On the Trail of Maddow’s Michigan ‘Scoop’: The MSNBC host botched the story in important ways but...

[salvorhardin]

Rachel Maddow's big scoop about Republicans abusing the "immediate effect" rule in the Michigan statehouse isn't such a big scoop after all.

"Of the 761 bills passed when the Democrats had control of the House, 744 had “immediate effect.” Ari B. Adler, press secretary for Michigan’s GOP Speaker of the House, confirmed these numbers for me, and added that only two of those bills had recorded roll call votes."

And yet, even if Maddow slanted the story to make it look as if the Republicans were the only ones to abuse this loophole in Michigan's laws regulating when bills take effect as laws, almost no one else is covering it, particularly in Michigan. Sadly, apathy is the way of state political coverage.

As much as Maddow overplayed her “scoop,” though, most of the media here in Michigan have underplayed it. The story hasn’t been ignored by any means—in addition to the Detroit News article mentioned above, here’s a Free Press article about the legal battle from April 5, before the first Maddow segment aired, and here’s a News piece about developments in the legal battle—but neither has it been covered in real depth, even after other national media started paying attention. Even the Lansing State Journal, located in the capital, has been using wire copy (in one case under a headline referring to a “House spat,” code for “only politics geeks could possibly care about this”).

...

At the same time, Michigan’s reporters should acknowledge Maddow’s influence, and provide a timely and comprehensive account of the story for those who want more depth in the wake of her broadcasts. And while it is easy—and important—to critique Maddow for her errors, Michigan’s journalists might also acknowledge where she is right: that this is a story that resonates beyond election-year politicking.

Full post at Columbia Journalism Review: http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/maddow_michigan.php?page=all