Media Watch--

[Mushroom <mushroom@moscow.com>]

Media Watch, one of a short series of comments on journalism
as it exists in Moscow:

The "Daily News" on Wednesday night had its top story
headlined "Bigger Government," and said in its lead that the
city would be employing more assistant city supervisors if
next year's budget is approved.

Nowhere in the story is a number for next year's budget or
(even more importantly) a percentage of increase.

Instead, in paragraph 14, safely hidden on the back page of
the front section, is this: "When the number of Moscow city
workers are divided by the town's population, the city has
fewer government workers per resident than Lewiston, Pullman
or Coeur d'Alene."

The newspaper might try giving readers numbers so they can
make their own minds up on whether there is something to
fear from (drum roll) Bigger Government.

In the same issue, the sports section couldn't be bothered
to check into what happened recently in the Tour de France.
The Wednesday stage ended at 8 or 9 a.m. Pacific Standard
Time (and was broadcast live, unfortunately for the Daily
News, on the Outdoor Life channel, 126 on the local cable
system). The sports section reported what had happened a day
and a half before. Surely the sports page isn't put together
the night before?

In case you are depending on the Daily News to keep you
informed: Lance Armstrong increased his lead on Wednesday.

Don Coombs

As long as we are looking at the "Daily News," I'd be
interested in a response from them to "Was there a medical
malpractice case, involving a Pullman physician, tried in
Colfax recently?"