PrintJanuary 1, 2011
The 10 Biggest 'Non-Story' Stories of 2010
No doubt, 2010 was a historic year. While it's not unusual for Big Media's undeniable bias to lead them to miss, if not intentionally ignore, certain stories, in terms of volume, 2010 seems to have offered a banner crop.
Granted, no single story in 2010 compares to the biggie they missed in 2009: the ascendancy of the "Tea Party" movement. After the better part of a year, the mainstream press finally caught up in 2010. Oh, sure, they're still miscasting and criticizing the phenomenon, but they no longer deny its existence or impact.
The delightful irony in Big Media's year-long exercise of ignoring and misrepresenting the Tea Party is that it ultimately served to grow and embolden the rebellious movement.
Millions of people, for the first time in their lives, were directly participating in the story -- they were making the news. While taking part in Tea Parties and town hall events, citizens were witnessing for themselves what took place, only to find Big Media reporting something other than what they had just experienced firsthand.
For many, it was a stark means of confirming their own long-held suspicions of media bias. In a way, citizens were now directly on the receiving end of the misrepresentations, ultimately serving to strengthen their resolve in having their voices heard.
Perhaps the influx of "non-story" stories this year reflects a turning point, or at least a sharp curve in the long developing descent of once-reputable press sources. By all appearances, the disconnect between the American people and those who make a living informing them has grown so large that the trend may be irreversible.
So on to the list for 2010, presented in no particular order of importance. In some instances, Big Media offered plenty of coverage but missed the story. In others, they were nowhere to be found.
- ObamaCare -- Hailed as a great and historical legislative achievement, the media first overlooked the rather predictable consequences of the government's shoving it down America's throat: a massive electoral backlash. More importantly, they reported the last hectic weeks framed in the typical Democrat vs. Republican fashion, largely ignoring Congress' abandonment of rules and procedures, such as use of the the reconciliation process, as well as the whole mess being funded with a blatantly unconstitutional provision that forces Americans to purchase health insurance.
- Support for Arizona's SB1070 -- The press spent the better part of the year demonizing Arizona's legislature and Governor Jan Brewer over SB1070. They enthusiastically promoted boycotts of the state and anti-SB1070 rallies as indicators that Americans were against SB1070, though all the polling data suggested otherwise. Worse, they presented SB1070's opposition as a cross-section of everyday Americans, ignoring the astroturf efforts of groups like the SEIU, as well as Communist, Socialist, and anarchist front groups working behind the scenes. To wrap matters up, the national press didn't bother to report that the people of Arizona rewarded Brewer and the GOP in the November elections.
- No federal budget -- Big Media ignored the complete lack of responsibility by the Pelosi-Reid 111th Congress in fulfilling its basic constitutional duties. Not only did the Congress fail to pass a budget they barely made an effort to even adopt one, never passing a single one of the 13 necessary appropriations bills to fund government. Oh well, ho-hum!
- Infiltration of radical Islam and sharia law in U.S. -- Thanks to persistent souls such as Pamela Geller, the Ground Zero Mosque controversy finally put the issue of America's aversion to radical Islam on the national radar scope. We have a serious problem on multiple fronts: our border is compromised, there are terrorist organization cells set up throughout America, and it's reported that up to 30% of American mosques are preaching jihad. Americans are rightly concerned. The press, when giving the matter any attention at all, calls it Islamophobia.
- Dominance of racial identity politics is waning -- The dominance of ethnic minorities by Democrats is beginning to fade, but you would never know it by Big Media's 2010 election coverage. Names like Marco Rubio and Allen West headed up a record number of minority Republican candidates. The GOP grabbed several of the congressional border districts that were previously the exclusive territory of Democrats. Texas sent two conservative Hispanics to the U.S. House and seven ethnic minority GOP members to the state house where none previously existed. New Mexico elected the nation's first female Hispanic state executive, a Republican. The dirty little secret is that white conservatives have no problem voting for minority candidates.
- The JournoList scandal -- In July, a group of some four hundred liberal journalists and academics, led by Ezra Klein of the Washington Post, was exposed by The Daily Caller as having collaborated to derail Sarah Palin and defuse the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy during the 2008 presidential campaign. The group maintained a private e-mail server to share information and strategies, often collaborating with political operatives. How novel: a media conspiracy ignored by the media.
- Local law enforcement assists SEIU thugs --In May, hundreds of SEIU protesters were bused to the home of a Bank of America executive in Montgomery County, Maryland. Protestors were on this family's front porch chanting and waving signs as a scared 14-year-old was home alone. Not only did the county authorities look on without objection, but the D.C. police escorted the entourage of protestors to within blocks of the location. A relatively small incident, but one with big and very troubling implications.
- Global warming sham further exposed -- This is a holdover and certainly the number-two story ignored in 2009. The trouble continued for the whole Al Gore climate change crowd throughout 2010. Though exposed in late 2009, the East Anglia e-mail scandal unfolded into 2010. By the end of the year, the climate conference in Cancun, Mexico seemed much ado about nothing, and U.S Physicist Hal Lewis resigned from his post of 38 years at UC-Santa Barbara, calling the scientific community corrupted and global warming a scam.
- Feds shut down Gulf drilling industry -- Though the six-month moratorium in response to the BP oil spill was lifted in November, a de facto ban remains in place. Also unreported is the work stoppage in shallow water due to ever-evolving regulations and bureaucracy. Tens of thousands of jobs are on the line, but even in this economy, the press cares not.
- The resurgence of states' rights -- Somewhat supported by the Tea Party movement, and certainly related to ObamaCare and Arizona's immigration battles, the broad issue of state rights in the context of constitutional government is garnering interest among Americans perhaps like never before. The 10th Amendment is being championed on an increasing number of fronts, and even the concept of "nullification" has returned to our modern dialog. Big Media really isn't into the whole Constitution thing. It would never occur to them that Washington is less than omnipotent.
George Scaggs is a writer, commentator, voice actor, and audio-video producer based in Austin, TX. More of his work can be found at Ramparts360.com, TexasInsider.org, and TheGraph.com.
