August 21, 2003
California interlude
Spending time in the San Francisco Bay Area is always a disorienting experience (I grew up here, but left 20 years ago when I went off to grad school). It's an area familiar yet much changed, and unlike any other place I've ever lived.
What really gives the impression of having landed in a parallel universe, however, is picking up a local newspaper or tuning in to local TV news. I get frustrated when the NY Times slants its coverage, but the Times at its worst doesn't begin to approach what seems to be the norm at the San Francisco Chronicle and its ilk. And while many here openly sneer at the Chronicle, I don't get the impression that most even notice that its reporting is not just substandard, but also screamingly partisan. Last Saturday's headline, for example, read:
THE CALIFORNIA RECALLI did a double-take when I saw it. My local friends didn't notice anything amiss.
Bustamante
and actor
take lead
in state poll
Posted by David on August 21, 2003 7:11 PM
I take it you think it is biased to refer to one candidate by name, and the other only pejoratively by profession. However Ahnold has no relevant experience, and he has been so vague about how he plans to fix California's ills that it makes sense to view him as an actor simply fronting for his advisors. One reporter has actually tried to guess what sort of governor he would be by reviewing his movie rolls.
- The Precision Blogger
http://precision-blogging.blogspot.com
Posted by: The Precision Blogger on August 25, 2003 12:06 PM
Like Bustamante's experience makes him competent to be governor.
Posted by: eric on August 25, 2003 9:37 PM
Frankly, I have no strong opinions about the likelihood of Schwarzenegger making a good governor. Even if he is manifestly unqualified, however, that does not make the headline any less partisan. That sort of front-page display of editorial opinion is what one expects from tabloids, not from "serious" newspapers.
The "actor" reference is also too vague, considering how many actors of various sorts have thrown their hats in the ring, from Gary Coleman to Todd Richard Lewis to porn star Mary Carey.
Posted by: David on August 28, 2003 6:18 PM
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