Dis-Strib-Ute

We're going to start a new feature today, called Dis-Strib-Ute. It will examine, for good or for ill, articles in the Star Tribune, one of our two large local newspapers. I could be dissing the Strib, I could just be paying them a tribute.

Among local conservatives, the Star Tribune is sometimes affectionately known as the Red Star, a clue to its political bent.

Others keep a close eye on the Strib. Power Line has been especially helpful in this respect.

My goal is not to outdo Powerline. T'would be beyond my reach. My goal is the same as the one I have for the rest of the blog, to find points of view that may have slipped by the notice of others.

(Regrettably, registration may be required to view the articles I link to, but I'll provide excerpts.)

Northwest mechanics go on strike

The mechanics of Northwest Airlines went on strike Saturday night. The Strib has had extensive coverage, but not surprisingly, its coverage slants in favor of the striking union workers.

In this article, there were two man-on-the-street quotes from passengers:

A couple returning from New York said they saw no disruptions to their flight: "We were early," said Juliet Glass of Minneapolis. "Totally supportive of the mechanics' right to strike. Happy that we didn't get delayed," said Jeff Lomonaco.

and...

Brancatelli said the company's reports that it is operating normally with replacement mechanics shouldn't be taken at face value.

"They'll say anything if they think they can get away with it," he said.

Now, were there no pro-NWA statements to be found?

The Strib also has had several anguish-and-despair articles, looking at how the strike will affect union workers. To be fair, the Strib isn't the only media outlet that does this. This is standard operating procedure for the media. I think they have templates all ready to go, they just fill in the names. The templates are the standard "how will we pay for health care?", "what will we do for salary?" angles.

Here's just a sample:

A retired Northwest pilot who now owns about 300 apartments in Minneapolis, Hansen said he usually hires university students, "but I'm acutely aware that these people are going to have to make their first COBRA payment on the first of September" -- referring to their monthly health insurance premiums.

Here is another:

Like many Northwest mechanics, Ross Hunter, 53, has spent the past two years getting his personal finances in order. He paid off his auto loans and his credit card debt, and each month he contributed a small amount of his pay to an emergency cash fund in case a layoff or strike occurred.

Hunter also has several Harley Davidson motorcycles that he could sell "as a last resort," he said, in case he runs short on cash. "Northwest has been laying people off for the past four years, so we've had lots of time to prepare for this," he said.

Mark Herboldt, 39, a lead mechanic at Northwest, is among those who plan to find other work during the strike. In June, he got his general contractor's license. His plan is to spend mornings walking the picket line and afternoons renovating houses.

However, nowhere in the Strib's coverage will you find an in-depth look at the issue from the perspective of Northwest's management. What are the difficulties of running an airline in today's environment? What are the realities?

Political Talk-show radio ratings down in the Twin Cities

This is an interesting article. Here's the gist of it:

Many Twin Cities listeners are switching the dial from political talk radio to sports oriented shows.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has lost 43 percent of his Twin Cities audience between the ages of 25 and 54 in the past year. Sean Hannity lost 63 percent of his local audience.

At KSTP-AM, which carries both syndicated programs, "we're weighing where these shows fit for us in the future,'' said Todd Fisher, the station's general manager.
...
KFAN's afternoon lineup of Dan (Common Man) Cole, Chad Hartman and Dan Barreiro post audience gains of 24 to 32 percent. But on KSTP, Limbaugh's show, which had 7.6 percent share of listeners between 25 and 54 in spring of 2004, had 4.3 percent this spring. The numbers for the Sean Hannity show dropped from 6.3 to 2.3 percent. Ratings for Joe Soucheray's popular "Garage Logic,'' which airs after Limbaugh's show, also dropped.

Now, it is a sad commentary on the Strib's reputation that I can't trust if I'm getting the whole story from the paper. For instance, are Limbaugh and Hannity up in other demographics?

Still, I'm sure the article does reflect a significant trend in the area. My comment is this: The reason I don't listen to much political talk radio anymore, if any, is that the blogs have taken over that niche for me. I can get the information and analysis I enjoy from the blogs, and in a convenient way. I have a day job, and usually am unable to listen to the Limbaugh and Hannity programs, while the blogs are just waiting for me on the Web, whenever I can get to them. Perhaps this is a factor in the change in talk radio.