Sometimes, one must rant about the current state of media, journalism and news coverage in America. Now is one of those moments.
I will get back to my research and Diaries about the Jack Abramoff and his fellow Conservative Corruptionist Creeps destroying our Nation on another day.
I have been on a slow burn since Wednesday and I’ve got to spend a Diary on race-based bias, racism, media bias, the AP and NPR.
Last Sunday was the final day of the UNITY Conference—a gathering of Journalists of Color—in Chicago. McCain and Obama were both invited to speak. McCain blew off the journalists and Barack Obama did not. When he was introduced, Obama was greeted by loud applause and a few cheers. Then he settled in for almost forty minutes of tough questioning from the group.
Naturally, NPR had to use the event to highlight the dangers of a media bias and steam came out of my ears as I listened to Talk of the Nation last week.
To the jump...
Now, let me get the "racist" flags out of the way.
I’m not making that charge.
What I am making is a charge of a race-based bias combined with sloppy, lazy and bias journalism on the part of NPR and especially on the part of their Ombudsman, Alicia Shepard.
The segment that still has me feeling outraged was part of Talk of the Nation for Wednesday July 30, 2008. I was driving in my car when I caught a segment called: Journalistic Guidelines On The Campaign Trail.
This segment included Lynn Neary, the guest host, Ken Rudin, NPR's political editor, and the aforementioned Ombudsman, Alicia Shepard. I thought that this might be good piece, especially since the news just broke the day before that the AP’s Washington bureau chief, Ron Fournier had held job discussions with McCain’s campaign just before he took the gig at AP and that Fourmier already had a long, long, long history of biased reporting on behalf of John McCain and the GOP.
I foolishly thought a discussion about Journalistic Guidelines On The Campaign Trail would be about all journalists and discuss various examples of crossing the line. Instead, the focus was on the fact that some people in the room at the UNITY Conference clapped and even cheered when Obama was introduced. And that was almost the only example of "media bias" in this campaign cycle that was given. It quickly became clear that this "discussion" was a clear example of "media bias" and that it was rooted in a race-based bias that slandered Journalists of Color while ignoring the proven bias of some white male journalist in this election year.
As I got home, I had one of those NPR "driveway moments" when you can’t get out of the car because you’re too busy yelling at the idiocy spewing out of the radio.
Now, I’ve been listening to NPR for decades and I expect better. It is yet another American Institution been diminished by the low standards set by the modern Conservative era error that we have been living through.
I couldn’t believe I had heard what I had just heard. So when the audio was posted, I took another listen and then I checked Lexis for a transcript. It turns out that it was even worse than I thought.
Here is how the segment opened:
NEARY: And now, this past Sunday, the presumptive Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, spoke at the UNITY Convention in Chicago. That was a conference for journalists of color, held every four years. Although many of the 6,000 participants had left by the time Senator Obama arrived, nearly 2,000 remained and he was greeted with cheers when he took the stage.
(Soundbite of cheering)
NEARY: An earlier panel discussion addressed the question of whether journalists should applaud the presidential candidate. [snip]
Today we're going to talk about the relationship between journalists and political campaigns. Where do you draw the line on the participation of journalists in the political process, and what do you expect? [snip]
Now, Alicia, you were in the audience when Senator Obama appeared at the UNITY Conference, and you raised the question about whether it's appropriate for a group of journalists to cheer or give kind of a big ovation to a presidential candidate. Why? What was your concern?
SHEPARD: Well, my concern was that a lot of people were talking about this at the convention, whether or not minority journalists, who were understandably proud of Obama, would show restraint. And the reason to show restraint is that journalists need to at least give the perception that they are being fair and that they don't have a bias. And so the actual clapping would indicate that there was a bias towards Obama. I should say, that there is a big difference between respectful clapping, which journalists may do when the president walks in the room or at other places where a political candidate shows up, and cheering.
