[March 19, 2014] I’ve written about news media credibility before to explain that there is an unfortunate trend where the media is losing much of their credibility by selective and misleading reporting. I discussed it in the context of bias reporting on the military but it extends far beyond the military. The failure of the news media senior leadership to control this is contrary to everything we know about great leadership.
The latest bias is “above the fold” photograph (Getty Images) in The Wall Street Journal yesterday on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade tagline says “NO-SHOW: Breaking with tradition, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other high-profile Democrats skipped the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on fifth Avenue to protest the organizers’ policy effectively banning gay groups from participating.”1
New Yorkers like me are not surprised by the symbolic gesture of Mayor de Blasio. Yet to say that gay groups are effectively banned is simply false. While there is no accompanying story, it is unclear what is meant by “effectively banned.” What we do know is that no activist group is allowed to use the parade to promote their politicized messaging. This standard applies to everyone without exception.
The fact that gay groups are unhappy means that they could not force a private organization called the Ancient Order of Hibernians to bend to their will. Gay groups are not banned from being in the parade – something overlooked here. What this is really about is politically protected gay groups forcing a religious organization to bend to its will.
The Wall Street Journal failed to report the real story. Credibility of the news media in America is in decline.
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[1] Link to on-line article here: http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/03/17/photos-st-patricks-day-marches-on-in-new-york-city/?KEYWORDS=st+patrick%27s+day+parade