It’s often said that media bias shows itself mainly in what elite editors and reporters consider to be news, not necessarily in the content of the coverage. An example of that is in today’s Washington Post, which ran a front page story –on Bob Edwards being fired as the host of NPR’s Morning Edition. Now, as a certified member of the chattering class, I also listen to NPR (though less often now that I finally got a CD player in my car), but the idea that this story was important enough to put on the front page speaks volumes about the provincialism of the Post’s editors. All the people they talk to think it’s an important story, but how about the story on the possible grocery strike (on the front of the Business section) or, heck, something from the Sports page. I couldn’t care less about sports, any sports, but it’s a lot more important to more people (even in Washington) than who’s reading a script on public radio.
Gotta run to testify at a House immigration subcommittee hearing on guestworker programs (the testimony and webcast will be on line here ). Now that’s news!