After Barack Obama’s more-than-enthusiastic greeting by many attendees at the UNITY convention for minority journalists in Chicago on Sunday, some in the media have expressed outrage that some have now questioned their objectivity, despite the appalled reactions from some of their own peers to the display and the live video shown on CNN (at right).
April Yee wrote on Andrew Romano’s blog on Newsweek.com on Monday about the question of whether minority journalists can cover the Illinois senator objectively. She quoted Ernest Suggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who objected to this question even coming up in the first place: "That mindset needs to change.... It is offensive that because we have the same color or the same agenda, our journalistic ethics and responsibilities go out the window."
Suggs might have a point, since two of the biggest cheerleaders for Obama in the media are white men: Lee Cowan and Chris Matthews.
Les Payne, a black Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the New York City paper Newsday, is also quoted in the piece: "[Payne] said black journalists could cover Obama not just fairly, but also critically. ‘The job of the black journalist in covering Barack Obama isn't to protect Barack Obama,’ he said. ‘We have to assume then that we are not in his pocket, that we are not beholden to him, that we are not in his swoon.’"
Earlier in the blog post, Yee recounted how two journalists from the Dallas Morning News, Holly Yan and Gromer Matthew Jeffers, made a bet over how the crowd at the UNITY convention would react to Obama. She wrote that Yan, after witnessing the attendees' response, "found the enthusiasm of some of the attendees ‘grossly inappropriate.’"
Fellow NewsBuster and MRC’s director of media analysis Tim Graham wrote on Sunday about the passionate greeting Barack Obama received from many at the UNITY convention. Not only did the presumptive Democratic nominee receive standing ovations when he walked on stage and when he left, Obama received the "rock star" treatment from many of the journalists. One unnamed journalist even cried, "He touched me!"
Mr. Suggs and Mr. Payne: let the video speak for itself.
—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
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Comments Policy
The bias is so blatant; it's hardly worth comment.
July 30, 2008 - 13:09 ET by ThalpyThe bias is so blatant; it's hardly worth comment.
Thalpy... You said it all
July 30, 2008 - 13:20 ET by bigtimerThalpy...
You said it all for me.
They can deny and lie til the cows come home, the only ones who believe them are their own-selves.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Not biased? Let's have a
July 30, 2008 - 14:39 ET by motherbeltNot biased?
Let's have a look, shall we, at what happened at the last UNITY convention four years ago (report from the WaPo quoted by Michael M. Bates in his blog)
The journalists' reaction to Bush was tepid compared with their
enthusiastic reception for Kerry, who spoke at the same convention
Thursday. Breaking with journalists' custom of neutrality, the audience
gave Kerry a standing ovation even before he began speaking and
interrupted his remarks with applause nearly 50 times.
In contrast, Bush drew a smattering of polite applause and a
standing ovation at the end of his appearance. At one point, his speech
was interrupted by a heckler who cried out "Shame on you for lying to
the media, misleading the public" before being evicted from the room.
But they're not biased, right?
Obama's theme song
Hey mb... Now that is
July 30, 2008 - 14:54 ET by bigtimerHey mb...
Now that is interesting...
Not biased indeed...
Thanks for that info. I had never heard of this group until this week-end I think it was.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Whitey
July 30, 2008 - 13:14 ET by iveseenitallOf course, in this interview Obama stated and implied what the white Americans "owe" such minorities as Native Americans, African Americans, and HAWAIIANS! When was the last time you insulted an Hawaiian? Have you owned a negro slave lately? Did your dad have one or two? How 'bout ole grampa? Or great-gandpa? But you better rip open your wallet for more taxes and follow Affirmative Action rules and regulations. If not, Barry and his ignorant "liberal" thugs will hunt you down. Obama's ideas, based on his own ignorance and racism, will not unify this nation. They will tear it apart.
NEVER,NEVER trust a"liberal"
The 5 Stages of Liberal Media Bias
July 30, 2008 - 13:19 ET by mattm1. Denial of lib bias.
2. Anger at those who insist there is liberal media bias.
3. Bargaining over the meaning of words and the role of the media - a.k.a. obfuscation.
4. Depression from the realization many people don't buy the denial.
5. Acceptance of bias as the equivalence of objectivity.
Matt, I gotta
July 30, 2008 - 14:10 ET by GlennMatt,
I gotta disagree with you. Mr. Tingle may be white, but he's not a man.... :)
I guess 90%+ of the black
July 30, 2008 - 14:28 ET by Dan The Man 2I guess 90%+ of the black vote means there is no bias? I say we are all biased and we need to recognize these. Only when we see what our bias are can we attempt to set it aside and wiegh all sides in an equitable manner. I think Jesus said in Mathew 7
3.
"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4.
"Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5.
"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
WE owe them NOTHING
July 30, 2008 - 14:38 ET by joev11Obama's a joke! How can this loser say this nation, who has spent untold hundreds of BILLIONS of tax payer dollars on funding housing (mostly destroyed by the minorities), affirmative action programs (the cause of REVERSE dicrimination), welfare (actually PAYING minorities to have babies iout of wedlock, owes anybody anythting?
Can minority journalists cover the Illinois senator objectively
July 30, 2008 - 14:47 ET by allamericangirlStanding ovation and rock star treatment form journalist at UNITY convention. One unnamed journalist even cried, "He touched me!"
89 percent of blacks back Obama http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1557617
15 to 1 Media donations to Democrats http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/07/27/follow-money-journalists-democrats
Ernest Suggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who objected to this question even coming up in the first place: "That mindset needs to change.... It is offensive that because we have the same color or the same agenda, our journalistic ethics and responsibilities go out the window."
What "mindset" are we supposed to have? The mindset that we must not offend minority journalist by asking the obvious questions supported by facts and observations concerning bias. I'm surprised he only used the word offensive and didn't call it racist as well.
"Liberalism is a mental disorder" -Michael Savage
All Rise
July 30, 2008 - 17:04 ET by Lee BoggsErnest Suggs "we have the same agenda." Reporters have agendas? Get outta here.
BIAS? What Bias?
July 31, 2008 - 10:32 ET by kevinm13Any reporter in the MSM who denies bias in the media is delusional. There are so many reporters in the tank for Obama, McCain gets virtually no notice in the news. Thank God for NewsBusters for reporting the truth and where it doesn't exist in the MSM.
Too bad there are too many idiot voters out there who don't know why they should be supporting Obama but are going along with the crap thrown at them by the MSM. Alternative and conservative media and websites, radio shows all need tokeep the message and information up. Our job is to continue to share it with those who know what is going on and to challenge lies and bias.
Who will they blame?
July 31, 2008 - 10:44 ET by CPT_ClawIf the Messiah actually wins ... what will they do after after all of their problems still exist, and will probably get worse?
Bush will be gone and the Congress will be in their control. Utopia is Greek for "No where."