Tale of Two Congressmen: 'Conservative' Tom Coburn, But 'Democrat' Chuck Schumer
Labeling disparity: In a story on Congress marking the shootings in Tucson, the Times notes that two senators will be sitting together at Obama's upcoming State of the Union address: Tom Coburn, a conservative Republican from Oklahoma, and Sen. Charles Schumer, a plain old Democrat from New York.
Published: 1/18/2011 1:03 PM ET
After displaying every other type of media bias in its coverage of the Tucson killings, the Times commits its trademark politician labeling bias in a Monday story by David Herszenhorn and Carl Hulse about Congressmen planning symbolic gestures at the upcoming State of the Union: "Born of a Violent Act, Small Gestures of Peace - Lawmakers Aiming to Increase Civility."
The Times opens with an anecdote featuring two unnamed senators, who turn out to be Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative Republican from Oklahoma, and Sen. Charles Schumer, a liberal Democrat from New York. Yet while Coburn was twice labeled accurately as a conservative by the reporters, Schumer was simply called a Democrat each time.
The Times opens with an anecdote featuring two unnamed senators, who turn out to be Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative Republican from Oklahoma, and Sen. Charles Schumer, a liberal Democrat from New York. Yet while Coburn was twice labeled accurately as a conservative by the reporters, Schumer was simply called a Democrat each time.
A leader of the Senate Democrats and one of the Senate's most conservative Republicans will sit together at the State of the Union speech next week in a gesture of unity.
....
Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat, and Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, a leading conservative, said Sunday that they would sit together at the State of the Union speech. The gesture, expected to be replicated by colleagues, stands to alter the seemingly timeless image of lawmakers on one side of the House chamber standing and applauding a president from their own party, while lawmakers on the other side sit stone-faced, their hands in their laps.
