Which circle does not belong with the others? 
Which newspaper’s front page does not belong with the others?
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Why is the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, the ostensible “Independent Voice of South Louisiana,” so decidedly Republican?
Don’t feel too bad – the Lafayette Daily Advertiser did the same thing. Check it out if you find a copy. Also check out my blog.
I notice the Daily World only mentions McCain on their front page, while The Advertiser and The American Press mention both McCain and Clinton in their front page headlines. But The Advocate can place only McCain’s name in bold. Who will they endorse in November? Shall we hazard a guess?
I’ve worked for several newspapers in Louisiana, including the Advocate. In their defense, they have what are probably the earliest deadlines in the state, and the AP moved the McCain story hours before they broke anything definitive about the Democrats. The newspaper I work for (in Missouri) now had to stop its presses to update its front-page primary story after Texas was called for Hillary.
While I don’t doubt that most newspapers in Louisiana lean GOP, to put it mildly, it’s also true that the Republicans are far more interested in an early coronation.
I prefer to think that, when McCain gets trounced in November, that will make everyone’s front page without prejudice.
But The Advocate already announced Clinton’s victories in the subtitle. Why not place it in bold in the headline? After all, this was the dramatic narrative developing on the news wires last night.
Their decision to relegate Democrats to the margins once again is in my opinion more symptomatic of the Advocate’s patent Republican leanings than a result of their writers’ desire to meet an arbitrary deadline. Only now do I feel obliged to note it in a quick entry on a blog.
They probably did it for the same reason my paper did it: because the TV networks had called Clinton’s victories, but they needed official wire copy to back it up, and that came as most papers went to bed. By that I mean the editors felt safe putting it in the subheading, but knew they weren’t likely to get a big-enough story at that hour to put it in the headline.
I’m not saying the press doesn’t have a huge conservative/corporate bias, but I also understand how deadlines can affect placement of coverage. It matters more than you might think.
But other newspapers in other areas of the country, including the Eastern time zone, covered the story. Moreover, other newspapers in the state managed to alter their headlines in order to accommodate the latest developments in the Democratic Primary.
The Advocate, by the way, was one of Jindal’s largest contributors. And their coverage of Jindal last year bordered on sycophantic. And although I am not surprised by their decision to provide perfunctory and marginal coverage to the Democratic primary, I remain justifiably consternated.
OK guys, don’t get constipated just because one paper in this state may lean a little to Republican side. The liberals have dominated the mainstream media for years and as a prominent local female african american attorney would say “It’s our turn now”.
Another plausable explanation is that McCain clinched the nomination last night (supposedly) and Obama and Clinton only clinched their buts a little tighter.
Hopefully, yhey will go in to the convention with no presumptive nominee. I need the drama!!!!!!
The liberals don’t dominate shit in the mainstream media. Who broke the Lewinsky story in the mainstream media? The “liberal” NY TImes. Who broke the Wen Ho Lee story? The “liberal” NY Times. Who broke the story on Whitewater? The “liberal” NY Times.
The right wing owns the media now, Darren. Who is getting bashed in the media about a controversial figure (Farakhan) that “endorsed” him? Barack Obama, and he didn’t even solicit the endorsement.
You have John McCain soliciting the endorsement of John Hagee, who has said some lovely things about the Catholic CHurch, calling it the “great whore” and a “false cult system.” And he has donated over $1 million dollars to help resettle Soviet Jews in Israel because he wants to bring about the Apocalypse.
Where is the media in calling for McCain to denounce Hagee? What’s the difference between Farrakhan and Hagee? They’re both bigots. Why hasn’t the mainstream media called John McCain on his bigoted supporter?
It felt really this morning to tell the Times Picayune to cancel my subscription. As you may already know, the TP endorsed Obama for President.
http://www.nola.com/elections/index.ssf/2008/10/our_recommendation_barack_obam.html
This decision:
– send a messages about their endorsement for President
– saves a few trees in the future (Now I’m a true environmentalist)
– they just raised the rates to $13 to $16/month, so I now save this annual expense
– and keeps me from spending $30 every time I receive a .50 cent coupon on Sundays
Looks like I win all around. The Times Picayune post their articles online, so there is no need to waste your money and support such a liberal media anyway. If there a a special day when something is released and you want a copy of that days paper, you can go to any news stand, Walgreens or supermarket to pick it up.
Stop supporting the newspaper. Spread the word to have everyone cancel their subscriptions.
Jody
CenLamar 
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