Media Bias, Exhibit A

Look at how this good news is reported. The unemployment rate is approaching Clintonian levels, BUT...

I forget where I read it, but somebody made a great point that codified the "media bias" argument in a nutshell with a helpful allegory.

Pretend for a minute that the Iraq War is a football game. In reality, the score is about 50-7, with the US in the lead by a large margin and handily in control. A reporter writes up the story of the game, and in the papers the next morning, you read "Opposing Team Scores 7 Points, US Fails to Block Scores." The US score is included nowhere in the story. When asked for clarity, the reporter claims that "he reported a fact, and not to shoot the messenger."

The same thing is going on here. The "footballed" version of this story is "Expectations fall short, ONLY 75,000 jobs Created." In reality, the economy is chugging along at record levels and has shown solid growth for over two straight years now. EVERY MONTH - Growth. It is undeniable, but CBS (See BS) News just can't let that news stand without acting like the creation of 75,000 for one month is somehow "bad news." The unemployment rate is the lowest its been in a decade, and still, there is a BUT in the header.

In other news, CBS is shocked when its viewers think the economy is worse that it really is. Only to CBS and those who watch TV news religiously is the fact that the economy is roaring "news." It is seldome reported, so when it is reported, the average bloke would be inclined to believe that it is a "new" development.

This, folks, is called bias. The thinking, at the most visceral and basic ideological newsroom level, appears to go something like this (in my humble but informed opinion):

"The President and Congress are Republican. The tax cuts worked exactly as predicted and planned. Therefore, good economic (or any) news is not allowed. If it is unavoidable that good news can not be ignored, thrown on it any cold water you can. On the other hand, if there are deaths in Iraq, trumpet them every segment of every day until you are convinced that the only thing happening in Iraq is death. If you are convinced, then the audience most certainly is. The accomplishments or good news that are not seen by the journalists in the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad means that there is none, and it will not be reported. Any attempt to insert context or clarity will not be tolerated, as it is propaganda from the Bush Administration."