The "Liberal Media" Fails To Strike Again

From a couple days ago (before the Deadeye Dick's shooting spree): I saw these excellent examples of how the media can mislead and misinform.

First, in Fox: America's Soviet-style news agency, Bob Harris shows what Fox passes off as "news" on days when the real news isn't too flattering for the ruling party (see the Harris' post for all the supporting links):

Just stumbled across the 6 pm EST top of the hour news break on Fox News. Amazing. Bizarro world stuff.

Not a single word about the Scooter Libby fingering "his superiors" [Cheney].

Not a single word about Brownie making clear that the White House lied their asses off.

Not a single word about the CIA's head Middle East guy saying Bush cherry-picked intel to start a war.

...Instead:

Lead story: Jill Carroll. Message: The world is dangerous. You are powerless and blameless.

Second lead: Bird Flu. Message: The world is dangerous. You are powerless and blameless.

Third story: Big car crash on Mexican border. (Wow. Pretty desperate.) Message: The world is dangerous. And you are powerless and blameless.

And... that was it. The biggest news on this day, according to Fox.

And Joshua Micah Marshall on Talking Points Memo describes how the AP (of all people) seems determined to show Sen. Harry Reid in a bad light relative to Abramoff & Co., despite, you know, the facts:

In other words, whatever Abramoff and his crew might have tried to persuade Reid to do, he didn't do it.

That has to be a key part of the story, if you're discussing contacts between Marianas lobbyists on this issue. Only it's a part of the story the AP just neglected to mention.

...Nowhere in the new article can the AP writers bring themselves to note that Reid never adopted Abramoff's clients' position on the issue. So whatever quids Abramoff's folks were offering up, Reid never gave them a quo. From start to finish he was the co-sponsor of the bill Abramoff's clients wanted to defeat.

That's key information -- arguably, the central piece of information in the whole case. But the AP keeps pressing their misleading narrative while omitting this key point.