Sure, it's garden variety AP labeling/double-standard bias, but it bears busting anyway.
At KnoxNews.com (h/t NB reader coffee260), one can read the tale of Nashville, Tennessee, state representative Rob Briley, who "has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and property damage prior to leading authorities on a high-speed chase last September." Briley is a Democrat, but his party affiliation was not mentioned in the 6-paragraph story.
Yet another AP dispatch on another state politician, this one from Maryland, had a quite different treatment of that legislator's political affiliation.
Via the Baltimore Sun's Web page:
HALFWAY - The FBI said its cyber crimes unit is assisting Washington County authorities in an investigation of state Del. Robert McKee.
The cyber crimes unit includes investigations of child pornography.
FBI spokesman Richard Wolf said the Washington County Sheriff's Department requested the agency's help after searching the Republican delegate's home in Halfway earlier this month.
McKee hasn't returned telephone calls from the Associated Press.
Local authorities have declined to comment on the probe.
The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail broke news of the search warrant today.
The 58-year-old McKee has served in the House of Delegates since 1995. He also serves as the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County.
Below are the headline and subhead that accompanied the AP article on the Sun Web site:
FBI cyber crimes unit investigating Md. delegate; Washington Co.'s authorities search Republican's home earlier this month
For what it's worth, I think the AP -- as well as the Sun in its subhead -- was right to label the Republican, I just wish the AP more consistently applied the party label regardless of who the accused offender is.
Update (14:43): McKee resigned, AP's Brian White is reporting. White noted McKee's party affiliation in the lead paragraph.
See also Warner Todd Huston's post here.
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Comments Policy
While it may be legitimate
February 15, 2008 - 13:59 ET by lotrWhile it may be legitimate to label the offenders' political party somewhere in the article text, it truly is partisan (or just plain dumb, which I suppose is a real possibility here) to put it in the headline. The headline of the story ought to convey the essence of the story -- the political party of the offender is just an incidental.
There is clearly an attempt
February 15, 2008 - 14:40 ET by rbosqueThere is clearly an attempt by the secular media to insulate their prefered party from scandal. I think this is so that if one were to do a search of "scandals" would come up empty if the word "Democrat" were used in the search. And of course, the opposite for a Republican search.
“people everywhere confuse what they read in
the papers with news.” - A.J. Liebling