Fox in the News at the Press Democrat
The hallmarks of biased news – exemplified by the Fox media empire – are selectivity and leading questions. The Press Democrat is no Fox, but the paper can tilt away from objectivity when it comes to its favored developers and projects.
Jeff Kolin - Potentially Outgoing Santa Rosa City Manager
The PD rushed the basics into print yesterday (11/3), when it learned
Santa Rosa is losing Jeff Kolin, one of California’s most respected
City Managers (currently President of the City Managers’ Department of
the League of California Cities). That's an important story for our
fair city.
But it only took a few lines for its staff reporter to get to the spin:
“Kolin, 57, said his decision had nothing to do with disagreements with
the council over development. Many observers viewed Kolin as a
pro-business voice at City Hall, one that sometimes conflicted with the
current council majority, which critics say has stifled economic
growth.”
The leading question about “disagreements” works as a set up for the
reference to “many observers” and harsh “critics.” Hmmm... no names
given, but do we hear echoes of the prominent coverage the PD gave to a
favored pair of establishment figures, when they objected loudly to
City demands on environmental grounds for revisions of an out-sized
tree-whacking project proposal for Fountaingrove?
Surely not views of the developers of the on-going Railroad Square
project, for which the new Council helped get almost $15 million in
financing.
Nor voices of the many local businessmen whom the Council vigorously
defended by short-stopping a bigbox application.
“Stifled economic growth”??? – give me a break.
The PD article then goes on to selectively discuss a Kolin-Council
exchange over a favored PD project, the White House garage. Sure,
there’s room in the piece somewhere for this angle, but right up front
with very little context?
Once you get past this PD version of sexy news content and read on down
the page, you find out that the incumbent of the Beverly Hills job is
getting paid $325,000 vs. Kolin’s current $230,000. Do you suppose he
would have passed up that kind of salary differential if it hadn’t been
for those alleged “disagreements” with the City Council? Oh, and by the
way, the PD adds in passing, Kolin has family in the South.
Don’t get me wrong – the PD has some fine professional reporters, both
veteran and younger writers, on whom I rely heavily for objective news
about what’s going on in Santa Rosa. But call me old-fashioned and
boring — on stories like this, I do wish the PD would be less Fox-y
and more NYTimes-y.
Editor's Note: This article was reprinted from Jim Wilkinson's blog with permission.
