MSNBC -- NO CLASS!

[LWW]

On MSNBC's website their news reported the death of Geraldine Ferrarro. As part of that, they of course mentioned her historic role as the first woman on a major party's ticket with Walter Mondale. Fair enough, as that is the main reason she is a notable figure in history.

Then they continued by saying her ticket ran against the incumbent president Reagan and vice president GHW Bush. Ok, maybe younger people didn't know that, and it is also part of the story that made her famous.

THEN THEY ADDED: 'Reagan won in a landslide.'

While this is accurate, it is a ridiculous thing to put into a sctory that is purportedly about Ms. Ferrarro's passing. It's as if they got their viewers attention only to stick their finger in our eyes.

Poor MSNBC may not keep getting appearances by SecState Clinton and SecDef Gates, whereas Fox does not. Telling viewers the truth provides part of the answer.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 became the first woman vice presidential candidate on a major U.S. party ticket, died Saturday in Boston, a family spokeswoman said.

Ferraro died at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was being treated for blood cancer. She died just before 10 a.m. EST, said Amanda Fuchs Miller, a family friend who worked for Ferraro in her 1998 Senate bid and was acting as a spokeswoman for the family.

A three-term congresswoman from the New York City borough of Queens, Ferraro catapulted to national prominence in 1984 when she was chosen by presidential nominee Walter Mondale to join his ticket against incumbents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

In the end, Reagan won 49 of 50 states, the largest landslide since Franklin D. Roosevelt's first re-election over Alf Landon in 1936. </div></div>

OH DEAR! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42283362/ns/politics-more_politics/)

OH MY! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42283362/ns/politics-more_politics/)

[Soflasnapper]

Cross posted from the other thread:

Good catch, my compliments.

The difference, however, is that the MSNBC piece is a 1,000 word+ retrospective (approx., didn't do a word count), that offered a comprehensive look at her career and her run for that office, INCLUDING such negative things as her son's drug conviction, her husband's financial scandal, and many things that are suitable for a lengthy bio piece, but not a brief listing of an 'in memorium' scroll marking her passing.

And, of course, as you don't mention, this was not an MSNBC report at all, but rather their re-publication of AN ASSOCIATED PRESS ARTICLE that offered a relatively complete review of all her political life (not just a headline kind of scroll summary).

Had the Fox scroll included her son's drug conviction or her husband's financial scandal, that would also have been a cheap shot, despite it being appropriate in a lengthy biographical piece. Ditto for the reference to her being forced to resign as a HRC campaign rep over her remarks that O got where he did because he was black.

It almost looks like Fox simply puts AP wire copy on their scroll, with invidious editing.