provide context. As such, local politics is covered barely at all and poorly when it is. This means people don't know what's going on around them. Poorly informed citizens usually don't hold those in power accountable nor do they vote smart.
I live in Texas, one of the most poorly informed and voter suppressed states around. I've been trying to build a group of citizen journalists to cover the local school boards, city councils, and commissioner court within my county for a few years now. It's a very difficult job, especially as getting people to volunteer for what they think will be boring (sometimes it is but mostly it isn't) is a challenge. I then mash all the information together and write a weekly column summing it all up. I definitely have a bias as well but since I"m not a "real" reporter and we don't hear a lot of liberal bias in these parts, I think it's OK. People have to hear the opposing side. I would say I've been amazed by the lack of general political knowledge but, before 2017, I was just as ignorant. Since we can no longer count on the press to adequately do their job (especially at the local level), then we must step up.
So yes, we must hold the press accountable. But we also must work to change the conglomerate system so we're not fighting a war on multiple fronts.