Instead of developing talking points to defend their stilted coverage, the AP might want to stop reprinting McCain campaign press releases as wire copy. While other papers were doing actual reporting on the complete lack of a vetting process in the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate, Liz "Donuts" Sidoti was reprinting campaign spin about how thorough the process was.
Today, the AP reprises its role as stenographers for the McCain campaign:
Who are these "many liberals?" it's difficult to know, because not a single liberal is quoted in the piece as making this argument. It's called "attribution". If you're going to make a claim someone said something, then you should have a source. In this case, the source is the McCain campaign blaming the media for its failure to do due diligence on its own Vice Presidential nominee.Many liberals are belittling the choice, suggesting that as a mother of five children -- including an infant with Down syndrome -- she has neither the time nor the experience to become vice president.
Since Republicans make no distinctions between the mainstream media and "liberals" there's no dissonance there. But unless the AP considers themselves an official arm of the Republican Party, then they shouldn't be stating opinions as fact without attribution.
In response, MoveOn is asking it's members to write the Associated Press and demand unbiased coverage. Personally, I'm not a big believer in "objectivity," but independence is a vital concern in journalism. The above article is an example of the kind of journalism that makes the reader question who the reporter is actually working for.
--A. Serwer
