Nothing To Report

Nothing interesting happened today.  Nothing happened that is important.

If the media was honest, this would be their headline at least once a week!  The talking heads keep on talking.  What do you think?

Is Recognizing a Palestinian State A Good Thing?

In my personal opinion, Neil Steinberg is a great columnist.  Today, he writes an interesting piece on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. It is important to point out that Neil is not only a liberal but also Jewish. (In case you didn't already know.)  It is also important to note that I am not taking sides on the issue.

However, in writing this column, has he inadvertently reached past his own inherent bias and made an excellent point about the Palestinian application to be recognized as a sovereign state before the United Nations?  By his logic, if being recognized by the United Nations as a sovereign state means anything, then the Palestinian State would have to recognize the Israeli state right?  Is he then in favor of a Palestinian State?

You can read the article here.

Fox Sports Takes a Cue From Fox News

Justin Kaufmann of WBEZ has an excellent commentary on the Fox Sports controversy over the fake headlines about Jay Culter.  He asks three questions:

1) Are NFL game broadcasts held to the same standards as sports reporting?

2) Do we hold sports media producers to the same standards as other journalists? We always seem to rip on bloggers for not understanding journalistic integrity, but do we expect the same from network television producers? They should know better, right?

3) Is this something they do ALL the time and are just getting called on it? Does this mean we have to look back and investigate Fox Sports packages on all football-related matters (for instance, can I really trust that the football player was homeless as a kid or did Fox make that up too?)

You can also leave your comments on Justin's blog here:

http://www.wbez.org/blog/justin-kaufmann/2011-09-21/which-worse-ethical-lapses-fox-sports-or-editorial-ones-trib-sports-#

More Sun-Times Trash

Besides Neil Steinberg and the sports section, the Sun-Times is nothing but a waste of trees.

Why is this news?  It is about a guy who nobody cares about, from a place that nobody cares about, and on a topic that nobody cares about. But it involves SEX!!!!!! Slow news week in Chicago I guess.


Cicero chief swore he didn’t touch worker — but had sex with her - Chicago Sun-Times

Flat Out Lies??

After reading this article, I had to ask myself, what is the point of the last line of this article?  Why is it relevant to the article?  There is PLENTY of senior housing in Uptown believe me.

2 women injured at Uptown retirement hotel fire

Are the staff reporters at the Tribune misinformed?  Lying?  Covering a hidden agenda?

Can a Headline Really Say It All? Poor Jay Cutler!

Sun-Times sportswriter Rick Telander's account of Sunday's Bears game is full of grammatical and spelling errors, but does this headline really say it all?  I am often critical of headlines, but this headline seems to tell the whole story.  What do you think?

Read it Here - Bears can’t afford Jay Cutler being used as human tackling dummy

CHICAGO PRIDE!!! WE'RE NUMBER FOUR!!!!!

Micki Meynard of WBEZ is reporting that Chicago has been ranked the fourth most powerful City in the world!!

Now if we can only get a Super Bowl victory or a Cubs season that isn't over by May 1st.  Now that would be something.

Any opinions out there regarding these rankings?  Are they Biased, balanced or.......bull?.

Open Post Friday

Hi, its Friday.  That means you can send me the newspaper articles that annoy you or post them in the comments.  Tell us why they have you in a twist!!!

Maybe this Guy Can Get Together and Go Bowling With Joe Walsh

Another non-local story, the Chicago Media was a little boring today.  But this is unreal.

EX NFL STAR BROKE


Is this story Biased, balanced or....... something else?

Nicholas Cage and a Fudgesicle?

This isn't a local story, but I got a chuckle out of this.  I hope you do also!http://news.yahoo.com/nicolas-cage-awoken-naked-man-fudgesicle-222238383.html
http://news.yahoo.com/nicolas-cage-awoken-naked-man-fudgesicle-222238383.html

Hit Piece?

Now here is an interesting one written by ABDON M. PALLASCH.

Judge scolds Rep. Joe Walsh, orders him to prove he doesn’t owe back child-support - Chicago Sun-Times

Is this truly a "hit piece" as Walsh previously claimed?

The biggest problem with this article is that the Headline doesn't match up.  The Headline says, "Judge Scolds Rep. Joe Walsh, Orders Him to Prove He Doesn't Owe Child Support."  However, that is clearly not what the Judge ordered, as the article goes on to state that, "Vega did issue a “rule to show cause” — which means Walsh has to tell the court why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for falling so far behind in child support over the past five years."

Having to prove that Walsh does not owe child support versus having to show why he hasn't paid child support he ALREADY OWES are two different things.  It sounds like the real story here is that Walsh was under a court order to pay child support already.  That means that there was already a finding that he owes the support and disobeyed a lawful court order.  

If there is one thing the Sun-Times hates more than the Daley family, it is a republican.  Did this reporters lack of understanding of the court proceedings actually make Walsh look not as bad as he really is?  

Further, consider this:  Do the snarky comments about Walsh's positions as a member of the tea party show bias against the right on the part of this reporter?  

Is this article biased, balanced or made-up lies?

  

Missing file in Koschman case says Daley nephew was aggressive - Chicago Sun-Times

Missing file in Koschman case says Daley nephew was aggressive - Chicago Sun-Times

Yes, this is a sad story. Yes, it is too bad that this kid is dead. However, these reporters will do anything to discredit Daley and the City to sell papers. If this involved two suburban kids with no connections to Daley it would not even make the obituaries. I doubt if Chicago's finest covered this up just because there was a remote connection to Daley.

Bears’ Brian Urlacher takes leave after mom’s sudden death - Chicago Sun-Times

Bears’ Brian Urlacher takes leave after mom’s sudden death - Chicago Sun-Times

My condolences go out to Brian and his family.  He is a Chicago icon who has given some great years to the City and the Chicago Bears.  May she rest in peace.



The Article is by.SEAN JENSEN.  

Welcome to My Blog!

Welcome to Media Spin Chicago. As an avid reader about all things Chicago I decided to start a blog that discusses not so much the issues that Chicago faces but how the media frames the issues. Are they being biased? Are the facts they are reporting accurate or based on misinformation? Do they have a grasp of the actual issue being reported on or are they clueless? Other things to consider are whether the article is well written.  Is the journalist a competent writer?  How is the editing?  These are the questions I ask myself when I read local media stories.

One should always question the motives and biases of the reporters. A wise man once told me not to believe anything you see on television and only half of what you read in the paper. In my years I have learned to take it a little further. Never believe anything of importance that you read in a newspaper. Read as many sources as you can, educate yourself on the issues and then draw your OWN conclusions!

Now, as a disclaimer, I am not a journalist or a writer and I do not aspire to be either. I am a reader. As Dr. Sussmann tells Jude Law’s character, Alan Krumwiede, in the movie Contagion, “A blog isn’t writing. It’s graffiti with punctuation.” That is all I am doing.

This blog is a work in progress so check back for updates!!! Enjoy!!

Heads of CPS, teachers union spar in joint appearance

Heads of CPS, teachers union spar in joint appearance

Ah yes, the games continue between Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union.  What do you think of this article?  The article was written by Joel Hood, Tribune Staff Reporter. You can read his bio HERE.  Did he treat both sides fairly or lean one way or the other?  Is there any real substantive information in the article that has value or do you wish you had back the time it took to read the article?  Feel free to comment.