Plain Dealer plays it safe in Michael Connell article

[Algorem]

http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com/2008/12/22/plain-dealer-plays-it-safe-in-michael-connell-article/



As an Ohio paper of record, there is no excuse for the Plain Dealer to have excluded two very specific and known pieces of information related to the late Michael Connell’s work. Here’s the article

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/federal_officials_probing_plan.html

and here’s what it excludes:

1. It doesn’t mention any of the Ohio connections Connell had to former Secretary of State and GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell or the back end of the SOS’s 2004 presidential election vote compilation.

2. It also excludes any mention of the federal lawsuit regarding alleged voter fraud and rigging in which Connell had been subpoenaed...


While I’m pleased that the paper filtered out the conspiracy theory concerns circulating about the accident - there is no need for a published print article on the concerns until site-related investigations are complete or other significant and corroborated information is available, to not include Connell’s connections to Ohio election activity and the Ohio Republican Party? No excuse - just editors being far too conservative in deciding what they think we need to know as news filtering.


By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:21 pm December 22nd, 2008 in Elections, Media, Ohio, Writing
Comments

[ananda]

1. My question.

Exactly w h o is doing the o f f i c i a l
investigating of this accident??????????

Is it bureaucrapic foxes investigating the
henhouse?

[lurky]

2. Omitting crucial details is not "playing it safe".

Playing it safe is being careful not to leap to conclusions or create false impressions. Not mentioning the lawsuit or connections to Ohio 2004 controversies is journalistic malpractice.

[Algorem]

4. "Journalistic malpractice".That's it exactly.

[Botany]

3. It is getting some coverage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TCUbKFnh0

Ch 19 WOIO

bush / Cheney paid Connell $800,000 in 2004 but nobody knows
what he did.