News Critique #1--Burlington Free Press vs. Rutland Herald

(This is the paper, but on a blog format).

Nichole Magoon
1/26/09
GDD 330


Introduction
In light of the nation’s recent economic crisis, many have been anticipating Vermont’s Governor Douglas’ budget proposal to see how he will keep Vermont afloat in the next year. The following stories were reported after Douglas delivered his budget address on January 22, 2009.

This analysis will compare the coverage of the story from two different newspaper sources: The Burlington Free Press in Burlington, Vermont (www.burlingtonfreepress.com) and The Rutland Herald in Rutland, Vermont (www.rutlandherald.com) .

Burlington Free Press
This January 25th article was written by Terri Hallenbeck, a Burlington Free Press staff writer. With over 1000 words, it featured quotes from Ken Libertoff, executive director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health; Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin (D-Windham); Christopher Curtis of Vermont Legal Aid; Ed Paquin, executive director of Vermont Protection and Advocacy; Peter Sterling, executive director of the Vermont Campaign for Healthy Care Security; Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Susan Bartlett (D-Lamoille); Rep. David Zuckerman P-Burlington from the House Ways & Means Committee; and Rep. Rick Hube, a Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee.

The story began by referencing Govenor Douglas’ budget address and his opposition to raising taxes, as well listing out a portion of items that are cut from the budget, including 60 state jobs, $34 million in Human Services programs and $4.3 million in housing and land conservation in order to compensate for the $201 million state deficit. The author states that many do not like what Douglas is proposing and how many advocates are pushing to make up the deficit through new tax revenues rather than cutting state funded programs.

The story continues on with a survey performed by Macro International of 400 Vermonters, with results showing 56% favoring a tax increase in order to keep the state’s health care programs affordable for Vermonters. In addition, it includes a quote from Peter Sterling from the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security that outlines how tax increases on tobacco products and those in a higher income bracket will generate millions of revenue.

The “response” section of the story rebuttals the survey findings and discusses how it might be too early to discuss taxes as the amount of money needed is unknown. Legislators are hesitant to raise taxes until it is announced how much the nation’s economic stimulus package will bring in to the state.

Lastly, the story points out the Governor’s opposition to new taxes as well as his tax increase on Vermont’s employers, almost doubling the amount they have to pay in to support Vermont’s Unemployment fund.

Rutland Herald
This article, published on January 23, 2009, is attributed to Louis Porter of the Vermont Press Bureau. This article, topping just over 1200 words, also discusses the upsets of the budget proposal, but provides details as to what is being cut from the budget and what Douglas is proposing in exchange. It features quotes from Govenor Jim Douglas, President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin, Speaker of the House Gaye Symington, Sen. Susan Bartlett (D-Lamoille), Gil Livingston from the Vermont Land Trust, Erhard Mahnke from the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, and Rep. Martha Heath (D-Westford) chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The story features quotes from Douglas himself, stating that tough economic times throughout the nation are requiring the state to make some difficult choices. Douglas asks that “everyone share in the sacrifice.” It outlines how $64 million will be used to suffice 6 parts of the government, as well as Douglas’ ask to use monies from the tobacco settlement and land conservation fund for government health insurance.

The story continues with quotes from Peter Shumlin and Gaye Symington, expressing their dislike of the budget and its omissions, believing it is not adequate leadership in hard times and that the teacher’s retirement fund should receive an increase. But, it provides support from administration officials including budget writer Susan Bartlett.

The story goes on to highlight some of the programs and services that will be cut from the budget, some that will continue to be funded, and some that will not receive the increases they were asking for. It ends with a quote from Douglas stating that the Government must live frugally and must continue to protect and serve those that are most in need in Vermont.

Analysis
Ron Smith, author of Ethics in Journalism, believes that Journalists “are obliged to gather information as best as they can to tell the truth as they find it. They must be undaunted in their pursuit of truth and unhampered by conflicting interests” (10). While these two sources essentially cover the same story, they are presented in two vastly different ways. Following Smith’s Journalistic code, a journalist should make every attempt to gather as much information as they can about the story they are reporting in order to relay it back to the public.

