Progressives, Rathergate, and the Unbiased MSM
By Chuck Hyde, Editor of StandBesideHer.com
I was trying to come up with the right subject to write about for my first editorial when I was reading the Grand Rapids Press. This is where I read a column by Michelle Malkin “All the abortion lies fit to print” Jan 3, 2007. This column can be accessed here: http://jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin010307.php3, but in a nutshell the column discusses a New York Times article about Carmen Climaco, a woman from El Salvador who was, according to the article convicted of aborting her 18 week old fetus and sentenced to 30 yrs in prison. In reality, as was found with minimal investigation, the woman was convicted of strangling her healthy newborn infant. When confronted with the truth by none other than their own ombudsmen, the Times still refuses to correct the article, stating that they stand by the accuracy of it.
This article hit right to the core of one of my beliefs. Media outlets such as the NYT, LA Times, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc. have drifted so hard to the left that pushing their own liberal agenda has completely displaced any pretense of journalistic integrity. While I realize that this is not a novel discovery by me, I feel it is not discussed enough. It almost seems as if it is becoming the norm. People expect them to report this way and don’t even see it anymore.
Some obvious examples are Rathergate on CBS and the Reuters doctored photography (both mentioned by Malkin). Continuing in this pattern though are instances like reporting on bad news in the Iraq war on the front page and progress buried inside. Constant reporting on Republican scandals during last November’s campaign while virtually ignoring Democratic Congressmen like Jefferson and Mollohan. Incessantly reporting on Scooter Libby and Karl Rove in Plamegate until it was announced that Libby did NOT out Valerie Plame. When it was obvious that the Bush administration did not do this, it was not news anymore. No correction, barely any mention at all.
Finally, my favorite is the use of semantics. Pro-life is “anti-abortion” while pro-abortion is “pro-choice”. Doesn’t that make you feel warm and fuzzy? There is no need for men and women to take any responsibility for a life they created.
There are also no longer any liberals in the US, they are now “progressives”, the little darlings. While conservatives are “neocons”, you can actually here the sneering in the reporters tone, it’s uncanny.
I know that anyone reading this is going to say “but you’re just as guilty, your biased”, my answer is your darned right and I make no apologies. The difference is twofold. One, I admit it freely, I do not pretend to be unbiased. Two, I am not reporting news, I am giving an opinion. I very strongly support the first amendment right of columnists to free speech, it is one of the cornerstones of our free society. I am just asking for integrity when reporting the news. That’s what’s on my mind.
Note from the Editor: Since the writing of this editorial the NYT has posted a correction to the article and retracted the assertion that the El Salvadoran government has imprisoned the woman for having an abortion. While this retraction is welcome, it should have been done considerably sooner and not after they were literally caught in the lie.
About The Author: Chuck Hyde is editor of StandBesideHer.com. He is also a husband and father of two teenage boys and a younger daughter. His family lives in the northern Midwestern rural United States, where they enjoy camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities together. Chuck is a Registered Nurse in an inner city emergency room and has had a lifelong addiction to politics.
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