While WaPo Opts to Caricature Exxon, FinTimes Reports Biz Fundamental
May 2nd, 2008 5:37 PM
Big bad oil company ExxonMobil is "on the defensive in the face of consumer ire and congressional indignation" as it raked in a "huge" first quarter profit, Washington Post's Steven Mufson informed readers of his front page May 2 article.Mufson later noted that "[d]espite Exxon's colossal profit, the company's stock fell yesterday." Mufson blamed investors "shift[ing] gears" to turn to other…
WaPo Dusts Off McCain Citizenship Non-story
May 2nd, 2008 4:35 PM
Stop me if you've heard this before: McCain, theoretically, might be ineligible for the presidency due to his being born on a naval installation in what was then the Panama Canal Zone. Oh, that's right, we have heard this. Back in February, as a matter of fact.No matter to the Washington Post's Michael Dobbs, who recycled the story a full 64 days later in the May 2 paper.Dobbs breathed new life…
Newspaper Circulations in 3-Year Plunge, with Four Exceptions
May 1st, 2008 10:27 AM
Old Media business reporters have a definitionally-incorrect habit of labeling single industries or economic sectors as being "in recession," when the term, as defined here, can only describe national economies or the world economy. Two examples of this are New York Times reporter David Leonhardt's description of manufacturing as being in recession in February 2007 (laughably incorrect, in any…
Helen Thomas Seizes on Photo of Dying Baby to Accuse US
April 30th, 2008 1:08 PM
Q. Is there any level to which Helen Thomas won't stoop?A. Apparently not.That's my conclusion, based on Thomas's exchange during today's press gaggle with White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. Here is the front page of today's Washington Post to which Thomas refers . A slide-show from WaPo's web edition contains another photo of what appears to be the same child, with this legend:Two-year-…
Who Had the Fairer Panel: Meet the Press or Fox News Sunday
April 27th, 2008 2:43 PM
For a moment, let's step away from the commentary, per se, and focus on the commentators. Liberals love to chide Fox News for its alleged conservative bias. So why don't we see, when it comes to being fair and balanced, how this morning's Fox News Sunday panel stacked up against that of its main competitor, Meet the Press?Here are the line-ups—you be the judge.MEET THE PRESS Host–Tim Russert…
Perfect Job for Sheryl Crow: Montgomery County, Md. Jailor
April 25th, 2008 12:58 PM
"Toilet Paper Rationing Proposed for Inmates" read the teaser headline in the sidebar of my Metro section front page for the April 25 Washington Post. "Since when did Sheryl Crow become a jail warden?" I wondered. Much to my chagrin, I found it was not such a green story after all, unless the green we're talking about is the budget for the Montgomery County, Maryland budget:Montgomery County…
Washington Post Faults Catholic Church Teaching for Filipino Poverty
April 21st, 2008 2:22 PM
The day after Pope Benedict XVI departed the U.S. after a six-day visit, Blaine Harden of the Washington Post lamented the Catholic Church’s influence in the Philippines, specifically, the government of Philippines "acceding to Catholic doctrine" by "supporting only what it calls ‘natural’ family planning," rejecting "modern contraception" as part of family planning." Throughout his article,…
MSM Papal Trip Postmortem: Benedict Did 'Better Than Expected
April 21st, 2008 1:59 PM
With Pope Benedict back in Rome, the media are rendering their verdict of the pontiff's U.S. visit. The pontiff did "better than expected" seems to be the verdict coming from secular journalists, who, of course, found that the pontiff bested the low expectations of unnamed "experts." Take the following from Washington Post staffers Michelle Boorstein and Jacqueline L. Salmon (emphasis mine):NEW…
