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In Bias Denial
One item
today, a really outlandish assertion from a major city newspaper editor.
But first, recall the Freedom Forum poll I e-mailed you about over the
weekend. It found 89 percent of 139 surveyed Washington bureau chiefs and
congressional correspondents voted for Clinton, 7 percent for Bush.
Ideologically, 22 percent identified themselves as liberal, 39 percent as
liberal to moderate, 7 percent as moderate to conservative and just two
percent as conservative. For 100 newspaper editors around the country who
were polled, 60 percent pulled the lever for Clinton, 22 percent for Bush.
So, here's the response of Boston Globe Editor
Matthew Storin, originally aired as part of CNN's Reliable Sources on
April 21 and repeated in a story on the April 24 Inside Politics:
"I think, actually, those figures are a
great endorsement for the professionalism of our business. Has anyone
looked at the coverage of Bill Clinton's administration? I mean, it's
been, almost from the get-go, negative."
That's the best part, but here's some more of the
Reliable Sources discussion, as transcribed by MRC intern Jessica
Anderson:
Moderator Bernard Kalb: "But one would say,
one would say that if, in fact, it were closer to reality in terms of
reflecting the political complexion of the country, Clinton would be even
clobbered greater."
Storin: "Well, of course, there's no way to
prove that, but I think there is professionalism in our business. You've
got, you've got personal views and you've got the way you go about doing
your business. Doctors don't like to amputate legs, but if it's sick,
they're going to take it off, and we've got to do our jobs the way we see
fit."
Howard Kurtz, Washington Post media reporter:
"Bernie, I think there is a difference between how people have
opinions and how they perform their jobs, but clearly anybody looking at
those numbers, if they're even close to accurate, would conclude that
there is a diversity problem in the news business, and it's not just the
kind of diversity we usually talk about, which is not getting enough
minorities in the news business, but political diversity, as well. Anybody
who doesn't see that is just in denial."
Indeed. We are making progress when even a
Washington Post staffer can see the light.
--
Brent Baker
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