Newsbusters unclear on concept of “local newspaper”

Written by Jamison Foser

Published

It's only Sunday, and the competition is always tough, but we already have a clear frontrunner for Dumbest Newsbusters Post of the Week.

Under the headline “SF Chron Reports 'Massive' Anti-War Protest, Completely Ignored Equally Large Cincy Tea Party,” Warner Todd Huston writes:

the Chronicle does enjoy a good protest ... As long as it's of a leftist, anti-war flavor, of course. Witness the Chron's coverage of the “Massive anti-war, anti-Wall Street protest in San Francisco” from this weekend, March 21.

If size was the key here, as the Chronicle's headline seems to note, then why ignore the likely bigger protest in Ohio only a week ago?

I'll bet you can figure that one out, eh?

Of course you can. You, not being a paranoid Newsbusters writer, can probably figure out why the San Francisco Chronicle covered a rally in San Francisco, but didn't cover one in Cincinnati.

Ok, here's a hint: The San Francisco Chronicle article about the rally in San Francisco appeared in section B of the newspaper -- the section labled "Bay Area."

By the way, note the way Huston addresses the sizes of the two rallies. First, he claims the Cincinnati rally involved “thousands of average Americans.” Huston offers no evidence to support this claim. Then he says it “truly was massive” -- but, again, no proof. Then he writes that the San Francisco rally “rally was no bigger (and arguably smaller)” than the Cincinnati rally -- again, without proof. I guess if you include the word “arguably,” you don't need proof. Then -- in the very next sentence -- Huston asserts that the Cincinnati rally was “likely bigger” than the one in San Francisco. Once again: no proof. And in consecutive sentences, Huston has shifted from asserted the California rally was “no bigger” than the Ohio rally to asserting it was “arguably smaller” to claiming the Ohio rally was “likely bigger.” All without a shred of evidence.

For the record: I have no idea which rally was larger, nor do I care. The point here is the standards of evidence in place over at Newsbusters. Or, rather, not in place.