Indignant Bush supporters claim that bias and lies permeate stories critical of the president. Equally indignant Kerry backers cry foul about similarly skeptical accounts of their side. Lost in the crossfire is a lot of informed critical reflection.
Here is an attempt to sort out at least a few of the issues that have dominated the ombudsman mailbox in recent days.
Story at issue: Wednesday’s Page 1 story suggesting President Bush failed to meet his National Guard commitments.
The complaint: The Globe is biased because it has not gone after Democrat John Kerry’s military records with equal vigor.
“How come the Boston Globe can’t or won’t get John Kerry’s military records and diary and report on the contents? Why doesn’t the Globe force the issue with the Kerry campaign? This is . . . a credibility issue for the Globe,” wrote a reader from Winchester, echoing others.
Of note: The Globe has its flaws, but failing to pursue Kerry’s military records is not one of them. Beginning in May 2003 the Globe sought, in writing and in person, all documents relating to Kerry’s military service. Not satisfied with what was initially available, it asked Kerry to sign a Privacy Act waiver, which would have made public the records kept by the military. He refused. Separately, Globe reporter Michael Kranish combed the Naval archives.
“We’ve asked for everything again and again,” says Kranish. The result of the Globe’s research was published in two biographical efforts on Kerry — a June 2003 series and a spring 2004 book. The Globe kept up the pressure, publishing in late April a story calling attention to unreleased records. That prompted the campaign to make public another round of documents.
“We have pursued both candidates’ records with equal vigor . . . ” says Globe Editor Martin Baron. “The book, series, and various stories were based on extensive research into Kerry’s military records and an unrelenting pursuit of every record we could get our hands on.” The Globe, he added, “gave in-depth, front-page treatment to questions surrounding Kerry’s first Purple Heart in mid-April, well before other media. . .” All together, the military records obtained by the Globe have provided more detail than revelation about Kerry’s service years. They confirmed the relatively minor nature of the wounds that won him Purple Hearts in Vietnam, and documented the acts of bravery that won him the Silver and Bronze stars.
The Kerry campaign says it has now released all relevant documents. Without Kerry’s Privacy Act waiver, there’s no way to confirm that. But if the Globe has not seen everything worth seeing, it’s not for lack of trying.
Story at issue: The main story on the fourth day of the GOP convention, reporting on the speech by Democrat Zell Miller and others.
The complaint: By devoting only four paragraphs of that 23-paragraph story to Miller’s keynote address, and not running a separate account of his remarks, the Globe downplayed potent criticism of Kerry by a fellow Democrat.
“Near nonexistent” was how reader John Corcoran of Essex described it. “I dare say that if a Republican senator played the same role at the DNC that it would yield front page coverage in the Globe . . ”
Some critics said Miller got less ink than Democratic keynote speaker Barack Obama did in July.
Of note: Obama and Miller got roughly equal treatment. In the final edition, Obama’s speech got less of the main story, but an excerpt ran nearby; both men got brief notice on Page 1 — Obama with a small photo, Miller in the main story. (It’s also worth noting that in the days before their speeches both Obama and Miller were profiled, Miller on Page 1.) But, given the buzz the keynote addresses generated, should the Globe have done more on both? In retrospect, probably so.
Deputy Managing Editor John Yemma says that, especially with Miller, the delivery of the speech was more powerful than the advance text suggested, but it was hard at that late hour to substantially expand coverage. “In both cases, with enough space and resources, we should have done a separate story,” he said. “In retrospect, I wish that could have happened. . .` But he adds, “It’s not like you have perfect knowledge of the future when you do these things.” I agree on both counts.
Ever so briefly:
Yes, the Globe did devote more space to coverage of the Democratic convention than to the GOP, given the hefty special section that was part of the Democrats’ coverage. But that section was largely feature content — food, fashion, media. The breaking convention news went into the A-section, and there the Globe gave the GOP the same four to six pages a day that Democrats got.
Finally, a note to readers who objected to the op-ed page’s “Inside the Brain of a Republican” cartoon on the first day of the GOP convention. Yes, it was cutting, perhaps snide, but no more so than the cartoon dissecting a Democrat’s brain the day before the Democratic convention. Sometimes parity is everything.
