Monte Solberg, Conservative MP and blogger, offers a few thoughts on the sometimes testy relationship between journos and politicos while saying a few nice words about CTV's Joy Malbon, who has moved from Ottawa to CTV's Washington bureau.

An excerpt (I saw the link to Solberg's blog at Warrenkinsella.com):

We have an odd relationship with the media. We need each other, mostly respect each other, and often get along well on a personal basis, but there are rules.

The most important rule is that we both have jobs to do, and that means the media, given an opportunity, will report unflattering things about us, friends or not.

I actually don't begrudge them that. Its their job. The real problem is when they bring an undeclared bias to a story and don't struggle to portray both sides of an issue fairly.

When they do we let them know that we think their straying off the center line, as do the other parties. And so sometimes there's also tension, and some MPs won't speak to some reporters.

But the media also hold politicians accountable for their actions, which is good. And now bloggers hold the media and each other to account, which is also good.

All of this is a long tortured way of saying that the system works, warts and all, and blogs and alternative media make it even better.

I'm not a full-time political reporter -- that would be my colleague David Akin.

While I've never met Mr. Solberg, who represents the southeast Alberta riding of Medicine Hat, he projects as a decent guy, so I'll accept his post as sincere.

But I think if you asked him if some of his colleagues not only want fair, accurate reporting, that they want the bias to tilt their way, I suspect he might grudgingly agree. :)

A classic moment was on the old CBC TV show Undercurrents, hosted by Wendy Mesley.

One segment was done in Alberta in the mid to late 1990s, when the Klein Revolution was taking wing.

(It could have easily been the Decore Revolution too. In the 1993 provincial election, now-deceased provincial Liberal leader Laurence Decore was promising "brutal" cuts, while still-relatively-new Tory leader and Premier Ralph Klein was promising "massive" ones. I love the politics of my old home province!)

The reporter asked Klein, who was dissing the media, if anyone was doing a good job writing on his government. "Neil's good," he said offhandedly, although the perceptive viewer might have noticed a slight wink.

"Neil" is Neil Waugh, who was (may still be, for all I know) a political columnist for the Edmonton Sun newspaper. When it came to the principles of the Klein Revolution (cut spending, cut taxes), Waugh was more Catholic than the Pope.

In contrast, those writing for the Edmonton Journal at that time -- columnists like Linda Goyette and Mark Lisac (author of The Klein Revolution; I quote briefly from his new book, Alberta Politics Uncovered, in Oh Really, Ralph?) -- were nicknamed Southamistas.

And Ralph's old "brain," Rod Love (who has returned!) reportedly had no problem tearing a strip off any reporter who wasn't being "fair and balanced" -- er, from his perspective. :)

That being said, when I worked for the Regina Leader-Post, on the two times in about eight years where a politician really ripped me over a story, in both cases for getting something they said wrong, I deserved it.

But if I didn't get ripped for bias on a constant basis, it's because I didn't deserve it (which is actually to the credit of the politicians). I have my own ideas on how the world works, but I try to check them at the door when I put on my reporter's hat for the day.

If you're a journalist working as a reporter for a mainstream news organization, covering the issues of the day, you owe it to your audience (and those you cover) to write articles that are fair, accurate, complete and in context.

I would share Solberg's concern about reporters who have an undeclared bias and who bring hidden agendas to their work.

Mind you, being fair-minded should not prevent you from being tough-minded when the situation calls for it.

When I was giving a talk about covering the courts to a group of University of Regina journalism students, at one point, one of them said to me, "You make it sound as though you think the judge made a mistake." In point of fact, I did think the judge made a mistake. "Well, that's not objective."

Oh dear. That's not a sophisticated understanding of objectivity.

As I see it, politicians are in sales. They want to sell a program or an idea to citizens, who then "pays" them with support. Journalists, be they reporters or opinion writers, should help ensure the citizenry is as informed as possible before they make their choices.

If that means doing a little tire-kicking and looking under the hood on their behalf, so be it. :)