In looking at the media, it quickly becomes apparent that it seems to have some type of preference towards Obama.  This is evident on the Chicago Tribune website.  If you click on politics/election, you will find links to both a page for Obama and for McCain.  On Obama's page there are stories on how he promoting unity and change.  There was even a piece on how he visited his ailing grandmother.  When you look at McCain's page, the stories are strictly political.  In fact, a handful of the pieces are more focused on Obama than McCain.  It seems to me that the media has been doing a great deal of work to paint Obama as the family man while painting McCain as a hard political machine.

Along with this, the media coverage of Sarah Palin is anything but flattering.  Her recent Newsweek cover did not undergo retouching, something that is common practice in the media.  The Republican party spoke out against this picture, saying that it emphasized her "wrinkles, blemishes, pores, and facial hair".  I have to agree with the Republican party, here.  I believe that this was a calculated move to emphasize her age and along with that, remind the readers that her running mate is just as old.

I understand that people will always choose sides in an election, but that is not the media's role.  The media is supposed to be objective and I do not believe that their current actions support this.