1. In the excerpt from  Julia Seymour, she writes: “Given the recent physical assault on Sen. Rand Paul by a neighbor and the shooting of Republican congressmen during baseball practice in June, the news media appear shockingly unconcerned about threats of violence directed at the Cabinet member. At the very least, the media should report the threats.”

Consider these recent deadly attacks on Republican lawmakers:

• On November 3, while mowing his lawn, Sen. Rand Paul was attacked from behind by his next-door neighbor. Sen. Paul’s alleged assailant next-door neighbor Rene Boucher is a registered Democrat. A Facebook account that appears to be Boucher’s contains multiple anti-Trump postings. Boucher also shared posts from Occupy Democrats, a popular Facebook page for liberals and progressives. Though there were no negative comments about Sen. Paul on Boucher’s Facebook page, Boucher did write negatively about many other Republicans and the GOP in general. Sen. Paul suffered 6 broken ribs and injury to his lung.
• In June, a gunman attacked members at a Republican congressional baseball practice, shooting off 70 rounds at them. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was critically wounded. Two Capitol Police officers and a House GOP aide were also shot. The gunman had a list of several Republican representatives in his pocket. The shooter had lashed out against President Trump and Republicans over social media. Rep. Scalise spent months in the hospital and is still not fully recovered.
• In May, a Tennessee woman who was angry that her congressman Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) voted for the Republican health-care bill in the House tried to run him off the road after he visited the University of Tennessee.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"Some [threats] referenced Mr. Pruitt’s home address. Federal law enforcement has determined that some of those threatening Mr. Pruitt are likely capable of carrying out acts of violence. EPA security has already caught suspects prowling around the administrator’s neighborhood."

What type of bias do the networks exhibit by dismissing or not reporting this information but instead criticizing the cost of the security needed by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt?

2. The WSJ editorial also defends Mr. Pruitt’s need for security:

“Mr. Pruitt didn’t invent these threats, and Cabinet members shouldn’t have to fear violence as a price of public service. When the federal government protects Cabinet members from those who would harm them for doing their jobs, it is protecting American democracy,” the Journal board argued.

This is a serious issue: What is the media’s job? To report facts or to take sides? If a Democratic Cabinet member had received such threats--following deadly politically-motivated attacks on other Democrats--do you think ABC, CBS and NBC have published similar reports criticizing the need for security for an Obama administration cabinet head? Explain your answer.