Malice vs. Stupidity

Matthew Hoy
By Matthew Hoy on November 4, 2008

Normally when the news media misses a story and you're presented with the question: "Was it malicious or just stupid?" I tend to side with the "stupid" choice. I've mentioned this before, and former CBS newsman and author Bernie Goldberg agrees, but the liberal bias that comes out of mainstream media newsrooms isn't a conscious attempt to shape the news -- it's just that there's no one there that perceives the facts a different way. There's no conservative to say that maybe they missed a point or misunderstood something else.

However, this one has got to take the cake.

Back in January, then in the thick of the Democratic primary race, Sen. Barack Obama met with the editorial board and reporters of the San Francisco Chronicle. You can find the news report on the meeting here. You can find an editorial column on the meeting here.

In neither of those reports do you find the following quote from Obama.

“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” Obama said. “It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.”

Here's the video:

 

Obama's stated support for clean coal has been a farce. Make no mistake, if a President Obama gets his way on this issue -- and with Democratic majorities in the House and Senate he very well may -- don't be surprised to see your electricity bills skyrocket -- especially in the Midwest and Northeast.

The Chronicle defends its failure to report these comments with the disclaimer that the audio and video has been online for months. From a political standpoint, that's fair enough -- McCain should've had some intern going through every available video of Obama from the beginning of time starting the moment Obama secured the Democratic nod.

However, the Chronicle isn't supposed to be doing things from a political standpoint. They're supposed to be doing things from a journalistic standpoint. Make no mistake -- this vow by Obama to bankrupt coal-fired power plants was news. I'm flabbergasted that no one in that interview thought to report on that news. Was it a willful, conscious decision? Well, if you were to list a hierarchy of most politically monolithic newsrooms, the Chronicle would likely be near the top.

Journalism. Wound. Self-inflicted.

0 comments on “Malice vs. Stupidity”

  1. I have little hope Obama will have the strength to bring about change because Pelosi, Reid and those left-wing illuminati liberals will forcefully override him on the issues. I'm very suspect about him as a person and President because of his associations with socialists Ayers & Wright and feel all of these people will have an effect on him that will be very detrimental to our country.

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