Wednesday, September 06, 2006

BLATANT MEDIA BIAS?

The News-Leader's editorial page editor, Tony Messenger, slammed the paper's report on a Labor Day visit by former Sen. John Edwards.

Messenger claimed the story "reads like an advertisement for the Democratic Party" and added:
There's no doubt that John Edwards appearance along with U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill at a Labor Day picnic is big news and ought to be on the front page on what is generally a slow news day. But to not get any sort of Republican response is a major mistake. No doubt, either a Jim Talent spokesman or Paul Sloca of the Republican Party would have had something to say. In fact, Sloca issued a news release the morning of the event.
This is what's wrong with the modern mainstream media mindset. When a big Dem comes to town, ring up the big Repubs and ask them what they think. Why? To give the other side a free punch. There is no other reason.

Does Messenger believe Sloca or Talent would actually have something constructive to say? Of course not. The same applies when national Republicans come to town and major Dems are contacted for comment. In their quest to be "fair," "balanced" and "unbiased," many modern media outlets have instead become predictable caricatures. It's a ridiculous practice that ought to stop.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the N-L could/should have done was a little reporting about the substance of what was said. My claim has been that the news media need to spend less time telling the story of politicians' experiences with politics (and the he-said/she-said nonsense that follows from it) and spend more time telling the story citizens' experiences of governance.

Anonymous said...

Andy, you have been living in the sheltered world of academia way too long. Quick he saids/she saids are easy stories to turn. In-depth analysis isn't. And when your staff is half of what it used to be, quick hits are all you're going to produce. But don't blame the reporters- they're embarrased enough. Blame the captain of the ship, the one who can't seem to retain much of his once-dedicated staff.

Anonymous said...

Sort of seems like the News-Leader had conservative editorials only in the last two Sunday on-line editions. I'm not sure, but I think you only got the liberal side of the argument if you actually bought the paper copy. But whatever.

Anonymous said...

Talent's side could have been heard...he could have attended the Labor Day picnic himself. But then, he might actually be asked by some rude person attending what he has done for organized labor and/or the working class of MO...so, maybe not.