Disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison today. The Chicago Tribune devoted four reporters to cover this one story.
Despite this, there were zero references to Blagojevich's Democratic party affiliation in the 49-paragraph "breaking news" item, "Judge gives Blagojevich 14 years: 'When governor goes bad, fabric of Illinois is torn.'"
To be fair, corrupt Blagojevich predecessor Republican Gov. George Ryan, who was briefly mentioned in the story, was also described without reference to his party affiliation:
The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge James Zagel is more than double the prison term given in 2006 to former Gov. George Ryan, who is serving a 6 ½-year sentence in a federal prison in Terre Haute.
Although Blagojevich attempted to sell President Obama's vacated Senate seat, there was no mention in the story of the nation's chief executive.
