Today my wife and I noticed an article in the Stars and Stripes about the Church and the GOP and voting drives. The article painted this activity in an extremely negative light, stating that it could be illegal and that it is a sign of desperation over the Iraq war. The article was attributed to the LA Times and Peter Wallsten. When I got home, I wanted to blog my point of view on this and the fact that whether or not a church decides to engage in political activities is really OK with me. When I went to the Stars and Stripes website, I could not find the article. However I did eventually find it on the LA Times website, and to my surprise, it was not the same article that was in the Stars and Stripes. 11 paragraphs were deleted in the Stars and Stripes printing, one word (Episcopical) had been deleted, and one sentence about the Iraq war, had been placed differently, changing the context of the article completely. Not to mention the headline was completely different.
Here is the LA Times Story:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gopchurch15aug15,0,5887088.story?coll=la-home-headlinesHere is a picture of the Stars and Stripes Story:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77979629@N00/219867118/Here is a rundown of the differences:
Headlines: Different
Secondary Headlines: Different
Paragraph 5: Stars and Stripes moves the statement "comes as Republicans are struggling with negative public sentiment over the war in Iraq and other administration pilicies." from the last sentence to the end of the first sentence in that paragraph. It is evident that they are trying to put forward the perception that the Republican party is trying to make up for lost ground on the Iraq war.
Paragraph 10: Deleted in Stars and Stripes, here is the text: "Registering voters in churches is not a new tactic for either party, but Republicans have proved far more effective in recent years at combining religion and politics for electoral gain." This deletion is a definite slant to leave the reader not knowing the full story. Obviously this is not a fair and balanced article.
Paragraph 14: word Episcopal deleted
Paragraph 21-30: Deleted in Stars and Stripes
From these deletions and re-arrangements, it is evident that the Stars and Stripes newspaper is out to manipulate the perceptions of it's readers, without even trying to stay true to a story that they did not write.
