'Imagine St. Louis' reveals editors' bias.The St. Louis Post-Dispatch The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the only major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the region, and is available and read as far west as Springfield, Missouri. has developed a marketing strategy in recent months with the focus of encouraging a "partnership" with its readers. Part of this campaign, which some observers describe as "classic public journalism Public journalism may mean:
The editors state in their series introduction that they will thoroughly examine all sides of an issue, present the facts for the readers, and let them decide how they stand. However, an examination of the April 18 section of "Imagine St. Louis" shows that the Post is not as objective, or as evenhanded e·ven·hand·ed adj. Showing no partiality; fair. e  ven·hand , as it would like readers to
imagine and, at least latently, attempts to influence the reader to
share the paper's opinion.
The topic of the April 18 "Imagine St. Louis" was a proposed bridge that would connect Illinois and Missouri just north of downtown St. Louis Downtown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment and the anchor of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Interstate 64 to the south, Jefferson Ave. . The section package was previewed on the front page of the Sunday paper Sunday paper n → (periódico) dominical m Sunday paper n → journal m du dimanche (below the fold) with the headline: "Tell us your views on a new bridge over the Mississippi River Mississippi River River, central U.S. It rises at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and flows south, meeting its major tributaries, the Missouri and the Ohio rivers, about halfway along its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. ." The preview gave a synopsis of what could be found on pages B1 and B3 - that traffic over the Mississippi is projected to increase by 80,000 cars daily in 20 years, that a new bridge has been proposed which could ease traffic jams, and that there are concerns over the feasibility and placement of building such a bridge. The content of the "Imagine" section included two full stories, the front-page grabber, graphics (three maps, a bar graph, two pie charts), two photographs (one of the crowded Poplar Street Bridge The Poplar Street Bridge, officially the Bernard F. Dickman Bridge, completed in 1967, is a 647 foot (197m) long deck girder bridge across the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois. ), a table feature of the "pros and cons pros and cons Noun, pl the advantages and disadvantages of a situation [Latin pro for + con(tra) against] " of varying viewpoints, two lists of additional references for the reader (one about bridges in general, one concerning groups with an interest in the bridge debate), and a sidebar taking one column on page B1 explaining how the reader can voice an opinion on the subject. The main story purports to inform the reader of differing opinions held by "experts" concerning a new bridge. The Post may have already decided the bridge is necessary, judging by the story content. "Relief could be in sight for weary Illinois commuters..." begins the story. By the end of the article, the reader has seen 14 paragraphs concerning opposition to the bridge and 28 paragraphs speaking in favor of the bridge. The remaining 14 paragraphs were neutral on the subject. Objectivity is nowhere to be seen in the section's other article, the story of one commuter's difficulty in getting to work due to traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. . This person hasn't a positive thing to say about the drive from her home in Illinois to Missouri each day. It's a traffic congestion nightmare. If the "objective" main story left any doubt about what the newspaper thought about a proposed new bridge, the sidebar erases that doubt. The story quotes three commuters as saying a new bridge would greatly ease the driving stress in their lives. The sidebar does not quote anyone who takes the MetroLink mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a system from Illinois to Missouri, nor does it refer to anyone who feels the St. Louis traffic situation does not warrant a new $500 million bridge. The "Imagine" stories on the bridge are in stark contrast to the paper's coverage of the Page Avenue bridge, which was viewed as a contributor to urban sprawl. To the Post's credit, the charts, tables and maps were all objective and factual in the information they presented, but the cutlines and the photographs express the angst of increasing numbers of commuters facing hour-long drives to work. These images and cutlines do not convey the possible negative effects of a new bridge. The story headlines ("Building a bridge that works for all" and "Three ways people can talk about the new Mississippi River bridge This article or section contains information about a planned or proposed future bridge. It may contain speculative information; the content may change as the construction or completion of the bridge approaches. ") all work to reinforce the idea that the new bridge is not only necessary, but inevitable. St. Charles County residents, who favored the Page Avenue bridge, can only be mystified mys·ti·fy tr.v. mys·ti·fied, mys·ti·fy·ing, mys·ti·fies 1. To confuse or puzzle mentally. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make obscure or mysterious. by the Post's differing approaches to fair coverage depending on the bridge in question. Vague authority is used on a number of occasions in the main story on the "Imagine" bridge article. For example, "...some environmentalists ... argue the bridge shouldn't be built at all." Does this mean that some environmentalists are in favor of the bridge? The article also states, "Some traffic relief ... will be little more than a Band-Aid, officials say." Who are these officials? Do they have to make this commute daily? Are these authoritative sources or voices imagined in the writer's mind? The Post would like readers to believe that the new "Imagine St. Louis" comes from the "we report, you decide" school of journalism. But analysis of these "Imagine" sections demonstrates that the paper would like for the reader to have a certain opinion on the subject by the time the package of information is absorbed. Matte Schutte is a graduate student at Webster University Webster today operates as an independent, comprehensive, non-denominational university with campus locations around the world. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide array of disciplines, including the liberal arts, fine and performing arts, teacher education, business |
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