Via CNSNews.com:
When President Obama said last week that he wants a government-run, government-owned health insurance provision to be included in the health-care reform bill being readied by Congress, only one of the nation’s top five, large-circulation newspapers thought it was worthy of front-page coverage.
USA Today, which has the largest circulation in the nation, placed an AP-wire version of the story on page four. Called “Obama plan would provide health care for all,” the 724-word article said: “In providing the first real details on how he wants to reshape the nation’s health care system, the president urged Congress on Wednesday toward a sweeping overhaul that would allow Americans to buy into a government insurance plan.”
Page Four, and nothing more than a copy of an AP story, with little about government-run, government-owned health insurance.
The Wall Street Journal, the second most widely circulated U.S. paper, reported the story on page four in an article titled “Obama Shifts on Coverage Mandate.” The article, also published last Thursday, noted how Obama’s letter to the two senators contradicted the stance he took during his campaign against presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2008.
Page Four, a re-run story.
The most “buried” story was an 804-word piece, headlined “Obama Urges Quick Action By Senators On Insurance,” that ran on page 16 of The New York Times.
Page Sixteen. Sigh.
The Washington Post placed its 606-word story on page four of the A-section. The article, titled “A Move Toward Requiring Health Coverage; In Letter to Senate Democrats, Obama Suggests Hardship Waiver for the Poor,” described Obama’s “fresh willingness to consider taxing employer-sponsored health insurance” and “a new openness toward a nationwide requirement that every American have health coverage.”
And another Page Four. I can’t help but wonder what was so much more important to push this ground-breaking news item to Page Four. Did American Idol start a new season?
Fortunately people rely less and less on printed newspapers. This example is one of the many reasons these publications are becoming a dying breed…hiding news they may not like. They are nothing more than a propaganda machine pushing an agenda. They are failing in their mission to inform without bias.
Since these newspapers are “shaping” how we perceive the news, and not just “reporting” it, I wonder if we should exempt them from the Constitution’s First Amendment protection? Does anyone here use the newspapers as their primary news source?
Obama, government-owned health insurance, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, newspaper
