Incertonia
23-12-2004, 21:22
Simple answer: No. (http://www.campaigndesk.org/archives/001200.asp)
From the Columbia Journalism Review, an academic and nonpartisan group dedicated to looking at the failures of our press corps:
But wade through the wall-to-wall coverage of the story, and it becomes apparent that there are only a handful of examples -- three, to be exact -- being recycled in article after article. Many of these pieces use the same incidents in almost the same way. Some even hit for the cycle, as USA Today did today, referencing all three stories in one shot.
The first heavily cited anecdote comes from New Jersey's South Orange-Maplewood school district's decision to ban Christmas carols at school holiday concerts. That story, egged on by conservative opinion columnists, has seen ink in the New York Post, the Washington Times, Daily [UK] Telegraph, Newsday, Mississippi's Sun Herald, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, just to name a few.
Similarly, at least 27 mainstream newspapers have reported on Macy's owner Federated Department Stores' rule forbidding its outlets from using the phrase "Merry Christmas." Trouble is, the rule doesn't exist. According to the company's Web site, its stores have "no policy with regard to the use of specific references to Christmas ... This includes using the phrase Merry Christmas if they believe it is appropriate to do so." But fact never stopped the echo chamber, and in this case reporters continue to parrot Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, transcribing the complaints of an anti-Macy's group called the "Committee to Save Merry Christmas," often with no rebuttal from the store itself.
The third anecdote, cited in roughly 25 papers, revolves around the righteous indignation caused by the City of Denver when it denied a local church's application to have a float in the city's holiday parade -- although the city notes that it hasn't allowed religious or politically themed floats in over a decade.
When not flogging the same three stories -- two of which are essentially false -- to create the appearance of a genuine national trend, the media is busy interviewing the same outraged representatives of a few conservative family groups trying to put the Christ back in Christmas. The Alliance Defense Fund, for example, has been cited in numerous stories in the past week, as has the Rutherford Institute, another conservative group.
If the Alliance Defense Fund sounds familiar, it's because they do this kind of stuff all the time. They're currently fighting the California lawsuit over same-sex marriage, and were instrumental in the bogus story about the Cupertino teacher who was being "persecuted" for proselytizing to his elementary school students. They're also fighting a case in Neosho County, Missouri over whether or not the Bible can be a part of a school's elementary and middle school accelerated reading program.
Of course, if you listen to Bill O'Reilley, you'd think that peole were getting arrested for saying Merry Christmas, but as usual for Mr. O'Reilley, the truth lies somewhere very, very far away from whatever is coming out of his mouth.
From the Columbia Journalism Review, an academic and nonpartisan group dedicated to looking at the failures of our press corps:
But wade through the wall-to-wall coverage of the story, and it becomes apparent that there are only a handful of examples -- three, to be exact -- being recycled in article after article. Many of these pieces use the same incidents in almost the same way. Some even hit for the cycle, as USA Today did today, referencing all three stories in one shot.
The first heavily cited anecdote comes from New Jersey's South Orange-Maplewood school district's decision to ban Christmas carols at school holiday concerts. That story, egged on by conservative opinion columnists, has seen ink in the New York Post, the Washington Times, Daily [UK] Telegraph, Newsday, Mississippi's Sun Herald, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, just to name a few.
Similarly, at least 27 mainstream newspapers have reported on Macy's owner Federated Department Stores' rule forbidding its outlets from using the phrase "Merry Christmas." Trouble is, the rule doesn't exist. According to the company's Web site, its stores have "no policy with regard to the use of specific references to Christmas ... This includes using the phrase Merry Christmas if they believe it is appropriate to do so." But fact never stopped the echo chamber, and in this case reporters continue to parrot Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, transcribing the complaints of an anti-Macy's group called the "Committee to Save Merry Christmas," often with no rebuttal from the store itself.
The third anecdote, cited in roughly 25 papers, revolves around the righteous indignation caused by the City of Denver when it denied a local church's application to have a float in the city's holiday parade -- although the city notes that it hasn't allowed religious or politically themed floats in over a decade.
When not flogging the same three stories -- two of which are essentially false -- to create the appearance of a genuine national trend, the media is busy interviewing the same outraged representatives of a few conservative family groups trying to put the Christ back in Christmas. The Alliance Defense Fund, for example, has been cited in numerous stories in the past week, as has the Rutherford Institute, another conservative group.
If the Alliance Defense Fund sounds familiar, it's because they do this kind of stuff all the time. They're currently fighting the California lawsuit over same-sex marriage, and were instrumental in the bogus story about the Cupertino teacher who was being "persecuted" for proselytizing to his elementary school students. They're also fighting a case in Neosho County, Missouri over whether or not the Bible can be a part of a school's elementary and middle school accelerated reading program.
Of course, if you listen to Bill O'Reilley, you'd think that peole were getting arrested for saying Merry Christmas, but as usual for Mr. O'Reilley, the truth lies somewhere very, very far away from whatever is coming out of his mouth.