This example comes via NewsBusters:
Last Thursday and Friday, the Washington Post’s Express tabloid showed a major contrast between a GOP elephant waving a white flag, and then Vice President Joe Biden triumphantly handing out muffins at the post-shutdown EPA.
Another, even stronger contrast emerged on the news stands of DC on Tuesday and Wednesday after it became apparent to absolutely everyone that the Obamacare website was a fiasco. Obama was a cheerleader on Tuesday; on the next day, the Republican elephant was dead or dying.
On Tuesday, the cover headline was “Commander Performance: The president delivers a spirited sales pitch for Obamacare as criticism of its deeply flawed rollout mounts.” Inside, the headline was “Search for a Cure: Obama says the health-care site will be fixed, as problems mount.”
The story began began “President Barack Obama gave a consumer-friendly defense [?] of the health-care law Monday” and the event “had the feel of a health-care pep rally.” They cited ABC-Washington Post poll numbers that 56 percent believe the website’s tech problems reflect a larger problem with Obamacare, but “more Americans also support the law despite the enrollment issues, with 46 percent saying they support the law now, compared with 43 percent who said so last month.”
On Wednesday, the cover headline was “Free Fallin’: Who suffered the most from the government shutdown? Poll results show the biggest loser is the Republican Party. Inside, the headline was “GOP Feels Shutdown Hangover: Poll finds major damage to the party as it wrestles with its future direction.”
As Scott Whitlock noticed in the regular paper, the Post wants readers to know “just how badly the GOP hardliners and leaders who went along with them misjudged the public mood,” while “President Obama’s overall ratings have held steady. Almost half of all Americans approve of the way he has handled his job.” It left out that more disapprove: it’s 48 percent approve to 49 percent disapprove among all adults, and among registered voters, it’s 46 percent approve to 51 percent disapprove.
I love this reporter… he ends with “I am not an advocate”! Awesome!
- PBS Host Calls MSNBC Anchor and MSNBC Contributors ‘Advocates’ – To Their Faces