NEARY: So in your opinion, then, did the group act appropriately in the end?
SHEPARD: Well, I would draw attention to the fact that there were minor - there were lots of journalist there, but there were also Citizen journalists, that's a whole new world, there were family members, there were exhibitors there. So it's hard to know exactly who was clapping. You know, reports afterwards said that some - many journalist ran up - well, I actually saw a journalist run up and, you know, tried to get his autograph, and someone said, oh, I touched him, I touched him. And I think it's unfortunate but it's inappropriate.
And so it went—on and on for about 17 minutes—and the cause for concern was "whether or not minority journalists would show restraint" when Barack Obama faced them and their questions. NPR Ombudsman Shepard seemed to feel that she thought these Journalists of Color had failed the test. So a segment presented as a discussion about Journalistic Guidelines On The Campaign Trail was actually a discussion about why minority journalists can’t keep their feelings and passions in check when confronted with a black candidate. I was disgusted and, I must say, outraged.
Now, I strongly believe that journalists covering a campaign should have guidelines to follow and that there should be bright lines that should not be crossed. What those lines should be and how should the standards be enforced is a topic worthy of discussion. Ultimately each news organization will have to set their own policies, but some basic standards should be in place. And once they are, some journalists will cross the line. They will be swept up by a candidate, a campaign, a political philosophy, an issue or any combination of the above. They will move from chronicler of an event to a participant. And when they cross that line, their reporting may still be of great value—if they disclose their bias. I don’t mind when a reporter moves in the direction of their passions and in many ways that is a key part of the history and tradition of journalism.
NPR Ombudsman Shepard seems to have a different point of view and her examples and explanation of the problem in the Talk of the Nation segment seemed to uniquely connect the problem of bias to Journalists of Color.
Over and over again the conversation came back to the UNITY Conference and the narrow race-based bias that infused NPR’s presentation of that event. Examples of media bias that did not involve journalists of color were very, very thin. Ken Rudin offered this chestnut:
NEARY: Was that the only time you've ever seen that? I mean, at other events, and, Ken, I don't know if you can join in here, where you're not covering the candidate for your news organization or just seeing them, maybe as a citizen, have you seen journalists act sort of over the top?
RUDIN: Well, there are some famous stories of - I think it was an ABC reporter who was playing tennis with the first President Bush, you know. I think it was Dora Smith, who later wound up working for the administration. So I don't think it's a new phenomenon, but I agree with you that it's disheartening.
NEARY: Disheartening.
RUDIN: Well, disappointing to see - in our profession, I mean - I mean, our job is to really bring you the campaign coverage unfiltered - not unfiltered, but also without the personal biases that may creep in. If you have - if you're playing tennis with somebody or saying, I touched Barack Obama, I think it goes beyond journalistic practices.
At that point, one might have expected NPR’s "Political Junkie" to be aware of the growing controversy surrounding Ron Fournier. Somehow, seeking a job from a Presidential candidate should rate as high as a game of tennis. One would expect a "political junkie" to know that story and be able to expand the discussion and move it away from a race-based focus, but Rudin is a lightweight and talking intelligently about politics is a skill he lacks. He can look up trivia on the Google and regurgitate the Beltway conventional wisdom of the moment, but that is the limit of his skills.
NPR Ombudsman Shepard discussed some hypothetical examples of bias like yard signs and even voting, but her only other example of bias on the campaign trail came from John Kerry’s appearance at the 2004 UNITY Conference where those Journalist of Color also applauded and failed her "test of ethics".
This was an infuriating segment. It was like listening to a concerned troll on the radio. It was a like listening to a poorly source and written blog post lamenting the poor ethics of minority journalists and using thin examples and blatant omissions of facts to hold the faulty logic together.
