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A new survey by Media Matters for America seeks to analyze the syndicated columns that appear in daily newspapers in the United States. It classifies columnists as conservative, liberal, and centrist, and then provides breakdowns for individual newspapers and states. It also lists which columnists appear in each newspaper regularly and which appear occasionally.

The conclusion can be found in the title: "Black and White and Re(a)d All Over: The Conservative Advantage in Syndicated Op-Ed Columns."

At least in raw numbers, that does not apply in Nevada, which seems at least on the surface to be fairly balanced. (The Times and other non-daily Nevada newspapers were not included in the survey.) The survey says Nevada dailies carry 23 liberal, 22 conservative, and six centrist columnists. It there's a liberal or conservative media conspiracy it is not immediately apparent in the numbers. At the same time, the raw numbers can, in some markets, be deceptive. Elko, for instance, has nothing like the balance suggested by the statewide figures. The Elko Daily Free Press publishes only conservatives -- Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and Thomas Sowell. On the other hand, Elko has fewer than 7,000 residents, so its influence is limited.

In a larger market, the Las Vegas Sun, which seems to carry more columnists than any other Nevada newspaper, has 25 columns. Two are conservative - David Brooks and George Will. Three are centrists -- David Shribman, David Broder, and Thomas Friedman. Ten are liberal - Paul Campos, E.J. Dionne, Maureen Dowd, Cragg Hines, Nicholas Kristof, Paul Krugman, Clarence Page, Martin Schram, Tom Teepen, and DeWayne Wickham. The newspaper also intermittently carries one conservative, three centrists, and six liberals.

The Las Vegas Review Journal carried only conservatives among its regulars at the time of the survey - Steve Chapman, James J. Kilpatrick, Charles Krauthammer, Rich Lowry, Kathleen Parker, Sowell, John Stossel, Jacob Sullum, Diana West, Walter Williams. Two liberals (Alexander Cockburn and Ellen Goodman) and two more conservatives (James Pinkerton and Robert Caldwell) make occasional appearances in the R/J.

Another reason to be careful with the raw numbers is that each columnist gets one listing for his or her appearance(s) in a state. That is, for example, James Kilpatrick appears in both the Review Journal and the Lahontan Valley News but is listed only once in the Nevada total. (The survey missed at least one daily that I know of - the Sparks Tribune, which recently dropped Ann Coulter as a columnist). In addition, I suspect that some people would question the assessments of certain columnists as conservative, centrist, and liberal (or, in the survey's weasel word, "progressive").

These kinds of surveys serve a purpose by quantifying information for us. But they cannot reflect issues of merit and quality. It's preposterous to equate a supposed liberal like Maureen Dowd with a liberal like Bob Herbert. Dowd is bewitched by the adroit use she can make of words, which is usually snide, shallow, and poorly researched. Herbert does serious reporting before he even starts writing columns that are eloquent rather than merely clever. It's easy to imagine Dowd employing her bloodless talent on behalf of conservatives. It's impossible to imagine the same of Herbert, whose passion is apparent.

Conservatives like George Will and James Kilpatrick are thoughtful, serious, well researched, and open to dialogue with those they oppose. Conservatives like Bill O'Reilly, John Stossel, and Anne Coulter vent their spleens all over their keyboards in often vicious language that casts their adversaries not merely as wrong but as evil. They are more likely to repel possible followers while Will and Kilpatrick are more likely to be persuasive and win over new coverts.

At any rate, classifying media as liberal or conservative is certainly a task of greater subtlety than just judging from our personal preferences.