Posted on 05/22/2002 11:10:44 PM PDT by Avoiding_Sulla
How Easy Is It to Slant A News Report?
Written by d14truth, edited by Avoiding_Sulla
This question was asked and answered by our contributors, a writer and editor from FreeRepublic.com.
We are reproducing it here as an educational benefit for our readers. Our contributors show us, by simply changing a few words and their slant, how easily is changed the bias.
Care was taken on their part not to alter or remove any quotes that were employed by the original reporter.
What were altered was some of the reporter's words and a good deal of the reporter's spin.
It is also important to note that in the opinion of PascalFervor this reporter's intentional or unintentional bias appears to be mild in comparison to other stories of the same kind.
However, come the fall of 2004, when the "campaign finance reform" laws kick into effect, should the Supreme Court somehow fail to declare it unconstitutional, it will be more important than ever for readers to be able to dissect news accounts in the same way D14Truth & Avoiding Sulla have done here.
If enough people become accustomed to dissecting this sort of slanted news, and their friends and neighbors know it, they will greatly reduce the monopolistic influence of both incumbent's and the establishment media's version of the facts.
Original text by Sandy Kleffman, as published in The Contra Costa Times, May. 19, 2002 'Pay to play' concerns fueling Simon's gubernatorial hopes But the reality for the GOP candidate is that dissatisfaction with Davis doesn't necessarily equal support for his campaign Bill Simon Jr., the GOP candidate for governor, couldn't have scripted it any better. Newspapers throughout the state have run headline after headline in recent weeks raising questions about Gov. Gray Davis' prolific fund raising. The controversy provided a needed boost to Simon's campaign, creating a focus for his attacks on Davis' leadership. But it also demonstrated the uphill challenge Simon faces as he attempts to unseat the Democratic governor. While Simon held numerous press conferences to blast what he called a "pay to play" atmosphere in the Davis administration, the bulk of the media attention remained focused on the governor.
The reality for Simon is that voter dissatisfaction with Davis doesn't necessarily translate into support for him. "He's got to convince people that this issue has put him back in the game," said Bruce Cain, a UC Berkeley political science professor. Many observers say the controversy came at just the right time for Simon, a Los Angeles businessman making his first bid for public office. Davis spent $10 million to help defeat Riordan in the belief that Simon would be a much weaker opponent because of his conservative views on such issues as abortion and gun control. Some of the major Republican donors appeared to share those concerns. Simon's fund raising got off to a slow start after the primary.
Then came a Field Poll revealing that Simon, virtually even with Davis in March, had plunged to 14 points behind the governor. "A month ago, a lot of Republicans were gloomy, thinking that Davis was just too smart to hand Simon much useful ammunition," said John Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. "But now we've seen Davis do some really dumb things," he added, noting that Davis offered to meet with young Democrats at UC Berkeley only if they donated $100 each to his campaign. "The appearance is terrible," Pitney said. "This is a heaven-sent opportunity: It gives Simon a chance to talk about an issue on which he can get some traction." It also provides fodder for television ads when the campaigns kick into high gear after Labor Day. "I think down the road we're in for an election with trades of charges about who's sold out to whom," Cain said. "We're guaranteed to have this as a major issue in the fall." It could prove to be a double-edged sword for Simon, however, Cain said. As Simon attacks Davis for his voracious fund raising, Democrats are likely to go after Simon, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on their big corporate donors and dealings with Enron, Cain said. Fed-up voters may assume they'd get more of the same if they opt for Simon over Davis, he said. But Pitney said voters will see differences between the two. Simon is a multimillionaire who pumped $5 million of his own money into his primary campaign.
