In its April 4 edition, The Gazette of Colorado Springs published an Associated Press article that reported on the arrival of a congressional delegation led by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), its plans to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and President Bush's criticism of direct talks with Syria. However, The Gazette omitted AP's reporting of Bush's direct criticism of Pelosi's visit and the fact that a Republican-led delegation had met with Assad on April 1. In contrast, The Denver Post published in its April 4 edition and The Pueblo Chieftain posted online an AP article that noted the White House's criticism of Pelosi and the fact that Republican lawmakers had met with Assad only days earlier. All three versions of the AP article had the dateline Damascus, Syria.

As published by The Gazette (accessed through the newspaper's electronic edition), the AP article did not mention White House criticism of Pelosi's Syria trip and the visit by the Republican delegation:

DAMASCUS, Syria. U.S. -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., arrived Tuesday in Syria, where she'll meet with President Bashar Assad today.

Congressional Democrats are taking a more assertive role in influencing policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war. The Bush administration, which accuses Assad's government of supporting terrorism, has resisted calls for direct talks to help ease the crisis in Iraq and make progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Democrats have argued the U.S. should engage its top rivals in the Middle East -- Iran and Syria -- to make headway in easing crises in Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Arab peace process. Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended talks with the two countries.

Bush rejected the recommendations. In February, however, the U.S. joined a gathering of regional diplomats in Baghdad that included Iran and Syria for talks on Iraq.

The Post in its April 4 edition (accessed through the newspaper's electronic edition) published an AP article by Zeina Karam that included passages noting Bush's criticism and that a GOP congressional delegation had met with Assad on Sunday:

Damascus, Syria -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mingled with Syrians in a market and made the sign of the cross at a Christian tomb Tuesday in a visit to hard-line Syria that was criticized by President Bush.

Bush said the visit sends mixed signals to Syria's government, which his administration accuses of supporting terrorism. Washington says Syria allows Iraqi Sunni insurgents to operate from its territory, backs the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups and is trying to destabilize the Lebanese government. Syria denies the allegations.

Pelosi's trip was the latest challenge to the White House by congressional Democrats, who are taking a more assertive role in influencing policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war. The Bush administration has resisted calls for direct talks to help ease the crisis in Iraq and make progress in the Israel-Palestinian peace process.

Soon after Pelosi's arrival in Damascus, Bush criticized her visit.

“A lot of people have gone to see President Assad, ... and yet we haven't seen action. He hasn't responded,” he told reporters. “Sending delegations doesn't work.”

Soon after Pelosi's arrival in Damascus, Bush criticized her visit.

“A lot of people have gone to see President Assad ... and yet we haven't seen action. He hasn't responded,” he told reporters at a Rose Garden news conference. “Sending delegations doesn't work. It's simply been counterproductive.”

[...]

Visiting neighboring Lebanon on Monday, Pelosi shrugged off White House criticism of her trip to Syria, noting that Republican lawmakers Frank Wolf of Virginia, Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania and Robert Aderholt of Alabama met Assad on Sunday.

Bush said at a White House news conference Monday that the administration has “made it clear to high-ranking officials, whether they be Republicans or Democrats, that going to Syria sends mixed signals.”

The version of Karam's article published by the Chieftain online also noted Bush's criticism and the GOP delegation's visit:

DAMASCUS, Syria -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mingled with Syrians in a market and made the sign of the cross at a Christian tomb Tuesday during a visit to pursue dialogue with the country's leader. President Bush denounced the trip, saying it sends mixed signals to Syria's government.

Pelosi's visit to Syria was the latest challenge to the White House by congressional Democrats as they try to take a more assertive role in influencing policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war. The Bush administration, which accuses President Bashar Assad's government of supporting terrorism, has resisted calls for direct talks to help ease the crisis in Iraq and make progress in the Israel-Palestinian peace process.

Soon after Pelosi's arrival in Damascus, Bush criticized her visit.

''A lot of people have gone to see President Assad ... and yet we haven't seen action. He hasn't responded,'' he told reporters at a Rose Garden news conference. ''Sending delegations doesn't work. It's simply been counterproductive.''

[...]

Democrats have argued that the U.S. should engage its top rivals in the Mideast -- Iran and Syria -- to make headway in easing crises in Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Arab peace process. Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended talks with the two countries.

Bush rejected the recommendations. But in February, the U.S. joined a gathering of regional diplomats in Baghdad that included Iran and Syria for talks on Iraq.

Visiting neighboring Lebanon on Monday, Pelosi shrugged off White House criticism of her trip to Syria, noting that Republican lawmakers met Assad on Sunday without comment from the Bush administration.

“I think that it was an excellent idea for them to go,” she said. “And I think it's an excellent idea for us to go as well.”

As Colorado Media Matters has noted (here, here, and here) The Gazette on repeated occasions has published articles from wire services or other newspapers but omitted material from those stories that portrayed the Bush administration in an unflattering light.