Quotes, or interpreting facts?

Yahoo! News – Bush Twists Kerry’s Words on Iraq

I think there are two problems here, really.

The first one is, there is a significant amount of “editorializing” going on in the headline writing, and the writing of the article.

Why do I say that? Because they are “spinning” the story to be negative, and then adding a counter segment about Kerry to provide “balance.”

The other issue is that, what is being reported as “twisting his words” is not, really. Well, no more than the writer of the article was doing. Bush, and Kerry, were interpretting what the other said, getting at what they believe the meanings of their opponents words were. That is not the same as quoting.

Of course, writers do that all the time in these stories, telling us what was said, and what it “Means.” Perhaps this is just professional jealousy, on the part of reporters? They feel only they can “interpret” for us?

Neither side lied. At least not in THIS story.

ADDENDUM: One of the students has pointed out that, according to the community newsletter found at: http://www.chevychasesection3.com/pdf/may2003.pdf, the author of the article in question has ties (marital) to the Clinton Administration.

“Jen and Roger Ballentine … Jennifer, using her work-world name of Jennifer Loven, is a White House reporter for the Associated Press and Roger is president of Green Strategies, Inc., a consulting firm he started two years ago after serving as chairman of President Clinton’s White House Climate Change Task Force. ”

So, she is a White House reporter, which would explain why she writes at great length about what Bush has said, and has ties to the left, which might explain the “twist” she puts on the “twist.”

Recommendation: Read Goldberg’s book Bias. I recommended it before, and I do so again.