Jeffe said the Simon campaign may also be stepping it up a notch now because it recently hired Sean Walsh and Rob Lapsley, political veterans who did a good job of creating an aggressive profile for Secretary of State Bill Jones during the primary race despite a lack of money. The controversy over Davis' fund raising ignited two weeks ago after news reports about a $95 million state contract with Oracle. A state audit concluded that the no-bid deal could saddle taxpayers with $41 million in unneeded software. Other reports followed about the governor's aggressive fund-raising techniques. The president of the California Teachers Association said he was taken aback when Davis asked for $1 million during a meeting in February. Davis defends his $30 million campaign treasury, arguing that it never affects his policy decisions and that it is necessary to compete against multimillionaires such as Simon. Cain said Davis knows he is likely to receive support from liberal Democrats, even if they don't like his aggressive fund raising, because Simon is too conservative for their tastes. "It's precisely because he's got the party over a barrel that Gray has turned it up a notch and decided to be as brazen about (fund raising) as he is," Cain said. But if liberal Democrats get too dissatisfied with Davis, they could also decide to stay home on Election Day or turn to the Green Party. Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican political analyst, said both candidates have failed to ignite much enthusiasm at this point. "Gray Davis' worst enemy right now in his re-election campaign," Hoffenblum said, "is Gray Davis." |
Revisions by Truth & Sulla
'Pay to play' governance antics dimming Davis' re-election hopes Supporters of the incumbent are crafting stories for the gullible that imply disenchantment with Davis doesn't necessarily equal support for Simon Gray Davis, the incumbent Democratic candidate for governor, couldn't have scripted it any worse. Newspapers throughout the state have run headline after headline in recent weeks hinting about Gov. Gray Davis' massive and conflicted fund raising. The controversy darkened the clouds over the Davis campaign by prompting critics to focus on Davis' misjudgments. And it also demonstrated the downhill slide Davis faces as he attempts to hold on as Democratic governor. While Simon held numerous press conferences to point out what he called a "pay to play" atmosphere in the Davis administration, the bulk of the second-rate media, apparently disinclined by editorial policies from covering the Simon campaign, remained focused on the governor. Criticisms of Davis "tend to be folded into bigger stories and it gets lost," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, whose views on politics are oft tapped by the journalistically challenged and once widely respected L. A. Times. The nightmare for Davis is that voter dissatisfaction with him cannot be permitted to translate into knocking him out of consideration. "He's got to convince people that this issue has put him back in the game," said Bruce Cain, a UC Berkeley political science professor. Many observers say the controversy came at just the wrong time for Davis, a beleaguered governor making his case he's not at fault for the state's $23.6 billion deficit, and seeking re-election to office. Simon's campaign appeared to gain momentum after his stunning, come-from-behind victory over former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the March primary. Davis squandered $10 million to help nominate Simon in the belief that Riordan would have been a much stronger opponent because of his moderate views on such issues as abortion and gun control. Some of the major Democrat donors appeared to question Davis' thinking. Simon's fund raising has been on the rise since his primary win. And, following appearances with President Bush has skyrocketed. Simon quickly put Davis on the defensive over his refusal to disclose his relationships with Enron and Global Crossing. Then came a questionable Field Poll showing that Simon, virtually even with Davis in March, had dropped 14 points behind the governor. "A month ago, a lot of Republicans were gloomy, thinking that Davis was just too smart to hand Simon much useful ammunition," said John Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. "But now we've seen Davis do some really dumb things," he added, noting that Davis offered to meet with young Democrats at UC Berkeley only if they donated $100 each to his campaign. "The appearance is terrible," Pitney said. "This is a heaven-sent opportunity: It gives Simon a chance to talk about an issue on which he can get even more traction." It also gives evidence of 'pay for play' for television ads when the campaigns kick into high gear after Labor Day. "I think down the road we're in for an election with trades of charges about who's sold out to whom," Cain said. "We're guaranteed to have this as a major issue in the fall." It could prove to be a double-edged sword, however, Cain said. As Republicans go after Davis for his voracious fund raising and his dealings with Enron, Davis is likely to attack Simon, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on their corporate donors, Cain said. Fed-up voters know they'd get more of the same if they opt for Davis over Simon, he said. But Pitney said voters will see differences between the two. Simon is a multimillionaire who pumped $5 million of his own