Textbook Case of Bias

The fastest way to expose media bias is to compare how the papers cover identical events performed by two different people.   Governor Brewer just delivered her State of the State address and it was panned by the media.  Governor Napolitano delivered seven State of the State addresses...and was met with media adulation.  Check out the headlines and first couple paragraphs of the Arizona Republic's coverage of each speech.

Here's Brewer's speech from last week.

Brewer's address light on policy, fund details

 Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday unveiled a policy agenda that aims to build on plans to enhance Arizona's economic competitiveness, improve its education system and make it easier to hire and fire state workers.

The Republican governor also vowed to continue to push back against the federal government on issues such as health-care mandates and illegal immigration.

 

Here's the coverage of Napolitano's first State of the State Address in 2003. (No link because it's only available in the Republic archive.)

GOVERNOR: 'LET'S BE HONEST' NAPOLITANO SAYS STATE IN SORRY SHAPE, VOWS TO PROTECT KIDS, TAXPAYERS

Gov. Janet Napolitano challenged lawmakers Monday to dig out of the state's worst fiscal crisis without raising taxes or balancing the budget on "the backs of children."

  Here's 2004.

'INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE' AMBITIOUS PLAN WOULD BOOST EARLY-CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Full-day kindergarten for 250 of the state's poorest schools within a year. A new system for rating the quality of preschools. And, once again, a new book for every first-grader in Arizona.

In her second act, Gov. Janet Napolitano wants to be known as the Education Governor, specifically, the Early Childhood Education Governor.

During her 40-minute State of the State speech Monday, Napolitano laid out an ambitious and pricey plan to stop dropouts, increase literacy and bolster the economy by improving education at its earliest levels. After the speech, the governor, a big sports fan, used a football analogy to describe her strategy.

 Here's 2005

INVEST 'IN WHAT MATTERS': GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS URGES UNITY FOR STATE AGENDA

Facing re-election next year, Gov. Janet Napolitano reached out Monday to create a common ground with a more conservative Republican Legislature, calling for business tax breaks and talking tough on illegal immigration.

In her State of the State address, the Democrat once again staked her claim as the education governor when she pushed to expand all-day kindergarten to 100 more low-income schools.

But she also offered conservative-friendly plans to spur the economy with tax relief and urged the U.S. and Mexican governments to crack down on illegal immigration. She promised that her new budget will embrace fiscal discipline.

 Here's 2006

NAPOLITANO VOWS TO SECURE BORDER: SPEECH ALSO TOUTS TEACHER PAY RAISES, TAX CUTS

As 4,000 people rallied for immigrants rights Monday on the Capitol lawn, Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano vowed to beef up border security and punish companies that intentionally hire undocumented workers.

Riding a booming economy, Napolitano also called for tax cuts for small businesses and vehicle owners, and pay hikes for state employees and teachers.

Her fourth State of the State address featured ideas that could affect just about everyone in Arizona, from battling crime by cracking down on the distribution of methamphetamine to boosting education by improving the base pay for teachers.

 Here's 2007

NAPOLITANO ACTS FAST TO PUSH PLANS FOR ARIZONA

Gov. Janet Napolitano signed six executive orders on the first day of her second term, toughening air-pollution regulations, creating a plan to improve long-term care facilities and adding a financing scheme for water projects.

Later, she used her State of the State address to call for fundamental change in the way Arizona grows, educates its children and prepares for the new economy.

 Here's the 2008 speech

Napolitano puts focus on state's future

Gov. Janet Napolitano focused on the future Monday with a State of the State address that called for increased use of renewable and clean energy in the decades ahead and a doubling in the number of bachelor's degrees issued by state universities by 2020.

She proposed a Centennial Scholars program that would guarantee free tuition in Arizona for any student who stayed out of trouble and maintained at least a "B" average during high school. And, as she did last year, she proposed raising the high-school dropout age to 18.

 And finally, with a one-way ticket to Washington D.C. in her pocket, Gov. Napolitano gives one last speech.  Here's 2009

EXHORTING ARIZ. TO KEEP INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

Gov. Janet Napolitano's State of the State address Monday was really a farewell as chief executive of Arizona. With her confirmation as secretary of Homeland Security apparently a slam-dunk, her boxes are already packed for Washington, D.C.

Napolitano has spent her six years in office as a strong advocate for investment in the future. On Monday, she had her last big platform as governor to try to inspire Arizonans. 

Comments

[David Dodenhoff]

Isn't it really just the headline on Brewer's speech that's a problem? The first couple of paragraphs seem fine.

Headline-writers often get it wrong. Their headlines can be much more slanted and controversial than the stories to which they apply. (I see this all the time on Politico and Real Clear Politics...inflammatory headline followed by pretty tame story.)

[westsider]

Greg, Here is the rest of the AZ Republic coverage you aren't telling your readers about:

Brewer to leave budget mess

Gov. Jan Brewer complains frequently and bitterly about the budget mess she inherited. The real message of the budget she proposed last week is that she intends to leave her successor a mess as well – a smaller mess, but a mess nevertheless.
Brewer’s complaint is somewhat justified.

The budget deficit she inherited was humongous and her predecessor, Janet Napolitano, was the biggest-spending Arizona governor in modern history.
But the deficit wasn’t premeditated. The budgets leading up to the mess were approved by Republican Legislatures. And no one anticipated a fiscal tsunami that would reduce state revenues by a third.

