Wednesday's Biased Item - May 23, 2007

Army National Guard at Full Strength for First Time Since 1999, Media Mum

Excerpt

Read the excerpt below from Newsbusters.org posted by Noel Sheppard on May 6, 2007.   Then scroll down and read "Types of Media Bias." 
QUESTIONS:  
1.  What type of bias is the post below an example of? (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answer.)
2.  Why do you think this good news story was not widely reported by the media?

How often in the past couple of years as the antiwar voices in the media have gotten louder and more visible have you seen a report about the supposedly poor condition of the American military and troubles with recruitment?...

Well, with virtually no fanfare from a press with a clear agenda, the Army National Guard reported in April that it had achieved a goal it had not been able to attain since 1999.

As reported by the National Guard Bureau (h/t Glenn Reynolds, emphasis added throughout): “The Army National Guard reached its congressionally authorized end strength of 350,000 Citizen-Soldiers on March 30, six months earlier than originally projected, Army Guard officials have reported.”

That’s good news, right? Yet, Google news and LexisNexis searches identified virtually no coverage of this announcement apart from military publications.

Regardless, the article continued:

"The strength of the Guard has been the amazing levels of retention among members of deployed units, surpassing all expectations," said Lt. Col. Diana Craun, the Army Guard’s deputy chief for strength maintenance.

"Retention is highest among units that have returned from deployments, and retention is an essential element in end strength," she added.

It is the first time that the Army Guard has been at full strength since 1999, Craun said. Officials had projected that the Army Guard would reach 350,000 troops by Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year.

Read this next paragraph for a perfect indication of just how wrong the media are about morale in the military:

The achievement follows one of the Army Guard’s most successful recruiting and retention years in its history. The force experienced a net growth of 13,111 Soldiers during fiscal year 2006, Guard officials said, and it surpassed its retention goal of 34,875 by reenlisting 41,083 Soldiers. That was said to be unprecedented for the all-volunteer force since the end of the military draft 34 years ago. The Army Guard’s end strength was 346,288 when the last fiscal year ended Sept. 30. 

Any questions about why the media ignored this fabulous announcement?

Go to NewsBusters.org for the original posting.

Types of Media Bias

Explanation of Media Bias

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANSWER:
The post is an example of bias by omission and story selection.