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By Brian Montopoli | March 15, 2004
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Yesterday, Associated Press White House correspondent Terence Hunt
wrote a piece claiming, in the lede, that "even before the bombing in
Madrid, White House officials were worrying that terrorists would
strike the United States before the November elections."
As former University of Kansas journalism professor Mike Cuenca pointed
out to Campaign Desk, that wording leaves the vague impression that
officials are worried that a terrorist attack would put the president's
re-election at risk. The problem is, Hunt then neglects to quote or
reference even one White House official saying anything of the sort. As
Cuenca writes:
Hunt quoted
two university political psychology professors, one university
political science professor, a pollster, and a political analyst. But
not even those speakers quoted anyone in the White House. In fact, he
quoted pollster Andy Kohut as saying that "the traditional effect [of a
terrorist attack] is a rally," presumably around the President and in
support of his policies, which White House officials don't likely fear.
The piece does quote National Security Adviser
Condoleeza Rice and President Bush warning of possible future attacks -
which each has done numerous times - but they never, as Hunt implies in
his lede, discuss terrorism within the context of the election. What
we're left with is a bait-and-switch lede and equally misleading
headline--"Officials Worry of Pre-Election Attack" -- on a story that
really contains no news at all.
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Originally published by campaigndesk.org.
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