BIASED REPORTING / FOX AND USATODAY
A Gallup poll came out yesterday showing the race neck and neck. A FoxNews poll came out yesterday showing the race neck and neck. Gallup had some negative numbers for Bush. Fox had some negative numbers for Kerry. The USA Today story on the Gallup poll was titled: Americans Express Worry, Bush Support Drops in Poll, and a companion story was titled Bush's Ratings Slip at Crucial Point of Campaign. These are both true statements about the results of the Gallup poll, but its hardly the whole story. There's no mention of Kerry's approval, because, oddly, Gallup didn't ask questions about impressions of John Kerry. Other pollling organizations have been asking those questions, and Swifty's unfavorables are rising significantly, which must certainly signal some kind of trouble for him. Sure, Bush's disapproval numbers are high, but so are Kerry's. Why would USA Today, in reporting the Gallup numbers, focus on the bad news for Bush? Doesn't it seem at least as important that the race is still tied, despite Bush's negatives? What does that say about Kerry? USA Today doesn't answer those questions in favor of painting a negative picture of Bush.

FoxNews, on the other hand, titled its story, Six Months Out, Race Still a Draw (the polls showed Bush up 44-41). Fox News notes that "The poll finds the president's job approval rating hovering in about the same spot since mid-February". Oddly, Gallup's poll show's the same thing, though USA Today's point Bush is now slipping. Kerry's dissaproval numbers are up over the last month, but Fox didn't write its story around the premise that "Kerry's Ratings Slip at Crucial Point of Campaign". Who's fair and balanced?

For the record, CNN, who commissions the Gallup poll along with USAToday, go it right. They titled their story Gallup Poll Shows Tight Race for Presidency.