This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Last August, a Fox News poll asked respondents who they thought the media wanted to win the election: 61 percent said President Barack Obama; just 15 percent said Gov. Mitt Romney.

Media bias in fact-checking the recent conventions was striking. An exorbitant number of stories questioning the Republicans appeared versus limited questioning of the Democrats.

A recently released audio recording has reporters colluding on questions to ask Romney after his comments on the administration's statement about the violence in Egypt. The Daily Caller reported that the Justice Department has "collaborated with" the nonprofit liberal group Media Matters in trying to "quell news stories about scandals."

Bob Woodward's book, The Price of Politics, confirms that during the debt ceiling crisis, Obama and House Speaker John Boehner had a deal until Obama came back asking for $400 billion more in taxes. Yet the media continually blame Republicans for the standoff.

Obama's so busy campaigning that he's attended only 44 percent of intelligence briefings this year. Four Americans were murdered in a terrorist attack in Libya on the anniversary of 9/11. Obama campaigned in Vegas that same night, and the media don't question that decision?

Obama's priority is his re-election. So is the media's.

Sheila Thompson

Salt Lake City