Monday, November 17, 2008

Anatomy of a Biased Headline: Part IV

A mere couple of days ago the media was salivating at the President-elect ‘ratcheting’ up the effort to hunt down bin Laden.

With the media this gangbusters about bin Laden, wouldn’t that be the first mention in any article involving a CIA report that says he is essentially fighting for his survival? It should be the absolute crux of the headline, as Fox News and even CNN agreed.

Perhaps it would be after January 19th, but certainly not prior to that. Let’s take a look at some of these ‘glass half empty’ headlines which will only continue to exist Before Obama (B.O.).

MSNBC CIA chief says al-Qaida still greatest threat
New York Times C.I.A. Chief Says Qaeda Is Extending Its Reach
Washington Post CIA Chief: Iraq Not Main Front
The USA Today CIA: Al-Qaeda 'single biggest threat' to U.S.

USA Today's article did actually mention bin Laden as a priority, but apparently not enough to give it headline status. That is only warranted when Obama mentions his name, as evidenced by their headline two days ago:

Report: Obama to focus on bin Laden capture

Pro-Obama journalism at its finest.

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