For those unfamiliar with the print media let me state that there are two (or more) different news departments. The obvious newsroom where reporters are to report the news without bias or personal opinion. At the opposite end are those working on the editorial boards who provide the newspaper’s opinion on many of the same issues.
Case in point. Not picking on the LA Times but I have wanted to write this post for some time and today opened the door. The OPINION story is called “Road kill.” Greg Easterbrook opens by saying “Why are we so worried about terrorism when so many more people are dying on our highways?” He goes on to report that since 9-11 245,000 Americans have died due to traffic accidents. I trust his numbers and can agree with the analogy.
CORRECTION: My error. The OPINION was written by someone who is not a member of the Times editorial board. While he thanked me for the reference to his piece, that error needs to be remedied. It still goes to the point of how we report loss of life.
However, simply go to their CALIFORNIA Section and you will find two-thirds of page B-14 dedicated to coverage on the lives and deaths of three army soldiers. While one loss is one too many, the Times is doing their part to take issue with the war in Iraq by this expanded coverage. Larry, did they lie? No. Are they covering the news? Perhaps. However, let’s be consistent.
Not to show my age but I was born before World War II and, as a student of history, with Google as my latest reference, feel that consistency in reporting should be expected. We lost how many American men and women in the Asia/Pacific and European Theatre’s during World War II?
Let’s look at some key dates and numbers relating to WW II.
Our entry into the Asia/Pacific Theatre was Dec 7, 1941 with the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Although we froze German and Italian assets on June 14th 1941, the first American troops for the European Theatre arrived in Great Britain on Jan 26, 1942. As such it is fair to say that our participation in both WWII Theatre’s commenced around the same time. Let’s peel the onion back further.
VE Day was celebrated on May 7, 1945. I can still recall the excitement and noise of masses of people celebrating in the streets of Newark, NJ where I grew up. VJ Day was on Sept 2, 1945. Therefore I will argue that our military involvement lasted approximately three and a half years, 42 months, at a loss of 407,300 of our military. Taking it a step further than equates to just under 10,000 deaths per month.
In the early 1940’s we did not have the same concern for the environment as we do today nor did we concern ourselves with the number of trees cut down. That said, did the LA Times dedicate comparable coverage on behalf of every soldier and sailor who died fighting a war outside our borders? A war that almost every American supported. I don’t think so! They did not have a shortage of paper and ink in 1942-45. What’s the difference? I rest my case. It’s liberal media bias plain and simple.
It’s ironic to see the two different department of the LA Times taking different approaches, in the same issue, to the current conflict.
As always we welcome your comments and thank you in advance for your participation in the debate.
Addition. I missed another soldier’s obituary on the preceeding page of the Times that takes almost a half page. Army Staff Sgt. Joshua R. Whitaker of Long Beach, CA.
We will pray for his family as we do for all those currently serving.
Oh c’mon. At the rate soldiers died in WWII, running obits at the size they’re run during this war would have made the paper impractically large. Absurdly large. We’re talking HUGE.
Ridiculous analogy.
Larry, allow me to amplify. It appears that the column you cited is an op-ed which stands for opposite editorial. Usually these are penned by subject matter experts or authors who are hawking their books. I know because I’ve penned a few op-eds myself. Op-ed submissions, published or not published, solicited or unsolicited, are not supposed to be forwarded to the news departments.
I don’t get your point. Do you not want media coverage for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country?
Larry –
You’re partially correct in your observation about the news room and editorial pages, however anyone versed in the rag biz knows the heart of any paper is the editorial and op-ed pages (that’s why the masthead appears on the editorial page). Unfortunately,you neglected to mention the newpaper’s commitment to its op-ed (opinion-editorial) page. That’s where guest writers are invited, for pay, to submit written articles on topics of the day and this is where a newspaper may place articles written by its columnists. The purpose of the op-ed page is provide a balance to the editorial page that publishes on the opposite page; side-by-side commentary from the newspaper and the public. And the editorial page never carries a byline because it is the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board.
I hope you read Sonia Nazario’s page 1 story “A pioneer in an experiment called open adoption.”
A good story, well written, is the best side dish to a cup of coffee in the morning.
Can we drop the tired “liberal media bias” meme?
Newspapers offer whatever they think will sell. Crimes that happened several million people away, road accidents, gossip about over-publicized “celebrities” … anything to which they think the “average reader” will pay attention. Dead soldiers get the attention of enough people to be worth column space.
