Down to the wire, the media have been as much a part of the presidential campaign of 2004 as the issues. Down to the wire, partisanship has been the basis for most of the complaints. Down to the wire, the media’s handling of virtually every story of significance has been dissected for the impact perceived or real it might have on President Bush’s or Sen. John Kerry’s chances for election.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that in the final weeks, partisans in both “red” and “blue” America have come unglued over why, when and how “the media” are attempting to manipulate the election.
In recent weeks, that charge has been leveled at news organizations around the country, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on stories ranging from the influenza vaccine shortage to this week’s report that nearly 400 tons of highly explosive material may have been stolen from a supply depot near Baghdad while it was supposedly under guard from U.S. troops.
Those are just two examples. There are plenty of others. In the final days of an election in which many voters long ago made up their minds and in which paid political consultants and partisan commentators have been yammering about how the media are either lying or withholding vital information that could change the course of the election I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Still, I am. Especially when you look closely at the stories.
The flu vaccine: Bush supporters say the criticism of the Food and Drug Administration and federal health authorities for this year’s vaccine shortage is trumped up by Democrats and advocates of universal health care to scare older Americans. While the shortage is real, they acknowledge, it is not the immediate public health threat that the media are making it, and by continuing to write about it, the media are playing into the hands of Kerry.
The senator’s supporters are outraged that the Bush administration is putting politics in front of public health. Democrats in Congress want the FDA to produce documents that would allow oversight committees to review the situation, and by asking for delays while the agency concentrates on getting more vaccine out there as quickly as possible the administration is avoiding public accountability until after the election. Those stories should be on the front page, Kerry’s supporters say.
The flu vaccine shortage is a major story and it has deservedly gotten a lot of Page One attention, especially here at the AJC because of the important role the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plays in formulating the public health program. The story deserves attention because of systemic problems in how this country goes about attempting to minimize a major flu outbreak. Criticism of that effort goes back years and crosses Democratic and Republican administrations in the White House. In-depth reporting on this issue is important, regardless of the election cycle. I assure you it will continue after Tuesday.
The missing explosives: Kerry’s folks are mad that the missing explosives story, first generated by The New York Times, has not made its way onto the front page. It shows the administration’s inept handling of post-Saddam Iraq security, they say. Bush’s supporters claim the story is old news and the deadly weapons were likely long gone when troops captured Baghdad in April 2003.
When the looting happened before the U.S. troops got there, or after they had supposedly secured the site is the only real point of dispute here. Former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay said he thinks the explosives had to have been taken after the fall of Baghdad, when they presumably had been secured by U.S. or allied forces.
Still, the uncertainty has contributed to why the stories didn’t make the front page. But the fact 380 tons of highly explosive material has disappeared and may be in the hands of terrorists remains an important story that needs further reporting, regardless of the election cycle.
Maybe after Tuesday readers will see that such judgments are made on the basis of newsworthiness and not because we think it will change how people will vote. But I guess that depends on how the vote turns out.
