Boston Herald has crossed the line into OVERT bias.

[MallRat]

This is the honest-to-god front page of today's Boston Herald:



It's one thing for a newspaper to insidiously infuse right-wing bias into their reportage. But with this front page, the Boston Herald has finally disqualified themselves as a source of news, and can only rightly be classified as a conservative political daily.

Editorializing on the cover is something I'd expect from a partisan political magazine. But this cover is far beyond the limits of anything remotely considered as fair journalism.

Mark it down, folks. July 7, 2004 was the day that Boston became a 1-newspaper town (Globe). The Boston Herald is no longer eligible to be considered.

-MR

[Brian_Expat]

1. This is "news" about the Herald?

You could always count on that rag to print short, easy to read stories with big pictures, usually written by far-right whackos like Don Feder.

[MallRat]

3. I've long known that the Boston Herald is a right-wing rag.

But usually you don't see EDITORIALIZING on the FRONT PAGE. They're usually more subtle about it.

The #1 news story is the Edwards announcement. The #2 story is the GOP response. Failure to recognize this means that the Herald has lost the little credibility they had left.

-MR

[tom_paine]

7. Der Herald = Der Sturmer without the racism

So many Bushevik Party-Loyal Sub-Media are feeling their oats and now coming right out.

Imperial Amerika has shattered the barrier of lowness and baseness that I didn't think possible, so of course now that the Imperial Subjects of Amerika are deemed weak and slavish enought o sit there and take it, the Bushevik Party-Loyal Sub-Media now uncloaks and goes "Full On Der Sturmer".

[meegbear]

8. Good 'ole Don ...

He writes a column in part calling Puerto Rico a "Dogpatch" and upsets the Hispanic community. Then when a group protests in front of the herald on a Tuesday, he says in a radio interview that they're protesting "probably because they don't have a job or don't want one".

A man of the people.

[Loonman]

2. Purcell is a GOP shill

He takes the money.

[meegbear]

4. I wrote 'em off years ago ...

the past few weeks, they have been going over the deep end with this shit - and they still scream about 'bias' at the Globe.

[ibegurpard]

5. The Boston Herald is a right wing rag

published by a former Rupert Murdoch flunkie. Classify it with the NY Post and FAUX News.

[Poiuyt]

6. What's wrong with being left of Ted?

[LTR]

11. Nothing

I like Ted Kennedy, and considering he's held his senate seat for over 40 years, I assume most of Massachusettes likes him too.

I'd like to see him as Majority Leader. That'll piss off the Pugs!

[Monte Carlo]

9. Dude, I hate to burst your bubble...

... but the Herald hasn't been covert about anything. Today's front page is just more severe than usual. All they need is a cue to devote the entire front page to shitting on Kerry.

[pagerbear]

10. I'm assuming you've never seen the NY Post

That headline is tame compared to what the Post does on most days.

[meegbear]

12. We have seen the Post ...

and we can barely tolerate the Herald before just because it wasn't sinking to the same level as the Post. Now, it's offically there.

[DaveSZ]

14. This was their front page a few weeks back:

"Senator Flip Flop Does it Again!"

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=29565&format=


They are worse than the NY Post because they don't even pretend to be objective.

[bossfish]

13. The Globe has been tough on Kerry over the years, too.

But he keeps getting elected.

This Herald cover is over the top, though.

[MallRat]

15. I just fired this message off to WGBH's "Beat the Press."

Every Friday, our local PBS station hosts a program called "Beat the Press," part of WGBH's "Greater Boston" series hosted by Emily Rooney. "Beat the Press" brings together a panel of broadcast and print media professionals to discuss the journalistic week in review.

I just wrote this email to them, proposing a discussion topic for this week's program:


Hello,

I've always found your "Beat the Press" Fridays a unique insight into the media and the failings of modern journalism. Your program has become required viewing in my home.

I would like to suggest a topic for your upcoming episode of "Beat the Press." The cover of today's (Wednesday's) Boston Herald is one of the most breathtakingly stunning examples of overt partisan bias I have ever seen in Boston print media.

The headline screams, "THEY'RE LEFT OF TED!" in reference to the newly-announced Democratic Presidential ticket of Kerry and Edwards. Silly me. How naive of me to think that the naming of Edwards as running-mate should be story #1, and the GOP response should be story #2.

By reshuffling the priority of these stories to fit a pre-determined agenda, and by shamelessly editorializing on the front page in this fashion, I honestly believe that the Herald's very credibility has been damaged here.

It's long been understood that the Globe and the Herald have two rather different takes on the world, but never have I seen one of the Boston newspapers degrade itself in this way, reducing its front page to nothing more than a mouthpiece for a political party.

From a journalistic perspective, it seems to me that a line has been crossed. With today's headline, the Boston Herald has ceased to be simply a newspaper with a conservative viewpoint and has fully evolved into nothing more than a GOP daily newsletter with a good sports section.

If you find any interest among your guests, I would truly enjoy hearing your panel discuss this topic: where are the boundaries between merely adopting a journalistic philosophy (left or right) and engaging in outright propagandizing? I would especially be eager to hear a member of the Herald's editorial staff defend their decision.

Thank you.