If there is one thing that the press hates, it's the accusation of bias, especially of a conservative or corporate bias. This is the bias that the press is most sensitive to, because journalists sense its inevitability, as newspaper, television and radio news are owned by an increasingly smaller number of large corporations, whose business is serving other large corporations by providing an advertising outlet for their sales and marketing needs.
Republicans have insisted for more than thirty years that there is a liberal media bias. The notion is ridiculous to anyone with the ability to read critically, but by repeating this mantra for three decades, they've managed to convince many Americans that it's true. There are even non-profit organizations in existence whose sole mission is to expose such a liberal bias.
Anyone making this claim today, likely hasn't read much in the Texas news lately. Take, for example, their recent coverage of the Texas House Democrats breaking quorum to fight the Republican redistricting proposal. Newspapers across the state gave loads of coverage to the Democrats in hiding, but short shrift to their reasons for doing so.
I sent a letter to the San Antonio Express-News taking them to task for their clearly Republican-biased coverage of this story as it developed. They responded as follows:
From: "Xxx, Xxx" xxxxxx@express-news.net
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 10:51:52 -0500
Subject: RE: UPDATED: 2003 version of 'Killer Bees' gets numbers to break quorumWe would like to publish your letter but require that you include your home address, and daytime phone number for verification purposes and our records.
I was a little surprised by the wording of their request - what "verification purposes" and "records" were they referring to? But I dismissed my paranoia, gave them what they requested and they printed my letter, sort of. Here is what they printed (the title is theirs, not mine):
Taking sides?I guess there is little truth to the claims of a "liberal media bias," at least in San Antonio.
The headline and blurb on www.mysanantonio.com on Monday read: "Legislators on the lam: More than 50 Democratic House members have left the state in an attempt to derail and likely kill major pending bills termed a priority by the Republican-controlled Legislature. House Speaker Tom Craddick ordered state police officers to find them."
Words like "lam," "derail" and "kill" liken the Democrats' action with criminal acts. The assumption is that they "should" be hunted down by police. There was no mention of the redistricting proposal that led to this action.
Their editing of my letter didn't do me any justice, or answer the question they posed in the title, "Taking Sides?" Here is my letter in its unedited form:
Dear Express-News Editor,I am writing regarding Guillermo Garcia's article, "UPDATED: 2003 version of 'Killer Bees' gets numbers to break quorum."
I guess there is little truth to the claims of a "liberal media bias," at least in San Antonio. The headline and blurb on the main page of the San Antonio Express website read:
---
"Legislators on the lam"
"More than 50 Democratic House members have left the state in an attempt to derail and likely kill major pending bills termed a priority by the Republican-controlled Legislature. House Speaker Tom Craddick ordered state police officers to find them."
---I don't know if Guillermo wrote this copy, but words like "lam," "derail" and "kill" are clearly biased, likening the Democrats' action with criminal acts. The assumption is that they should be hunted down by state police, no question.
Major pending bills are referred to as "a priority." There is no mention of the redistricting proposal that led to this action. Guillermo's linked article gives decent coverage to the similar "Killer Bees" action of 1979, but again, nothing about the Democrats' reason for breaking the quorum today, except that it "was taken as retaliation against the Republican leadership."
How much is the Texas GOP paying the Express-News to serve as its public relations agency? I hope its worth more than your journalistic integrity.