In the discussions of media institutions, I think that the political stance of companies reflect the guidelines and the content of story writing. As anyone who consumes media can see, there is a substantial difference in reporting styles in context of institutions. For example, Australian media institutions of Fairfax and News Corporation are widely differentiated by their individual guidelines. To some extent, these guidelines are based own the companies political stance.
Since journalism centrals around the idea of offering information with an unbiased stance, media watchdogs such as Crikey.com and ABC’s media watch offers a critical eye over a range of media consumption. This would include television, radio, print and online reporting.
As institutions are responsible for their own guidelines in reporting, its inevitable that there would be a difference in the independent reporting from journalists. However, traditionally- journalism is used to provide unbiased information to the public regarding stories that affect them and their community, especially in regards to politics. This is because it would be viewed unethical for journalists and institutions to persuaded the audience to support their political ideas for their own gain.
Journalism is used in extreme ways for political propaganda in political situations such as the former Soviet Union (one would argue that the Russian media continues to do this in the 21st century) and other communist nations such as North Korea. However, Western societies are not immune to this; as it can be seen during the coverage of political elections. A recent examples of this includes the Australian federal election in 2013, where the Labor party was consistently attacked by the media, particularly the more conservative News Corporation publications. Although, this can also been seen around the world, such as America and their more conservative publications promoting the beliefs and stance of the Republican party.
As it is accepted that media has, indeed, some effect over audiences- media institutions have a responsibility for audiences to discover their own political beliefs.