MMMM #13 - Fair Reporting

Paul Krugman was ranting about lies told by the GOP in his New York Times column on Friday, and he included this observation about the media: "Why do the McCain people think they can get away with this stuff? Well, they’re probably counting on the common practice in the news media of being “balanced” at all costs. You know how it goes: If a politician says that black is white, the news report doesn’t say that he’s wrong, it reports that “some Democrats say” that he’s wrong. Or a grotesque lie from one side is paired with a trivial misstatement from the other, conveying the impression that both sides are equally dirty." Paul...it's even worse than you think. At least on the local-TV News level, they often don't even go to the trouble of trying to appear as if they're balancing the story. In both politics and crime stories, allegations are routinely accepted as statement of fact. Last week one station ran a clip in which Democratic VP Nominee Biden mistakenly urged someone in an audience to stand up and be recognized, but that person was in a wheelchair. Biden realized his error and urged everyone to stand in that person' honor. Honest mistake, no? So to "balance" that report, the station ran a clip about GOP VP Nominee Palin being greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. Nothing like wearing your allegiance on your rundown. But more to Paul's bigger question: if a campaign tells a lie, should the media call it a lie? Can we leave it up to the media to honestly decide what is a lie and what is the truth? Have we really reached the point when that question has to be asked?