Work through your newspaper. Mark the articles that you think are of any significance for this week, this month, and this year. What is left? Probably very little – if anything.
The business of a newspaper is to sell advertising. The material in the newpaper is mainly to support that business.
Anonymous. Another reader contacted me by email to point out that the Editorial was an Op-Ed. Having written several for the OC Register it dawned on me that the author is not a member of the Times Editorial Board. While the editorial department approves acceptance of these articles they are still not directly involved in the position stated. That point has been addressed in my post correction.
We lost almost 10,000 men and women every month during WWII. My gripe is that the Times is generating an excessive story that is not consistent with their obituaries of a prior conflict. While it is the least we can do to honor the fallen, don’t politicize it to slam any administration.
#5
“don’t politicize it to slam any administration”
Ever heard of freedom of the press?
Preston is correct.
Some years ago I spoke to a reporter about their choice of topics. As he said to me, Larry, if there are 100 flights out of John Wayne today, and non of them crash, is that a reportable story?
The bridge collapse in Minn is a very important report that needs coverage. This bridge failure has surely alarmed the nation to get on the stick inspecting and, if necessary, repairing all of the older bridges from coast to coast.
On the other hand to spend months on one of the cable shows covering the disappearance of Natalee Hollaway, while on vacation in Aruba, was excessive. To Bannister’s point. If viewers care to see this as a major prime-time newsworthy series, and your advertisers continue to pay the freight, than why not run with it.
Have we lowered the bar on news coverage due to the heavy competition be it competing broadcast news or the thousands of blogs who can post breaking news in a flash (no pun intended).
Can we drop the tired “liberal media bias” meme?
Hear, hear!
Every time I see this phrase in print I stop reading. Anyone who wants to get my attention needs to stop using it.
You might want to correct your header: than= THEN.
The print news is a fast becoming obsolete. Too much opinion trying to be sold as “news” is increasingly being seen as dishonest.
Print Circulation is being hurt year after year. The news papers even drop off bundles of “free” daily papers to the schools so that it inflates their circulation numbers. A great deal of those bundles go directly into the recycler bin at the end of the day. The majority have never been read by anyone.
Used to be that the Register would have a long listing of estate/garage sales. Not so now. Very few listings. If you browse Craigslist (free) The listings there are lengthy. Why pay for an entire paper filled with ads and sub par “journalism” just to get sports scores or a garage sale address? Online is efficent and much easier to filter out the garbage.
People are increasingly acting independently of the same tired lines of how to get things done and what to think.
The readership to this blog is starting to average over 500 visitors per day. They don’t come here to read over-used phrases that lack thought by the serial repeaters of that garbage.
I visit to keep up on local issues and to participate in relevant larger discussions if they are interesting and smart. Clever writing and ideas are fun to spend time on.
Larry, you might want to clean up the grammar on this thread header. A typo, no doubt.
THAN, SHOULD BE “THEN”. 😉
Gila,
I looked online for your email address. I wanted to give you an invitation to post/read at a posting community that I think you might enjoy. I’d love for you to check it out.
~R
In an exchange with Claudio, my colleague from the other side of the aisle, I offered to drop the use of the term “liberal” in generic posts. However, where I see evidence that supports liberal actions I will continue to call them as I see them. Entitlements come to mind to cite one example.
It’s funny that N2 Justice opposes that term yet in the same breath argues for “freedom of the press.” Which of the two does he feel trumps the other?
Thank you Red.
As to the term “liberal bias” I have addressed that issue above.
Regarding the word THEN. Sadly spellchecker’s hands are tied when there are words that may be correctly spelled with different meanings. I shall correct the headline after responding to the above comments.
As to print media circulation there is no secret that they are losing advertisers to other media outlets, including blogs, which now sell ad’s.
We live in a new generation where even those conducting surveys no longer call your house phone to ask questions. Many of the current generation only use cell phones and to date are not readily accessible to these pollsters.
Not plugging our Cutting Edge programs in every post but the Winship’s and I covered the changes in the world of news reporting in our On Target Series about the news anchors. When I was a kid we only had TV for a few hours a day on perhaps three stations. Today we have literally hundreds of channels of programming including 24 hour non-stop newscasts. What are they to talk about? They surely have added their own opinions to stretch the story. Simply watch Nancy Grace.
