A DIFFERING VIEW: Agency officials are available for quotes
It is unfortunate that the Rocky Mountain News failed to check before devoting an editorial to a tantalizing, but ultimately untrue, New York Times blog entry regarding our agency (“They’d rather not tell you anything,” Aug. 24).
Had your editorial writers conducted a cursory review of recent news coverage they would have learned that many of our dedicated employees are frequently quoted on the record. They would also have learned how frustrated blogger Christopher Jensen took a pass on writing a story about a life-saving technology simply because he did not get the information he wanted in the exact manner he wanted it.
The bottom line is that while we work hard to accommodate every one of the media requests we receive, our dedicated researchers are busy doing lifesaving research that oftentimes takes precedence over engaging in detailed conversations with every person posing as a journalist who calls.
That’s why we offered to make Administrator Nicole Nason available, or, if Jensen preferred, provide him with on-the-record responses to each and every one of his questions. But apparently he is more interested in dictating the work schedules of government employees than getting the facts about highway safety.
Heather Hopkins is executive director for public affairs at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington, D.C.
Since when did the RMN want to get the story correct or the facts straight? That would interfere with their agenda.
Posted by on August 27, 2007 08:25 AMMuch of the "news"we see printed or broadcast is, as often as not, devoid of the correct facts in true context.
A perfect example is the outing of Valarie Plame as a covert CIA agent.
There was never any finding of the underlying crime by Fitzgerald, but many still believe Ms. Plame was a covert agent outed by the very wicked Bush Admistration.
Media bias is not only about what is printed or broadcast. Bias is shown often in emphasis or the lack of emphasis and very often in omission.We don't see or hear all of the news but only what the godlike journalists decide we should get.
I find it a bit hard to believe that President Bush has done nothin right during his entire term as president, but then I have to take that on faith because I surely didn't get that from the "news" media.