Media Double Standard

This was a letter to the editor of the Boone News Republican
that I found on the Boone Republicans News & Issues blog.
Thanks to Tom Rosenbaum

I have noticed a serious double standard in the AP and other mainstream media reporting between the shooting of Representative Gifford in Tucson and the Wisconsin protests.

Just one day after the shooting of Representative Gifford in January, AP headlines linked the cause of the shooting directly to Sarah Palin and Tea Party groups, citing examples of them, on maps of congressional districts, saying that some seats that were up for reelection were being targeted . The news articles neglected to say that both political parties commonly use this terminology. And several days later when it came out that the shooter was a psychotic man who had never read a political article and had been stalking Gifford for years, I did not see any retractions of the unjustified accusations that had been made about individuals and groups.

Now we have the week long protests in Wisconsin dealing with benefits for public workers. I have seen posters with a target and cross-hairs over a picture Governor Walker’s head. There have been signs showing the newly elected governor portrayed as Hitler, Stalin, and Mubarak, calling him a dictator. Governor Walker’s family has had to move out of their home because they were being threatened. His car has been attacked.

I’ve been watching and waiting. I have yet to see any condemnation of these inflammatory signs and this deplorable behavior in any AP headlines. It looks like this “new era of civility” is one sided.

Eileen Westrum
Boone, Iowa

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I'd like to thank Eileen for her great letter to the editor! This got me thinking, wouldn't it be cool to start writing letters to the editors of papers around the state of Iowa?

If you're like me, the incessant attacks on Governor Palin are maddening, and I want to counter them whenever I hear them. The media is so unfair.

I would encourage anyone reading this blog to take a minute and write a short note in defense of Governor Palin, or in support for something she has said or done. The media has had a three year campaign of ridicule and smears and it's time for the truth about this great woman to get out and counter the media double standard.

You could use Eileen's letter as a template (please don't just copy it, but you can use her points to write in your own words, or use any of the articles here at Iowans4Palin that could give you inspiration.)

Here is a list of Iowa newspapers.

Let's do this!