The Albuquerque Journal, like many
publications and TV news operations, attempts to be balanced in their election coverage. Often an article about Bush will appear next to
an article about Kerry. In each article, the other side will get a paragraph or two for rebuttal. Balance is measured in number of words
(or seconds on the TV).
Look at the front page of today’s Albuquerque Journal:
front page
As you see for yourself, we have a huge, flattering picture of Bush above which he is quoted in a huge headline:
‘We’re Making Progress.’ Now, to balance this, on the same page, above the fold, we also have an article that might seem to be
about Kerry — at least his name is prominently in the headline: Kerry’s Visit Costs Drivers. Read the article to learn that it
has almost nothing to do with Kerry, though the headline does manage to convey something negative about him. This article barely deserves
to be in the A section; it is certainly not front-page news.
I’m not quite blaming the reporter, who could have written a more
interesting article if he extended his story to account for what all of these political visits cost everyone. It is the editor who choses
to put this trivial article on the front page and who writes the headline (‘Security Measures Cost Some Citizens More Than Others’ is
more accurate) — it’s the editors who control what you and I see and the impressions we take away from the news.
Fair and balanced?
Far from it. mjh
Monthly Archives: August 2004
Hell on Earth, Again
Now the sun has disappeared
All
is darkness, anger, pain and fear
Twisted, sightless wrecks of men
Go groping on their knees and cry in pain
And the sun has
disappeared
(Simon & Garfunkel)
‘Now trust us.’
New Mexico’s Bloggers
‘If we change ourselves, have they won?’
Washington and certain other cities are beginning to resemble occupied territories. … This raises the questions of whether we can hope to make ourselves “safe” – if by that we mean no more terror attacks – and if it is worth the price of transforming ourselves into an armed fortress. Changing America is a primary objective of the terrorists. If we change ourselves, have they won? …
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said: “We are fighting to preserve both security and freedom. We’re not going to accept the closing of the city.” The new restrictions were imposed by Congress without consulting D.C. leaders, according to Norton. Mayor Anthony Williams said at a news conference, “When in doubt, preserve freedom.” That may be increasingly difficult to do, depending on one’s definitions of “security” and “freedom.” …
As we ratchet up our defenses, we, however, must maintain a balance between our safety and our freedoms. We would do well to recall Benjamin Franklin’s warning: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Note that Calcified Cal Thomas, radical evangelical Christian and paleo-con deep-thinker, is saying what many others, including this atheist leftist have been saying: we are not reacting well to 9/11. I would go so far as to say that nearly every single step we have taken since 9/11 has been a misstep — we may have done nothing right. Certainly, the things we are doing wrong are colossal and the repercussions will resound for many years. mjh
Fear is the Power, Lies the Fuel
FactCheck.org Republican-funded Group Attacks Kerry’s War Record
Ad features vets who claim Kerry “lied” to get Vietnam medals. But one accuser quickly recants, and other witnesses disagree.
Summary
A group funded by the biggest Republican campaign donor in Texas began running an attack ad Aug. 5 in which former Swift Boat veterans claim Kerry lied to get one of his two decorations for bravery and two of his three purple hearts. However, one of the veterans who appears in the ad has already recanted his principal accusation against Kerry, in an interview with the Boston Globe .
Some other veterans who accuse Kerry are contradicted by Kerry’s former crewmen. One of the accusers says he was on another boat “a few yards” away during the incident which won Kerry the Bronze Star, but the former Army lieutenant whom Kerry plucked from the water that day backs Kerry’s account. [mjh: follow the link further analysis]
Scotsman.com News – International – Kerry attacked on Vietnam record
The Republican senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, has stepped into the war of words, calling the advert “dishonest and dishonourable” and urging the White House to condemn it as well. The White House has declined.
“It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me,” Mr McCain said, comparing the anti-Kerry advert to tactics in his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush.
The Right Wing Attack Machine, which so successfully destroyed McCain’s campaign in 2000, gears up just in time for a new attack book by one of the people involved with this commercial. These punks are scared. mjh
49 to 42
July 31 – Coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Sen. John Kerry now holds a seven-point lead over President George W. Bush (49 percent to 42 percent) in a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader (3 percent), according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll The poll was taken over two nights, both before and after Kerry’s acceptance speech. Respondents who were queried after Kerry’s Thursday night speech gave the Democrat a ten-point lead over Bush. Three weeks ago, Kerry’s lead was three points.