I ran across this today, and it fits my own personal opinion of how the "media" reports what should be plain simple news. It's a perfect example (fictional but appropriate) of why I don't believe 1/10th of what I read in the public press no matter what affiliation it ascribes too. Andrew, you'd appreciate this one.
Stan
A Harley biker is visiting the zoo in Calgary , Alberta when he sees a
little girl leaning into the bars of the lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion
grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to
slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents.
The biker without hesitation runs to the cage and hits the lion square on
the nose with a powerful punch.
Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and
the biker brings her to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly. A
CBC reporter has watched the whole event.
The reporter addressing the biker says, 'Sir, this was the most gallant
and brave thing I've seen a man do in my whole life.'
The Harley rider replies, 'Why, it was nothing, really, the lion was
behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger and acted as I felt
right.'
The reporter says, 'Well, I'll make sure this won't go unnoticed. I'm a
journalist, you know, and tomorrow's paper will have this story on the
front page... So, what do you do for a living and what political
affiliation do you have?'
The biker replies, 'I'm a soldier in the Canadian military and a conservative.' The journalist leaves.
The following morning the biker buys the paper to see if it indeed brings
news of his actions, and reads, on the front page:
CANADIAN SOLDIER ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT AND STEALS HIS LUNCH
That pretty much sums up the media's approach to the news these days.