Chronically Biased

I'll admit that I was a bit surprised, and somewhat encouraged, when I saw this post two weeks ago by James T. Campbell on the About: Chron blog of the Houston Comical. In it, Campbell -- the Chronicle's "Readers' Representative" and member of the Comical Editorial Board -- actually admits to bias by the Houston paper, even if in only one unique case. The situation pointed out by Campbell involved a recent selection of photos of one Democrat and one Republican senator, to accompany a related article.

Here's my response: I agree. The photo of Graham, considered a moderate Republican by some, standing alone might have been innocuous, maybe not. But juxtaposing it against the "thoughtful" and considerate photo of Bingaman makes Graham look crazed, as in "wild-eyed conservative." There was a better, more thoughtful photo of Graham. We should have used it.

But, as one commenter noted, "Posting a mea culpa on a blog is not the same as giving the 'correction' the same prominence as the 'error'." (To which Mr. Campbell replied that his post was simply intended to point out a failing, not to correct it.)

So imagine my surprise when I came across an expanded version of this same article in Sunday's Chronicle (print edition). Located on the back page of Section E (Opinions & Editorials), but with a large blurb/pointer on the footer of the section's front page. Kudos to Mr. Campbell for having the guts to put this matter into print.

Not that I expect the practice to go away, especially not at the Houston Comical. As another commenter pointed out, the picture accompanying each and every article about Congressman Tom DeLay is just another example of the Chronicle's photo policies.