PressEthic

This is not a good time for the incument Republican administration, by anybody's standards. Fox's "fair and balanced" claims deserve some consideration, given that their online editors are leading with a number of pieces which are far from complimentary of the party, both in the executive and deliberative branches of government.

Tom Delay's Campaign Finance scandal is a top story. As is the possibility that Vice President Dick Cheney may have disclosed the identity of a CIA operative to "Scooter" Libby, his Chief of Staff, who may have later passed the name on to reporters.

Then there's the anti-Miers advert which will be airing next week, funded by a group called Americans for Better Justice. Remarkably, according to the article on the Fox site, this will be airing on the Fox News Channel.

Let's just review that for a second: a candidate for the Supreme Court, nominated by President Bush, and allegedly a huge personal fan of George W., is being campaigned against on Fox News, seen by many as a pro-Republican and pro-Bush station. That doesn't add up, unless the premise about Fox' leanings are dropped.

But then here's the kicker. Originally entitled, "End in Sight," a piece on the Fox website is now headlined, "End Near for CIA Leak Grand Jury." Could it be that the original link name was seen as too pro-Bush, given that it was accompanied by a photo of the President? Would Fox ever change a headline editors might deem too partisan?

Let's hope so, we're all fallible, and news is a fluid, work-in-progress business where journalists and editors must be quick to make amends.

What I do find strange is that the headline has little to do with either the lead or general content of the piece, which initially focuses on Bush's reticence about the case, concluding with yet more hagiographical sentiments by fellow lawyers about Fitzgerald, with a few comments by a token Republican Senator, George Allen, about the need for those being indicted to resign.

Only in the 8th paragraph is the headline's relevance explained: Fitzgerald has until Friday to present something - such as a candidate for indictment - at which point the term of this particular grand jury is up. Why not headline with comments about the President's continued, "no comment," or perhaps Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald's impending deadline? Some decisions by Fox which relate to Bush still seem rather difficult to explain without reference to their alleged bias.