Here's one of the most egregious examples of media bias I've seen so far in this campaign cycle. The victim: former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Here is story #1, as reported on Hearst-owned WMUR.com:
Romney Fires Company Due To Illegal Workers
MEREDITH, N.H. -- He's made combating illegal immigration a core theme of his White House run, and once again the issue has landed at Mitt Romney's front door.
Romney has issued a statement saying he has fired the landscaper for his suburban Boston home after learning for a second time about undocumented workers laboring on the property.
The statement said Romney fired the landscaper because "this same issue arose last year." He said he gave the firm a second chance after being promised all laborers would have legal status.
The Boston Globe reports it has observed illegal workers on Romney's property and interviewed one who said he paid $7,000 to a smuggler to escort him across the desert into Arizona. Another said he had come to the country with a student visa that has since expired.
The owner of the company said he does not hire illegal immigrants.
OK, that doesn't seem horrible. It gives you a sense of the story and tells you what happened and why.
Here now, is the same story as reported on WMUR's sister station, Hearst-owned WCVB in Boston:
Romney Continued Using Illegal Immigrants For Lawn Work
BOSTON -- Republican Mitt Romney, who has made the fight against illegal immigration a major platform in his campaign for the presidency, found himself Tuesday admitting that illegal immigrants had been hired for a second time to do lawn work on his Belmont, Mass., home.
An investigation by the Boston Globe found that two workers admitted that they were in the country without proper documentation. One worker told the newspaper that he had paid $7,000 to a smuggler to bring him into the country. The second said he had entered the country on a student visa which had expired.
In December 2006, the Globe first reported on Romney’s use of illegal immigrants to work on his lawn. At the time, Romney said the responsibility lay with the landscaping company he had hired, but continued to use the same company.
Ricardo Saenz, of Community Lawn Service, told NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga Tuesday, "I'm not the INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service). It's not my job to keep track of all that."
After being asked about the continued use of illegal immigrants by reporters covering his campaign in New Hampshire, Romney first declined comment and later fired the company.
"After this same issue arose last year, I gave the company a second chance. The company's failure to comply with the law is disappointing and inexcusable, and I believe it is important I take this action," Romney said.
During a debate last week in St. Petersburg, Fla., Romney chastised rival Rudy Giuliani for continuing sanctuary status for New York while he served as the city's mayor. That prompted Giuliani to accuse Romney of owning a "sanctuary mansion", referring to the Globe's report last year.
Katie Levinson, speaking for Giuliani's campaign, said of the recurrence: "I think it speaks for itself."
The WCVB story makes it sound like Romney hired the illegal immigrants directly, which anyone knows is patently absurd. As many people do, Romney hired a company to do landscaping and the company--allegedlly--was unaware that there were illegal aliens on their payroll.
The Governor's statement says it all: he gave the company a second chance and, when the same thing happened, he fired them.
There are those who might say that I'm guilty of the same bias, since I have endorsed Governor Romney's bid for the Presidency. The difference between WCVB and ConBlog is that (a) I'm not a member of the press and (b) I tell people openly which candidate I support. I'd write about this bias if it were any candidate and have plenty of times in the past.
That said, while this certainly isn't surprising, WCVB's obvious bias against their state's former Governor is disgusting. If you read WCVB's account, it sounds like he hired the illegal aliens himself and tried to keep it under wraps. They even tossed in a reference to Giuliani's "sanctuary mansion" line.
Governor Romney did the right thing. He gave the landscaping company a second chance and the benefit of doubt. When they failed to follow the law a second time, he fired them and then provided full disclosure.
I'm so glad that WCVB doesn't let a little thing like facts get in the way of their reporting.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com
