Saturday, June 30, 2007

6.30.07 – Improving Coverage: Slaughter of U.S. Troops Noted on Page One, But . . .

The Journal finally wrote a front page article recognizing the incredible recent slaughter of U.S. troops in the Iraq war – 329 killed in three months. (Maybe, this blog is helping the Journal.)

Unfortunately, the story was not above the fold nor the lead article; those were reserved for Bill Richardson’s campaign finances and a fluff story about a stupid meth dealer. The latter might have deserved page one of the B-section, but never a lead news story.

Now, if the Journal would run a series of stories about the costs of the war – troops, Iraqis and the incredible $$ costs, the public might better informed. And why not? After all the Journal ran a front page series about beautifying I-40!

The Journal obviously thinks it needs fluff leads to survive (note first blog entry below).

One also wonders about the Journal’s continuing emphasis on the amount of money raised by Richardson. Why the “7 Million” headline, similar to other page one stories?

The Journal obviously does not like Richardson. Do they think his $$ raising tars him with the evil of campaign contributions?

6.30.07 – Improvement: Slaughter of U.S. Troops Noted

The Journal finally wrote a front page article recognizing the incredible recent slaughter of U.S. troops in the Iraq war – 329 killed in three months. Maybe, this blog is helping the Journal.

Unfortunately, the story was not above the fold or the lead article; those were reserved for Bill Richardson’s campaign finances and a fluff story about a stupid meth dealer which might have deserved page one of the B-section, but never a lead news story.

Now, if the Journal would run a series of stories about the costs of the war – troops, Iraqis and the incredible $$ costs, the public might better informed.

The Journal obviously thinks it needs fluff leads to survive (note first blog entry below).

One also wonders about the Journal’s continuing emphasis on the amount of money raised by Richardson. Why the “7 Million” headline, similar to other page one stories?

The Journal obviously does not like Richardson. Do they think his $$ raising tars him with the evil of campaign contributions?

Friday, June 29, 2007

6.29.07 – Journal Bias Revealed

Front Page: above the fold: “Family Awarded $54M in Death: Nursing Home ACCUSED of Failing To Help Woman” [emphasis added]

Please note, the jury did not just “accuse” the giant corporation (who routinely abused patients), the jury “FOUND THEM GUILTY.” This is not just a semantic difference; subtle media differences like this build the unfounded public perception that crazed juries are constantly rewarding undeserved people.

How else might this article have been headlined? How about, “Jury Hammers Sleazy Corporation Who Killed Elderly, Innocent Woman?”

Front Page: above the fold: “One Day, two miracles”

We all love fluff stories, and this one is heart-warming, but, really, a wife of a deceased soldier getting her car back and having a baby is, at best, a page two story UNLESS the Journal were to emphasize that the real and enduring tragedy here is the useless death of her husband.

Sadly, he, like so many who died in Vietnam, will go down in history as part of a war that merely added to the chaos of a region that has been chaotic for centuries, however this would never occur to the Journal, so steeped in right wing bias.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

6.28.07 - Iraqis are People, too

At last, the Journal increases the visibility of the slaughter of Iraqis in our stupid and incredibly expensive war. It notes that 60 Iraqis died yesterday, but it somehow failed to mention that this is a DAILY occurrence and, by no means, the worst!

Certainly, one doubts that the Page EIGHT story about the 60 slain Iraqis does justice to the plight of this nation that we have decimated.

The Journal has yet to publish a front page article about the extent of the cost of our war to the Iraqi people who may be enjoying freedom, but are immeasurably worse off than they were before our unprecedented and unwarranted war of aggression.

Estimates are that 300,000 to 1,000,000 Iraqis have died for Dick Cheney’s petroleum pipe dream. Over 2,000,000 Iraqis have fled the daily violence and brutality.

Somehow, these facts are not important to the Journal . . . Sigh.

6.27.07 - iProduct Placement??

The Journal turns itself into a giant advertisement for Apple's new iPhoto with the lead story and a huge graphic on the front page, the second day in a row of large stories about the iPhoto.

One wonders, "Is this part of the product placement virus that is rampaging through mainstream media? Is the Journal just another desperate newspaper trying to avoid extinction by tabloidizing its front page?

Or, are we idiots for expecting the front page's lead story to be about . . . uhmm . . . "news?"

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Improvement

Sunday, June 26th's front page article totaling 28 soldiers killed in the war represents the closest the Journal has come to a front page article that recognizes the tragic human cost of the Iraq war (which the Journal never emphasizes).

The Journal has yet to point out to New Mexico taxpayers the astounding $$ costs of the war which, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, are over $2 Trillion.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Is the Journal a Tabloid?

Paris Hilton and Tony Soprano were the Journal's lead stories above the fold on page one for three days in a row, June 9-11, 2007.

The news those three days contained many important stories, including the deaths of 11 U.S. service people.

On just one of those days, the Journal spent 29 paragraphs describing Tony Soprano's last show, while devoting only TWO SENTENCES to our valuable service people who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Dramatizing fluff news at the expense of valuable national or community stories has been a noticeable pattern with the Journal.

Devaluing brave soldiers while emphasizing Paris and Tony is not acceptable or ethical journalistic practice for the major news conduit of citizens in a Albuquerque.

Such practices have occasioned the formation of this blog.