Raleigh News & Observer bias watch - Mar. 31, 2006

The Raleigh News & Observer's news columns continue to provide readers with heaps of liberal and leftist bias labeled "news."

Here’s a very recent example: When I called The N&O yesterday to complain about bias in a Mar. 29 front page story, an editor insisted the story, headlined “ Bush shuffles deck: Card out, Bolton in” was “straight news reporting.”

But look at the first two paragraphs of The N&O’s “straight news story.” (The N&O says it doesn't have permission "to reproduce this story on our website.” It's a Chicago Tribune story, one of many about the White House staff change available to The N&O. I typed the paragraphs from a copy of The N&O West edition, in which it ran below the fold and four columns across.)

WASHINGTON – In replacing long serving chief of staff Andrew Card with another administration insider, President Bush has taken only a small step toward regaining the standing that he will need to salvage his second-term agenda, analysts said Tuesday.

The president had been under pressure, including from allies, to shake up his White House team with his job approval rating reaching an all-time low and the Iraq war becoming incredibly unpopular. But experts say Bush presented little real change with his announcement that he will replace Card with another longtime aide, Budget Director Joshua Bolton, who followed Bush from Texas to Washington.

All the first paragraph does is give readers the opinions of unidentified “analysts” who don’t think much of the change.

Straight news reporting? The paragraph doesn’t even say who’s replacing Card.

Well, you can’t get everything into one paragraph, can you?

And what liberal or leftist news editor is going to knock opinions critical of President Bush out of a first paragraph just to include the name of one of the principal people the story is supposed to be about? MSM journalism priorities, remember?

Besides, readers can find the person’s name in the second paragraph.

All you need to do is start reading at "The president had been under pressure."

Then keep going. You'll get to "with his job approval rating reaching an all-time low."

Not too long after that, you come to "the Iraq war becoming incredibly unpopular."

Don't be discouraged; you're getting there.

Pretty soon you’ll be at “experts say Bush presented little real change with his announcement."

Yes, the "little real change" opinion statement is a repeat of the first paragraph opinion statement. That's deliberate. Repeating is a technique MSM journalists use to help news readers absorb opinions the journalists feel are especially important.

So don't worry that you took a wrong turn at the last comma and lost your place.

If you just keep going, you come to the fellow’s name: "Joshua Bolton."

See. That didn't take so long, did it?

But if you're out of breath, don't worry. The first time I did it, I was barely able to gasp, "Straight news story?"

Some time ago The N&O's executive editor for news, Melanie Sill, responded to a complaint of mine by saying The N&O has no news bias.

And well before that, when I was a little boy, my Mom told me it was the Easter Bunny who put all those baskets under the beds.

Mom later fessed up. I wonder if Melanie Sill ever will.