View from Lodi, CA: Bad News About Immigration Still Spiked by National Press


[See Joe Guzzardi`s
earlier media piece "Read
Webzines, Not Mainstream Treezines, For The
Truth On Immigration"
]

To accuse the media of suppressing facts is a strong
charge. But when it comes to immigration reporting, few
can deny that most stories heavily emphasize immigration
positives while ignoring negatives.

By consistently presenting only one side of a
difficult and complex issue, journalists forsake their
professional obligation to be fair and balanced.

On May 31st, I participated in a panel discussion
that analyzed professionalism in immigration reporting.
The event was hosted by the Center for Immigration
Studies and held at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C. The transcript is

available here
. Other participants were William
McGowan, author of the well-received

Coloring of the News
and recently retired
Washington Times
reporter August Gribbon.

 Since June 2000, I have read more than

1,500 immigration stories
. I weighed them against
standards set by journalists themselves and posted at
the

Society for Professional Journalism
, the

Committee for Concerned Journalists
, the

American Society for Newspaper Editors
and the

Organization of Newspaper Ombudsmen
.

Over 98% of the stories were lacking. Among those who
read the identical stories, most agreed with my
conclusions. I hoped that 9/11 would raise standards. I
anticipated that the post-tragedy immigration coverage
would reflect at least a smattering of professionalism.
Reality dashed my hopes. The journalistic failure
continues on two fronts.

The stories published are shallow and sophomoric;
those not written fail to ask vital, difficult
questions. Al Knight, Denver Post Editorial Board
member, addresses this problem in his column,

“Lift taboo on discussing immigration.”
 

As far as I can tell, the mainstream print media will
defend beyond reason any consequence of unchecked
immigration.

Consider open-borders advocate extraordinaire, the
New York Times
. On June19th, columnist David Plotz,
in his article

“A Suburb All Grown Up and Paved Over,”

concluded that it is perfectly acceptable for some
residents of Fairfax County (VA.) to pave over their
front yards and convert them into five or six parking
spaces.

Plotz considers this to be a minor inconvenience in
exchange for rapid immigrant-fueled growth. The extended
immigrant families who live in single resident dwellings
in Fairfax`s Groveton section need more parking. What
could be more logical than to pour cement over the front
lawn and paint a few lines?

Now I ask you: how many people in this vast land
would find it just dandy if their neighbors converted
their lawns into parking lots?

Although the New York Times favors converting
residential neighborhoods into open-air garages, the
Times
considers it

inappropriate
to use the

term
“illegal alien.” According to the New
York Times


Manual of Style and Usage
, “illegal alien” is
“sinister-sounding.”
Even criminals get the soft
glove treatment.

In her June 5th column, “The
Media`s Immigration Blunders,”
Michelle Malkin wrote
that she did a Lexis-Nexis database search of 115 news
stories filed about the questioning of Ingmar Guandique
in connection with the discovery of

Chandra Levy`s body
.

Not one referred to him as an illegal alien. The
New York Times
called Guandique “a Washington man”
omitting that Guandique is a violent Salvadoran national
serving a 10-year sentence for assault on two female
joggers. The failure to report Guandique`s immigration
status is, concludes Malkin, “a newsworthy act of
negligence as the nation grapples with lax borders and
national (in)security.” (Author`s Note: Readers can
safely substitute “illegal alien” anytime the word
“immigrant” appears in a story unless the reporter
specifically references individuals as legally in the
U.S. or naturalized citizens.)

Fellow panelist McGowan charged journalists with
“overly-romantic” immigration reporting. Reporters
caught up in the feel-good aspects of immigration, leave
important stories untold. Here`s a sampling: The Senate
Judiciary Committee approved by voice vote Senator Orrin
Hatch`s (R-UT) bill

S.1291
that would allow all 50 states to subsidize
tuition for illegal aliens at

state universities.
In

California
, that would amount to $11,000 per year
per student.

The bill carries with it a so-called “status
adjustment” that would amnesty the students. The “Dream
Act,” as Hatch calls it, is temporarily blocked but is
poised to re-emerge at any moment. Senator John McCain

introduced
the

“Federal Responsibility for Immigrant Health Act of
2002.”

State and health care providers will receive Medicaid
reimbursement for dialysis, chemotherapy, prenatal care
and the testing and treatment of communicable diseases
for illegal aliens. Since state health facilities are
going broke providing these services, McCain wants to
shift the burden to the federal government.

A visas for sale scandal at the American Consulate in
Juarez, Mexico was first reported by National Public
Radio correspondent

John Burnett
[Click to

listen
in RealAudio.] and followed-up by Michelle
Malkin in her May 17th column,

“A Mexican visa-vending scandal.”
 

Not a word about this outrageous misconduct has been
read since. Journalists are responsible to their readers
and their profession. In her autobiography, “Personal
History
,” Katherine Graham recalled the lessons
taught to her by her father about publishing. High on
the

list
was his insistence that the “newspaper tell
ALL of the truth concerning the important affairs
of America and the world.”
Ms. Graham placed the
emphasis on “ALL.” Let that advice now be
adopted by every journalist.

Joe Guzzardi [email
him], an instructor in English
at the Lodi Adult School, has been writing a weekly
column since 1988. It currently appears in the


Lodi News-Sentinel
.