The deficit Brewer is intending to leave is premeditated.

Robert Robb, 1.18.2012

[ManlyMenDon'tWhine]

The only significant difference in the coverage is the headline. Newspaper headlines that do not accurately reflect the content of the story have been around for, well, a few centuries at least. But I guess you can still whine about it. Whining is what Espresso Pundit does so well.

Man up. Stop whining. Stay classy. Watch as Endorsed by Sheriff Joe presidential candidate Rick Perry drops out of the race. Watch as Mitt Romney's campaign implodes over his only-little-people-taxes Leony Helmsley millionaire status. Watch as Newt Gingrich plays straightforward racial politics in South Carolina, with Rick Santorum cheering him on and the crowd actually booing the Golden Rule. This year is going to be so much fun. Stay classy. Stop whining. Man up.

[westsider]

Here is Robb's take on Brewer's State of the union - again not reported by Greg:

State of the State: It ain't party-time
Gov. Jan Brewer’s State of the State address was a desultory affair. But there did seem to be two main points: (1) Arizona is back; and (2) we should celebrate by getting the state capitol out of hock by Centennial Day on Feb. 14.

This is a grossly premature pronouncement and celebration.

Brewer and Republican legislators congratulate themselves on finally balancing the state budget. But they haven’t, really.

State government was a $10 billion enterprise but the state only expected $8.3 billion in revenues for this year.

Brewer and Republican lawmakers didn’t reduce state government down to an $8.3 billion enterprise. Instead, they shrunk it down to a $9 billion enterprise and decided not to fund $700 million of it.

[westsider]

Desultory: Definition:

disappointing in progress, performance, or quality

source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desultory

[RonJ]

Brewer--or any Republican--could walk on water and the Arizona Republic headline would be: "Brewer can't swim."
The left can't help themselves: they just hate--and that's the correct word--Republicans in general and conservatives in particular.

[westsider]

RonJ. You think Robert Robb hates Gov. Brewer? I think he speaks truth to power.

[RonJ]

We were talking about Robb. We were talking about how the Republic's headlines (on alleged news stories) are biased. Robb doesn't "speak truth to power." Robb is not employed by Brewer and has nothing to risk by giving his opinion in his column, especially when it criticizes a Republican, something his employer must enjoy.

[RonJ]

Correction: "We weren't talking about Robb" is how it should read. My bad.

[AZjohn]

Westsider

Please check your facts before posting.

While it is true the Republicans were in the majority during the Napolitano years, if you check the budget votes, you will find that the budgets were passed with the vast majority of the Democrats voting yes and a small minority of Republicans voting yes to pass the bills.

Several times the bills were passed over the best efforts of the House and Senate Leadership. These were not Republican bills by any honest measure.

And as far as premeditation goes, the last budget that Napolitano signed had to have projected revenue GROWTH at around 9% to make the budget balance. This was in May 2008. She had to look long and hard to find ONE economist dishonest enough to give that kind of projection. All the others were projecting flat to negative growth. So I contend her budget fiasco was premeditated as well.

[Phoenix48]

Robb objects to 'premature' celebration. It is fair to object to the State forcing cities to PERMANENTLY cut back - by refusing to 'refund' - monies swept from them - a funding gimmick dating to the 'Napolitano way'.

These cities insist this money is 'theirs'- Brewer and the legislature doesn't quite see it that way; for good reason- an exercise of limiting government in action.

There was a time - before Napolitano - when cities like Surprise and Mesa and Glendale and Peoria and Avondale and you name it - didn't pursue and wind up addicted to tax & spend policies while expecting fed like 'block grants' from the State to help them pull it off.

In this way Napolitano's pernicious reach went beyond just growing State government and giving away most of downtown to ASU in the name of being the 'education' gov.

It included encouraging and enabling local cities go in the same backward direction - helping to make us a less desirable high-tax destination to do business.

These folks are now getting a harsh but needed REFOCUSED lesson in NEEDS BASED LOCAL FUNDING. Not surprisingly the local mayors and councils don’t like it much.

Westiders posts obviously stump for going back to Democrat Napolitanoesque rule. Clearly an opportunistic highjack of what Robb points out.

The rest of us realize Napolitano enjoyed an ECONOMIC BOOM SHE DIDN'T HELP CREATE - AND BLEW WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 'RAINY DAY' RESERVE IN THE PROCESS.

It’s interesting that Robb is so bearish that we can’t enjoy 5% growth anytime soon to bridge to the next Republican governor after Jan Jan. Almost as if he is phoning it in to please his employer while the checks still last.

[Raystern]

Good points, Greg. But don't forget the Repub's 2010 version, which has detectable conservative bias. In fact, Governor Brewer like the author's style so much, she hired him to be her spokesperson.

Brewer calls for unity, smaller government

Focus is conservative principles; no new talk of sales-tax hike

By Matthew Benson

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer re-emphasized her conservative roots Monday in a State of the State address that took shots at the Obama administration and emphasized steep budget cuts and a rollback of the state Medicaid program.

She also burnished her free-market credentials, called for border security, and said - once state finances are righted - that the state must enact new limitations on the future growth of government. Each is a key plank of conservative principles. "There is no one here and no one elsewhere," Brewer said, "who has fought any longer or harder than I have for lower taxes, job growth and economic freedom in Arizona."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/01/12/20100112capitol-firstday0112.html

[westsider]

I am just quoting Mr. Robb.... take it up with him - his blogs beg for comment :)