Back to the print media. Have you noticed the turnover in local staff as well as the ongoing mergers? That in itself shows a concern for survival. They are to be commended for recognizing the speed with which we can post and have instituted their own e-version blogs for breaking stories. While some complain about the newspaper blogs, I feel it is unfair to hammer them. You do not create an effective news source overnight.
As a public service, perhaps we should post a weekly TV guide for our readers?
It’s called being creative. Separate ourselves from the pack.
#11
I never said that you can’t accuse a particular media source as having “liberal bias”…you’re free to say whatever you want..I merely point out how ridiculous it is to make that point.
Get the difference?
LA Times is liberal. The Register is conservative. Fox News leans right. CNN leans left. Time Magazine tends conservative. Newsweek leans left. Yada yada yada. Duh. The whole notion of taking on an issue by attacking the political bias of the news source is simply a tired, cliched canard at this point.
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to hear/read/watch opposing points of view, then you can simply turn to the media sources that support your dearly held preconceived notions.
n2 justice.
While there surely are readers, like yourself, who are well versed in the slant of the media I send my posts to several hundred people around the state and, at times, across the country. Property rights being an example of a national mailing. Some of theses folks do not spend hours each day reading or watching the news where they can immediately distinguish right from left “spin”.
If you don’t think that BOTH sides use the media to their advantage we need to talk.
Thanks for your overall assessments.
Rest assured I am reading them. If you close your mind to input from others than you (myself)are a fool.
#14
Of course there are mainstream media sources that are slanted by both sides of the political aisle. Looks like we agree on that.
And certainly not everyone is interested in issues and politics to the same degree. Some people could care less. And actually, those people are probably MORE capable of bringing objectivity to a report/opinion/article because they aren’t already rigid ideologues.
In a way, it’s ridiculous to evaluate an opinion by immediately trying to figure out the political bias, if any, of a media source. That’s called, as you say, “closing your mind to the input of others”. Why not just evaluate and share what you read/hear/see simply on its merits?
n2justice.
“Why not just evaluate and share what you read/hear/see simply on its merits?”
That’s what I hope to achieve by being a blogger on the Juice team. Thank you,
Larry G
I think I was censored in my earlier post. Which reinforces my point as to why the print media is not yet dead.
As I posted earlier, The LA times can appoint editors who can spell and schooled in proper grammar.
Thats why Blogs and radio depend on them. Sure the advertising dollars may have dried up but they are still the prime source of information.
I have posted three variations of this in 36 hours, none have appeared????
hey #17,
With Art gone, LG has a tendency to delete posts that don’t follow his way of thinking…
Larry Gilbert said: “As always we welcome your comments and thank you in advance for your participation in the debate.”
Hey Larry, then why are you deleting posts to this thread?
Tisk.
duplojohn, CQT 96 and Red.
Sorry to disappoint you but Larry Gilbert DID NOT delete your comments from this story. Put them up again so that I can see them. There are other members of the Juice family who can accept or reject comments on my posts. The same applies for my ability to make similar judgements on theirs.
Stay on point, avoid fowl language, and don’t engage in personal attacks. Everything else is fair game.
Since I joined this blog I have had my share of hits from readers that I accept as part of my involvement. While you may not get that kind of treatment at city council meetings I am always willing to listen to opinions from anyone, even those who elect to sign on anonymously.
Get your facts straight before accusing me of hitting the kill switch. I await your prior inputs!
I was told you are a better man than to delete oppositional posts, Larry. I take that at face value and it appears that some bratty teen was the culprit.
I posted to the Bridges thread that Thomas started. My post was about the Minnesota bridge tragedy, that by all accounts, could have been avoided, had the govenor approved the funding for the bridge. He chose to fund a stadium, instead.
Those good time Republican priorities coming back to roost.
Larry,
I am not disappointed.
Perhaps the posting error was my mistake.
I just would like to note that three times now my “divisive” posts have not appeared.
I dig the fact that we can banter this way and assume you, me, Art, Sean, Claudio, and God himself could throw back a beer or two.
No hard feelings.
Barry Bonds #756
Duplojohn (and Red).
Duplojohn. As I did not see your three posts I am not qualified to comment on the content.
No hard feelings. Are you kidding. Life is too short to let the small stuff get to me. I take no offense to anyone who is willing to challenge what others are saying. While we may want to throw a shoe at our sets in watching TV anchors coverage, you have a direct thread to each of us who post on this blog. That statement probably applies to every other blog that exists today.
Your comments are part of what everyone can benefit from to gain a deeper insight to today’s news.
Have a great day!