money into his primary campaign. Gov. Davis pumped donors, while watching California sink deeply into debt. "One advantage that a rich candidate has is that people will not think he's on the take," Pitney said. "Now he has an opportunity to cast himself as an outsider, somebody who's not part of the Sacramento gravy train." Jeffe said the Simon campaign may also be stepping it up a notch now because it recently hired Sean Walsh and Rob Lapsley, campaign veterans who did a good job of creating a strong showing for Secretary of State Bill Jones during the primary race despite a lack of money. The controversy over Davis' fund raising ignited two weeks ago after news reports about a $95 million state contract with Oracle. A state audit concluded that the no-bid deal could saddle taxpayers with $41 million in unneeded software. Davis, in an obvious attempt to defuse the situation, asked his chief technology adviser to resign after the adviser admitted accepting a $25,000 check from Oracle for Davis' campaign five days after the contract was approved. Davis said he knew nothing about the Oracle contract before it was signed and said he was unaware of the 'pay for play'. Other disclosures followed about the governor's aggressive fund-raising schemes. The president of the California Teachers Association said he was taken aback when Davis solicited them for $1 million during a meeting in February. Davis defends his $30 million campaign treasury, posing that it never affects his policy decisions and that it is necessary to compete against competent and successful businessmen such as Simon. Cain said Davis knows he is still likely to receive support from wavering liberal Democrats, even if they don't like his aggressive fund raising, because Simon appears too conservative for their tastes. "It's precisely because he's got the party over a barrel that Gray has turned it up a notch and decided to be as brazen about (fund raising) as he is," Cain said. But if liberal Democrats get to know the whole truth about Davis, they could also decide to stay home on Election Day or turn to the Green Party. Allan Hoffenblum, a political analyst, said both candidates are dealing with an inattentive electorate at this point. "Gray Davis' worst enemy right now in his re-election campaign," Hoffenblum said, "is Gray Davis." |
© Copyright, PascalFervor.com, 2002, All rights reserved. This educational exercise is free to be duplicated and republished in its entirety
on the proviso that the copyright information is attached and that PascalFervor.com is credited.
Encouraged by myself and others, he expanded the initial effort into a dissection of the whole piece.
Hence the vast bulk of this work was done by d14truth. With me acting as creative editor, we cooperated to put together this final effort.
We hope you enjoy it.
In any event, I recommend finding something else to do with your time. If Grey Davis were found to have killed Chandra Levy with his bare hands, he would still be re-elected. The deceased and illegal-alien vote mean that Simon is toast--EVEN IF the media were to close up shop tomorrow.
--Boris
Speaking of heavy-handed and obvious.
Rewrite for 'right-thinking' Californians--"In any event, I recommend you finding something else better to do with your time. If Gray Davis were found to have killed Chandra Levy with his bare hands, he some would still be whining about the likelihood of his being re-elected. The deceased and illegal-alien democRAT vote means that Simon is toast going to need your help--EVEN IF the media were to close up shop start printing the truth tomorrow."
This newsstory we parsed is representative of many moderately biased pieces, published by country-cousin newsrags, which only jab and insinuate and insult.
Their job is not unlike the function of picadors at a bull fight: to clown and jab and cut and run and set the bull up for the matador.
The ever more heavyhanded and declining L.A. Times cannot take down opponents of their Dim* favorite by themselves.
Like an overly stuffed matador long past his prime, whose slashes at the bull are labored and lack grace; they need help -- a lot of it!
See, it's called reversing the polarity. While we went out of our way to avoid going overboard (see the original thread, referenced in comment #1, from which this was an expansion), we still needed to reverse the original bias in order to make it obvious.
For your next try, go back to your Davis campaign busses and let's see if they even can conjure up for you a better line of defense. <G>
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*Dim -- in the case of Gray Davis, this nickname carries too much, er, wattage, to be misunderstood as cavalier namecalling.
But no surprise as to media bias.
Exactly.
You guys did a great job with the side-by-side comparisons.
Here's one about Mr. Simon's visit to Burbank, CA. The slant is pretty obvious.
Long-Shot Winner Turns Dark Horse in California (Liberal Media Attacks Simon)
NY Times | May 17, 2002 | JAMES STERNGOLD
Posted on 5/21/02 8:22 AM Pacific by William Creel
The above was the closest I found. The only other recent NY Times article about Simon and Davis was the Oracle shredding scandal, below, and then news about Bush's visit to CA and about the April Field poll.
Inquiry May Shift Momentum in California Contest
New York Times | 5/04/02 | JAMES STERNGOLD
Posted on 5/4/02 12:04 AM Pacific by kattracks
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