Fortunately, Lynn Neary was the guest host. In this pathetic segment she desperately tried to get Rudin and Shepard to expand the discussion and move away from the clear race-based bias of piece. She repeatedly asked the right questions:
NEARY: Was that the only time you've ever seen that? I mean, at other events, and, Ken, I don't know if you can join in here, where you're not covering the candidate for your news organization or just seeing them, maybe as a citizen, have you seen journalists act sort of over the top? [snip]
NEARY: But is there a difference between applauding with enthusiasm at an event like the UNITY Conference and putting a placard on your front lawn? There is a big difference. Isn't there, or no? [snip]
NEARY: Do you think that given the historic nature of Senator Obama's campaign that black journalists are being held to a higher standard on this than journalists may have in the past? [snip]
NEARY: And I wanted to read this email. This is from Jeff in Columbus, Ohio. And he says: "A question I always ask that white journalists never face is, am I a black first or a journalist first? I am a journalist who has an Obama '08 bumper sticker on his car and wore an Obama button on his lapel during the UNITY Convention. I am able to separate my political views from my professional responsibility. Additionally, don't forget, John McCain was invited to appear at UNITY, and blew thousands of minority journalists off. [snip]
NEARY: All right. Here's an email from Jennifer. It says: "Is this really inappropriate? What if all the journalists who clapped don't even cover politics? Does that matter at all? I also find it somewhat suspicious that minorities are so readily accused of bias but not white journalists."
Over and over again, Neary tried to expand the discussion, but Rudin and Shepard were having none of it. They had "disclaimer" language like "Well, I think that white journalists are just as capable of being accused of bias as any journalist" or "I would hope that, you know, journalists as journalists are being held to the same standards" and other bits straight out of the standard pious platitudes of the trade.
The segment was ending and Neary laid down a final marker for balance and real journalism:
NEARY: I just have to read this one last email. "Have we forgotten? When both John McCain and Barack Obama spoke before the national press corps(ph) this spring, John McCain got a standing ovation and a box of doughnuts. Barack Obama got a mild hand clapping."
(Soundbite of laughter)
So I guess it can go both ways.
It is funny how NPR and their Ombudsman missed the clear bias that was on display at the AP’s Annual meeting. Comparing the event to the UNITY Conference is instructive. You can watch Obama’s appearance at the UNITY event here, here and here (it is three parts). You will notice that Obama is greeted with applause and some cheers. It dies down quickly and the questioning starts. Here is how the event was reported in the Chicago Sun-Times:
If you thought Sen. Barack Obama would have an easy time before an audience of journalists of color Sunday, think again.
In his first public appearance since returning from a whirlwind international trip Saturday night, Obama was put on the defensive. [snip]
Obama was forced to tiptoe around prickly questions about reparations, immigration, and whether he went too far in correcting a lingering misconception among some voters that he is a Muslim.
When it was suggested that Obama might want to acknowledge "mistakes" or "errors in judgment" with respect to his initial assessment that the surge wasn't working in Iraq, he bristled.
The article also mentions that a panel discussion with an NPR editor challenged the Journalists of Color NOT to applaud Obama:
Earlier, an NPR editor asked panelists whether it was appropriate for journalists to clap for Obama -- and the question uncorked a mounting frustration among many black reporters.
"The total duality of it gets to me," said Les Payne, a member of the panel.
Payne is a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and an editor at Newsday.
"There's no question that mainstream journalists completely adore McCain and cover him favorably," Payne said.
"Now it is: You cannot do what we do routinely . . . and have been doing for a century," he said.
"You have been writing favorable stories about [President] Bush for eight years. This is a serious problem and one of the reasons why this organization was founded," he said.
And if you need proof of how McCain is adored, you might want to view the 2008 AP Annual meeting and compare the McCain and Obama appearances to the Obama appearance at the UNITY Conference. Footage of the AP meeting is online at the AP Web site.
