PAPERS DOWNPLAY 'BUSH WINS' STORY

By: Wayne Robins Readers React To Miami Herald's Undervote Story


You would think news that President Bush is still leading in the Florida ballot
recount would make headlines around the country. But The Miami Herald's
Feb. 26 story, headlined "Dade Undervotes Support Bush Win," which moved the
night before on both The Associated Press and Knight Ridder wires, was not
widely or well-played at some major papers around the country.

The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, the Minneapolis Star Tribune,
and The Washington Post all were accused by readers of showing liberal
bias by underplaying or ignoring the Herald story.

Bee editors felt the sting of reader wrath for burying the story on the
last page of the "B" section. In hindsight, Bee editors acknowledged in
print that the play was a mistake, in a column by Ombudsman Sanders LaMont. "The
story merited page A1 for a variety of reasons," Bee Assistant Managing
Editor Mort Saltzman told LaMont.

Twin Cities readers had tangible evidence of the Star Tribune's alleged
liberal tilt, since the St. Paul Pioneer-Press - like the
Herald, a Knight Ridder paper - ran the Miami story on Page One Feb.
26, while the Star Tribune ignored it altogether. Lou Gelfand, the
Tribune ombudsman, wrote that it was a mistake by a lowly Sunday night
wire editor and not instructions from the Kremlin that drove the decision. "It
was an embarrassing goof, a human error devoid of political skullduggery,"
Gelfand wrote.

Ombudsman Michael Getler of The Washington Post wrote March 4 that
"dozens" of the paper's politically savvy readers complained that the "liberal"
Post had buried the story on inconsequential page A4 instead of the front
page. It was difficult for Getler to explain the real reason the Post
buried the story: The Post is part of a competing "consortium" of major
newspapers conducting their own Florida recount.

Getler, in print, admitted this "a difficult policy for the Post to
explain to its readers, who might question its motives." The Miami
Herald's statewide undervote count is nearing completion; the consortium's
Florida recount is proceeding slowly, with results due next month.



Wayne Robins (wrobins@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor covering new media for E&P.



Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.