I'll have more about media bias on the reporting of the Gathering of Eagles, which has been obvious and prevalent, tomorrow, but this struck me.
In case you ever wondered whether the AP is in agreement with the Sheehan crowd's take on the war in Iraq and the American military in general, look no further than the lede-- that's right, the lede-- of this AP story on the anti-war protests (emphasis mine):
Shivering in the shadow of the Pentagon “Death Star,” chilly protestersraged against the Iraq war Saturday near the symbol of U.S. militarypower – 40 years after activists stormed the building trying to stopanother war.
The Death Star reference, though in quotes, is not attributed to anyone, giving the quote way more credence and credibility as a descriptor than any halfway straight-up reporter would. It's not until the fifth paragraph that you find out it's Cindy Sheehan who said it.
And, just like that, Sheehan's craziest talking point becomes an AP lede. Perhaps "Death Star" will make it into next year's AP Stylebook as synonym for Pentagon.