Here is the broadband stream of McCain’s appearance at the AP meeting.. For starters, you’ll notice that his introduction by Tom Curley, the President and CEO of AP, is nothing but praise for McCain and the surge and Curley ends the intro by reminding everybody that we all must view McCain as a hero. The celebratory introduction is followed by wild applause that starts at 2:45 minutes into the feed. It is a standing ovation and there are some cheers. McCain has to raise his hand and motion for the crowd to quite down so he can begin his speech. Right after his remarks, McCain is joined by AP reporters Ron Fournier and Liz Sidoti for a round of softball question and set-ups for Talking points from the Curveball express. Around minute 17:52 Sidoti, Fournier and the AP present McCain with donuts (with sprinkles). That is followed by more applause which is then sprinkled throughout the easy going chit-chat until his final round of applause at minute 52:50. I’ve compared the welcome of McCain by the AP to the welcome of Obama by the UNITY Conference and the "journalists" at the AP were far more enthusiastic and supportive for their chosen candidate.
The reception for Obama at the AP underscored that bias. Here is the broadband stream of Obama appearance. It comes late in the stream, after a long photo montage during lunch. At roughly 44:01 minutes into the stream, Dean Singleton, the Chairman of AP, begins a confrontational and challenging introduction of Obama. It stands in stark contrast to McCain’s welcome earlier in the day. The welcoming applause at 46:31 is subdued—especially when compared to the raucous applause and standing ovation the AP just gave McCain. At 128:04, during the question and answer period, Singleton says "Obama" instead of "Osama" when asking about Afghanistan. The ending applause at 134:00 is also subdued and followed by a quick online discussion between Dean Singleton and another guy about his Obama/Osama oops moment.
Dana Milbank of the WP wrote about the obvious difference between the way the AP treated McCain and Obama:
So much for the liberal media.
John McCain and Barack Obama both appeared before the nation's newspaper editors yesterday. The putative Republican presidential nominee was given a box of doughnuts and a standing ovation. The likely Democratic nominee was likened to a terrorist. [snip]
On the same day, the two media darlings of the presidential election cycle came to address their base -- and McCain easily bested his likely opponent.
McCain's moderators, the AP's Ron Fournier and Liz Sidoti, greeted McCain with a box of Dunkin' Donuts. "We spend quite a bit of time with you on the back of the Straight Talk Express asking you questions, and what we've decided to do today was invite everyone else along on the ride," Sidoti explained. "We even brought you your favorite treat."
McCain opened the offering. "Oh, yes, with sprinkles!" he said.
Sidoti passed him a cup. "A little coffee with a little cream and a little sugar," she said. [snip]
McCain got a standing ovation -- an honor Obama did not receive when his turn came two hours later.
I would say that the impulse of NPR to discuss Journalistic Guidelines On The Campaign Trail is a sound one. It is a fair topic and deserves a serious vetting. And it is reasonable to include Obama’s appearance at the UNITY Conference as a data point in that discussion. It is even fair to use it as the "hook", the recent event that provides an opening to the topic. Me, I would have chosen Fournier’s clear bias and his lack of disclosure about that bias as he heads the AP’s political coverage (I think that is a bigger ethical problem than clapping), but if NPR wanted to use the UNITY Conference that could have been fine—if they actually had the discussion. They did not.
Instead, they had a pious discussion about journalistic "ethics" and how Journalists of Color were dropping the ball. And they avoided examples of bias that came from the AP and other news organizations or downplayed them.
It was a clear example of the subtle race-based bias that should outrage us all.
NPR should be ashamed and their Ombudsman should get a few questions about her actions. She should be encouraged to revisit the story and do a real comparison between the AP Meeting and the UNITY Conference. I will believe that she is serious about standards and ethics in journalism when she apologies to NPR Listeners and Journalists of Color for her lame engagement of this issue. I’ll believe she is serious when she calls out Fournier and the AP for their bias coverage during this election cycle.
Instead, I expect she will hold a discussion on the lack of ethics among bloggers on a NPR program in the near future.
The stupid just burns.
Cheers