Thursday, January 19, 2012

Balanced Reporting (Not)

From the esteemed (cough) Associated Press. The story is that Governor Walker turned down a federal grant intended to help states implement Obamacare. Governor Walker turned down the grant because he doesn’t want to move forward and waste money until the SCOTUS rules on the matter. The story has a quote from Walker explaining his action. Then it has three… THREE… opposition quotes. One from The American Cancer Society. One from a liberal Wisconsin legislator. And one from a liberal activist group. This is despite the fact that several non-liberal groups and legislators have also weighed in supporting Walker’s actions.

Way to show your balance there, AP.

(7) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2124 hrs
Politics + Politics - General + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Everything that has happened the past four years in relation to media partisanship being exposed has been a positive step. 

    It has resulted in the mainstream media becoming even more partisan.  But that’s ok because people now see them for what they are and can make their own judgments.

    Gingrich going after CNN and Jonathan Karl tonight on that first debate question about his ex-wife may be a seminal moment when we finally acknowledge there is no such thing as “fair and balanced” anymore.  Every outlet advocates.  Whether by bias in the story or bias in choosing to cover or not cover a story.  We all now understand what the score is.  This is a good thing.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 19, 2012 at 2135 hrs


  2. And in regard to the question about the many wives of Newt, that’s just the chicken coming home to roost.  Many conservatives love to crow about family values and what people do in their bedrooms.  No surprise CNN would therefore conclude that the question is relevant to many conservative voters.  That’s not media bias.  That’s knowing your audience.

    For all the tired polygamy jokes people throw at Mormons, how funny it is that the GOP race is coming down to a flavor-of-the-day Christian on his third wife and a Mormon who’s been married to one woman for 33 years.  And all of a sudden, the conservatives are more than happy to look the other way on personal morality because the guy who best exemplifies all their prattle about family values isn’t exciting enough for them.

    The irony is fun for the rest of us.

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on January 19, 2012 at 2152 hrs


  3. Recess, I don’t like Newt.  But I think it is not accurate to somehow claim that Jon Karl selected that question first because he thought conservative voters wanted to talk about the issue.

    He asked that question first because he’s a liberal on a liberal network and is having no issues with stirring the pot against GOP types in addition to wanting to tweak the entire conservative base on morality issues. 

    The fact ABC news loaded up this whole stunt tonight and yet somehow didn’t want to bother looking into issues with Jon Edwards and specifics on Bill Clnton tells me all I need to know.  The mainstream media is going out of their way to “vet” all the guys on that stage.  They failed to do any of that level of scrutiny on Obama. 

    As another example, we get to laugh at Rick Santorums high school photo today, which is plastered all over the net, yet we still have no in depth interviews with students and friends of Obama during his college, law or professor years. 

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 19, 2012 at 2243 hrs


  4. Well, if I were to set aside my initial response I would argue that it was the first question simply because it happened to be the story of the day.  And in a process that has been dreadfully prolonged and where there is often little new of actual substance to discuss, this gets launched to the fore merely because it is something new to ask.

    That’s neither a conservative nor liberal thing (your “liberal” media spent plenty of time talking about Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky), just another awful consequence of this 24/7 media cycle we live in and the fact that we’re on like the 318th GOP presidential debate.  It forces the media to find new angles in order to sustain interest.

    There’s nothing left to ask these guys.  We’re a week away from “hey Rick, what’s your favorite color sweater vest?”  Just hand Romney the crown and get on with it.

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on January 19, 2012 at 2317 hrs


  5. The American Cancer Society should know better than to get involved in politics.

    It’s a charity and dependent on wholly voluntary contributions and is sure to annoy at least some potential and past contributors by offering an opinion on legislation.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 20, 2012 at 0833 hrs


  6. The irony is fun for the rest of us.

    Gingrich is not a conservative in his personal and professional life.  Romney is only conservative in his personal life.  There’s no irony there.  After last night the kimono is wide open on the bias in the media.

     

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 20, 2012 at 1302 hrs


  7. After Perry exited I didn’t think we’d have anything else to laugh at.  I’m glad a couple remaining guys are stepping up to the plate.

    Really, these guys are the cream of the crop??

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 20, 2012 at 1456 hrs


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