The story in the Burlington Free Press does not do an adequate job of collecting information. Not only does it not have many details about the Governor’s budget proposal, it does not even have any quotes from Douglas himself explaining his rationale behind his budget proposals. While it does feature quite a few quotes from other Senate and committee members, it should have included quotes from Douglas considering his importance in matter. The Rutland Herald story features a handful of direct quotes from Douglas and explains the budget proposal more in depth than the Free Press article.

It was especially important for both articles to outline the budget and report stances on each side of the budget argument because of Smith’s belief that Journalists should strive to “nurture the democratic process” (10). In order for society to make informed decisions, they must be knowledgeable about the actions and issues of their government, and many gather the information to make those decisions based on the facts reported in the news media. It was the duty of the two media sources to gather as much information as possible on the budget proposal and to report that back to their readers.

In addition to their relentless pursuit of the truth, Journalists should be objective in their stories. According to Smith, “Objectivity is a standard that requires journalists to try and put aside emotions and prejudices” (47). Based on the hints of negativity, the selection of quotes, and the information provided, the author of the Burlington Free Press article is not objective and clearly favors in the increase in taxes in order to improve the deficit rather than cutting programs.

First, it only outlines what is being cut from the budget in the beginning of the article. Nowhere does it outline the programs that will be positively affected by the budget or the programs that will continue to receive funding. Second, the author’s choice of words send up a red flag of bias to the reader by asking if lawmakers will “put taxes on the table as a more palatable dish”, implying that higher taxes will “taste better” to legislature.

While the article provides a plethora of quotes from legislative leaders and committee members, most of the quotes are in favor of raising taxes and have a negative spin on Douglas’ proposal, many stating that there are alternative ways to raise money for the deficit besides cutting programs. Yet, there are no quotes from the Governor himself. Omission of these quotes that were readily available (as shown in the article by the Rutland Herald) show not only shoddy journalism but also a need to omit them in fear of skewing the journalist’s stance. It even features results from a survey conducted by Macro International that is meant to show the “overwhelming” support for increasing taxes for those making over $500,000 a year if it would keep health care programs. But, the small sample size of 400 Vermonters is not nearly enough to represent an entire state of a +million people as Ed Paquin implies it does, stating that “the survey confirms what [they] already know, Vermonters care deeply about their friends and neighbors.”

Lastly, the article closes with pointing out one tax increase of double the employer taxes in order to fund the unemployment fund. Then, the writer closes with the statement of “If the reaction from business lobbyists was any indication, any proposed tax increases will face opposition. It might run as strong as opposition to budget cuts.” This implies that business owners were upset and opposed this tax increase, but their oppositions will be as strong as those oppositions against budget cuts, which the author feels are weak with a budget based on program and funding cuts. This statement not only has a bitter undertone but also takes a subtle jab at Douglas.

Conclusion
Although it is the job of the journalist to report as much information as possible and to provide an objective viewpoint, it’s clear that they do not always do just that. Although the Rutland Herald article is slightly vague in some places, such as quoting “Administration Officials” and not listing out exact numbers on some of the budget items (using percentages or omitting a figure altogether), it provides more detail into the budget than the Burlington Free Press article and make a fair attempt at portraying a fair and just story on the budget proposal, including approving and disapproving quotes along with quotes from Douglas himself. The Free Press not only fails to include these quotes, but also has an overall disapproving stance and pushes its belief in higher taxes through the selective information and supporting documentation it provides in the article.

Bibliography
1. Hallenbeck, Terry. “Lawmakers Avoid 3-letter word: T-A-X”, www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090125/NEWS03/90125001 January 25, 2009.

2. Porter, Louis. “Tough Choices Ahead in Vt. Budget,” http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080123/NEWS04/801230391 January 23, 2009.

3. Smith, Ron F. & Goodwin, H. Eugene; Ethics in Journalism; Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1999