[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15980]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               MEDIA SHOULD SAVE OPINIONS FOR EDITORIALS

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. LAMAR SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2009

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, in some national newspapers, the 
line between news reporting and opinion has become non-existent. Take 
two recent examples:
  First, this opinionated sentence from The Washington Post on 
America's health care system: ``Nowhere else in the world is so much 
money spent with such poor results.''
  Second, this sarcastic comment from The New York Times on Supreme 
Court nominee Judge Sotomayor: ``Of course, it is not as if a lawyer 
and judge with a history of involvement in racial issues has not made 
it onto the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshall, a fierce advocate for 
racial justice as a lawyer for the NAACP, sailed onto the highest bench 
in the 1960s.''
  Amazingly, these blatant opinions are from front-page news stories, 
not editorials.
  Newspapers should report the facts and save opinions for the 
editorial page.

                          ____________________