Editorializing Through Exclusion
Something immediately bothered me about this piece on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. See if you can spot what it is:
Maura Kelly Lannan - May 16th, 2005 CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office has received subpoenas from a grand jury investigating allegations that his chief fundraiser traded jobs for campaign contributions, a source close to the investigation said Monday.
The governor refused to say if he had been subpoenaed, insisting it would be illegal to discuss the matter while it is before a grand jury.
What I found curious was the lack of any mention of Blagojevich's chosen party; the Democratic party, in this case. This is not the first time I've seen this sort of exclusion. Consider another article yesterday titled "Ethics Complaint Filed Against Governor." It details complaints against Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (a Democrat) without any mention of his chosen party.
Though I have only anecdotal evidence to buttress this, it often seems to me that the party of the figure of controversy, whoever it may be on a given day, is much more likely to be mentioned if that party is the Republican party.
In the Bredesen example above, it could be said that his party is not mentioned because the story in question is a local one, and thus the information can be assumed. Perhaps. Even if that explanation is accepted, however, one would have to wonder why this piece, which is also from yesterday, and which is also a local story, puts the subject's affiliation front and center:
KPVI - May 16th, 2005 Governor Dirk Kempthorne has been a little short of cash lately. The Republican has bounced two checks totaling 111 dollars since October.
One would wonder why Kempthorne's party is pertinent to the claims of misconduct, but not pertinent to the claims leveled against Blagojevich and Bredesen.
UPDATE: Alexander at PoliPundit takes a quick jab worthy of a Reynoldsesque "heh."
» May 17th, 2005
posted @ 08:47 AM in Media
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