Thursday, March 16, 2006
Now THAT'S News...
On Sunday, March 12, 2006, Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin announced that he would introduce a measure to censure President Bush over the illegal warrant-less wire-tapping of Americans.
This announcement rated a 488-word article, written by John Files, in the "News" section of Monday's New York Times. Of the 488 words, approximately 304 were devoted to statements rejecting or attempting to minimize the measure.
On Tuesday, March 14th, the Times followed-up with a 474-word article--written by Carl Huse and also in the "News" section--entitled, "Democrats Beat Quick Retreat on Call to Censure President". In illustrating the point of "Democrats beating a retreat", the article spends 281 of its 474 words quoting Republicans or stating GOP positions. Three Republicans are quoted versus two Democrats. Republicans get both the first and last quotes of the story, and they get the last three paragraphs.
The first quote from a Democrat in Huse's article comes in the fifth paragraph, and it is Feingold himself stating that Bush "plainly broke the law"--but the quote is presented only in the context of "Democrats...distancing themselves" from it. There is no evidence presented to support this "distancing". In fact, the next quote is from minority leader Harry Reid, saying it would not be "appropriate" for the leadership to "try to limit debate on this most important matter."
After that, Huse quotes vice-president Dick Cheney, returns briefly to Feingold, then finishes with three paragraphs of Republicans.
On Thursday, March 16, the Times ran an 1,182-word front-page story, written by David D. Kirkpatrick, entitled "Call for Censure Is Rallying Cry to Bush's Base". The article quotes veteran conservative organizer Paul Weyrich, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, Republican spokesman Brian Jones, and National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Carl Forti.
Only 309 words present even a cursory view from Democrats--starting in paragraph twelve--and then mostly to dismiss them. Only two Democrats are quoted, for a total of 61 words.
There is no mention of the impetus for the censure--Mr. Bush's warrant-less wire-tapping--which the article refers to as his "domestic eavesdropping program". Neither the word "warrant" nor the concept it denotes appear in the article at all.
One other note: on Wednesday, March 15, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin announced that he would sign on to the censure measure. As of 11am on Thursday, March 16, the New York Times has yet to report it.
This announcement rated a 488-word article, written by John Files, in the "News" section of Monday's New York Times. Of the 488 words, approximately 304 were devoted to statements rejecting or attempting to minimize the measure.
On Tuesday, March 14th, the Times followed-up with a 474-word article--written by Carl Huse and also in the "News" section--entitled, "Democrats Beat Quick Retreat on Call to Censure President". In illustrating the point of "Democrats beating a retreat", the article spends 281 of its 474 words quoting Republicans or stating GOP positions. Three Republicans are quoted versus two Democrats. Republicans get both the first and last quotes of the story, and they get the last three paragraphs.
The first quote from a Democrat in Huse's article comes in the fifth paragraph, and it is Feingold himself stating that Bush "plainly broke the law"--but the quote is presented only in the context of "Democrats...distancing themselves" from it. There is no evidence presented to support this "distancing". In fact, the next quote is from minority leader Harry Reid, saying it would not be "appropriate" for the leadership to "try to limit debate on this most important matter."
After that, Huse quotes vice-president Dick Cheney, returns briefly to Feingold, then finishes with three paragraphs of Republicans.
On Thursday, March 16, the Times ran an 1,182-word front-page story, written by David D. Kirkpatrick, entitled "Call for Censure Is Rallying Cry to Bush's Base". The article quotes veteran conservative organizer Paul Weyrich, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, Republican spokesman Brian Jones, and National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Carl Forti.
Only 309 words present even a cursory view from Democrats--starting in paragraph twelve--and then mostly to dismiss them. Only two Democrats are quoted, for a total of 61 words.
There is no mention of the impetus for the censure--Mr. Bush's warrant-less wire-tapping--which the article refers to as his "domestic eavesdropping program". Neither the word "warrant" nor the concept it denotes appear in the article at all.
One other note: on Wednesday, March 15, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin announced that he would sign on to the censure measure. As of 11am on Thursday, March 16, the New York Times has yet to report it.
