Almost everyone I talk to at Raleigh's News & Observer, a McClatchy paper, insists there's no political bias in its news columns.
I thought about that as I read a July 26 N&O story off the Associated Press wire about Mike Blanton, a former North Carolina public official who went to prison for his part in a corruption scandal.
Blanton's boss was former State Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps who the AP tells us:"I was guilty of withholding some things from the FBI," said Blanton, who has started his own public relations firm near Raleigh. "I was trying to protect my boss. I was trying to protect my job. I was being loyal."
Yes, Blanton knew about his boss' political pedigree including her party affiliation, which not surprisingly was the same as his. He knew her father and grandfather's party affiliation; also the same as his.pleaded guilty last year to extortion, conspiracy and other charges tied to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from carnival operators seeking lucrative State Fair contracts. She is serving a four-year prison term.
Phipps is the daughter and granddaughter of former North Carolina governors. Blanton said he knew all about his boss' political pedigree but wished he had done more homework on her before accepting a job in her administration.
But N&O readers are never told the four's party affiliation.
What is it?
If your familiar with how most MSM news organizations operate, you're probably raising your hand right now and saying, "I know! I know! They're all Democrats."
You'd be right, of course.
And those people I talk to at The N&O? Well, I've already told you what they say.
2 comments:
Well, didn't some neutral think tank do an analysis on the coverage of Bush vs. Kerry and found that Bush was something like 30% more likely to be associated with negative terms?
-AC
The N&O did the original investigations of Phipps and Blanton that led to them being investigated and indicted.
Post a Comment