Two other Blade stories this week addressed the Obama campaign’s response (with its own TV ad) to Romney’s ad. The first story, from Monday, quoted Romney’s ad saying Chrysler “plans to return Jeep output to China,” but missed the chance to explain that this is not a shift of existing US jobs but an expansion of production in China for Chinese consumers. The short follow up Tuesday was largely a rehash of the previous story, with back-and-forth between the campaigns. Not particularly helpful. (Maybe some confused Blade readers also caught the “Pants on Fire” rating that PolitiFact gave to Romney’s ad and that ran in the Plain Dealer on Tuesday?)
One bright spot: yesterday, Blade business writer Tyrel Linkhorn wrote a clear account of how, in Linkhorn’s words, “Chrysler’s plans for expanding the Jeep brand got sucked into the political tornado whirling about the auto industry last week.” Linkhorn’s story, hooked to the email that Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sent to employees on Tuesday reaffirming that the automaker is not moving US Jeep production to China, managed to avoid many of the pitfalls in earlier Blade coverage (including he said, she said framing and repetition of misleading claims without context and clarification). Also clear? Today’s Blade editorial decrying Romney’s “exercise in deception about auto-industry issues that is remarkable even by the standards of his campaign.”
The auto industry is clearly key to both candidates’ closing arguments in the all-important state of Ohio. Reporters here need to cut through—not contribute—to the confusion. Candidates may be betting against that, but readers are counting on it.
TC Brown contributed reporting to this post.
- 1
- 2
What is this? CJR piece #413 bitching about the media's failure to tear into Romney hard enough?
You "watchdogs" are in full-bore panic mode, aren't you?
Where are the pieces urging the media to rip into Obama's "rhetoric"?
HUH?
#1 Posted by padikiller, CJR on Thu 1 Nov 2012 at 06:05 PM
@Padikiller - Your ignorance, and that of all your fellow morons, is America's biggest problem.
#2 Posted by Morethanafreeman, CJR on Thu 1 Nov 2012 at 07:53 PM
Ah Yes!..
The Ole' Liberal "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo" Debate Tactic!
Perfectly executed, no less.
Show me an example of CJR calling on the press to nail Obama's misguided rhetoric, and we'll talk.
Until then..
Grow up.
#3 Posted by padikiller, CJR on Thu 1 Nov 2012 at 08:00 PM
The NYT's "The Caucus" blog demonstrated a way to provide the "clarity" the CJR demands on October 30:
"...commercial that suggests Jeep... will soon outsource American jobs to China. Chrysler... does not in fact have plans to cut its American work force..."
The problem, of course, is that a journalist cannot just say the "commercial [says Jeep has] plans to cut its American work force" because that actually isn't true. The ad does not say that. So how does a good journalist slam the Romney campaign?
Start by using the word "suggests" instead of "says" or "claims." "Suggest" allows for all sorts of nefarious inferences that are really only limited by the journo's imagination. But the real trick here is the use of the word "outsource". There is ambiguity in this term which allows it to cover both what's in the ad and what is not in the ad but the journalist wants to claim is in the ad. You can attribute "cut its American work force" to the ad even though the ad does not say that by using this umbrella term "outsource" that applies to both.
You know what's most interesting here? CJR's "The Audit" says " it’s fair [for Romney] to say those jobs are outsourced"! "The Audit" then accuses Romney of "high hypocrisy" which is totally fair, but it's still totally off message from CJR posts like this one which insist that the problem is not Romney's hypocrisy but Romney's alleged mendacity.
#4 Posted by Brian Dell, CJR on Fri 2 Nov 2012 at 12:54 AM