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Understanding the Reporter Americanus A simple guide to reporter bias in the year 2000 |
when a reporter has it in for them
By
CHUCK McFADDEN
of TheColumnists.com
Reporters are perfectly human, just like you. They get colds, they worry about their kids, they have fights with their spouses and bosses. But, of course, as a reader you never know that. Seldom do you read above a news story: "This was written by Reporter Mary Lou Thomas three hours before she was scheduled to undergo a root canal, and she was in a really bad mood. Besides, she has a cold."
Such a little notice might be an extremely useful item for readers to have in mind as they progress through a straight news story, but of course it will never happen. The reader is left with the belief that he or she is reading words put together by a disinterested, judicious observer. And so they are, except when they're not.
Politicians have known for eons how to interpret reporters' words as being unfavorable or favorable. And here's how you can, too.
Does the reporter refer to someone "working quietly behind the scenes"? That's good. It suggests the politician is modest but effective, working for the common good without seeking the spotlight. Unless, of course, the reporter thinks the politician is working quietly behind the scenes to, maybe, outlaw color television. In that case, the politician is of course not working quietly behind the scenes. The politician is working "behind closed doors." If the reporter really dislikes the politician or what's going on, the politician is attending "a series of unannounced meetings closed to the press and public."
Don't like the candidate? He's in a hotel suite with his "entourage." ("Cronies" is regarded as overkill.) Like the candidate? Then he's in his suite with "family and friends."
The
suite itself? "Plush" if the reporter doesn't like
the candidate. Maybe even "lavish." "Comfortable"
if the reporter is favorably inclined. Maybe even "modest."
Same suite.
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Here are some "Make or Break" words and phrases in news stories:
· "Bipartisan,"
"Nonpartisan" - good; means whatever is being described
has overcome "party politics." It's becoming more and
more true across the nation, but in California especially, if
something can be defined as nonpartisan or bipartisan, it is,
by definition, an example of good government. Political parties
are regarded as somewhat shady organizations.
· Broad-based - what coalitions
are if the reporter likes them.
· "Loudly
proclaimed"
- nothing good is ever loudly proclaimed.
· "Appeared
to contradict earlier statements" - you're lying.
· "Staunch
conservative/liberal" - good; a description of a candidate
whom reporters like personally. By the way, has anyone ever heard
someone described as a "rock-ribbed Democrat"?
· "Tout" as in "the
candidate touted his …." You're pushing something phony.
· "Bold" -reporters
like bold things. Makes for better stories. Bold proposals are
good proposals.
· "Slush
fund"
-What honest person has a "slush fund"? Even if it's
used to buy stamps?
· "Denied"
-
if you're a candidate who has to deny something, goodbye, friend,
you're toast. The reportorial attitude is, if you're denying
something, it's true. Remember John Kenneth Galbraith's famous
rule of denials? "Anyone who denies that he is going to
resign three times, will resign."
·
"Tight-lipped" - good, even if it works against reporters'
self-interest. Tight-lipped people are discreet and reliable.
· "Aging" -a three-month
old baby is aging, right? But say the 63-year-old chairman of
a Congressional committee is aging, and it means the lawmaker
is trying to cling to power even though he's barely able to hobble
down those marble corridors. Strom Thurmond, of course, is not
described as aging. That would be like describing Al Gore as
"serious."
· "Abrasive"
-
the reporter thinks you're a bullying jerk.
· "Blow-dried" - superficial,
dumb.
· "Fact-finding
tour" -
the reporter likes the lawmakers involved.
· "Junket" - vice-versa.
Edwin Newman, the great NBC news correspondent and language guru, tells how the British press used to describe a public figure who was slobbering drunk at lunch, face down in the soup. He was reported to be "fatigued."
American reporters also have their inviolate customs. It is required, for instance, that any public relations firm in Washington, D.C. be referred to as "high powered." In our nation's capital, there is no such thing as a low-powered public relations firm. Same thing for public relations executives. They are all high-powered, and are so described by reporters even when they're telling readers how the high-powered executive committed a major blunder.
So
now you know. Feel high-powered the next time you pick up your
newspaper. Someone's trying to send you a message.
© 2000 by Charles M. McFadden. The cartoon images are from
the IMSI Master/Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. East,
San Rafael, CA 94901-5506, USA.
Chuck
McFadden used to report on politics in Sacramento for The Associated
Press.
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