The Tribune Store: Where Journalists Sell Out
You know, it would be fine if the newspaper called itself the "Wrigleyville Tribune" or if the radio station claimed to be "the Voice of Wrigleyville," but that's not how it is. The newspaper claims the whole city, and WGN claims to be its voice.
Yet anyone who visits the editorial offices of those purported newsgathering organizations is met by the spectacle of the Tribune store, its windows stuffed with Cubs gear, and only Cubs gear. To a Sox fan, it's the equivalent of a neon sign saying, "You don't belong here." There is a problem with a sign like that on a newsroom.
Unlike other businesses, newsgathering organizations play a crucial role in our constitutional republic. That's why Thomas Jefferson said, "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press." You'll notice Jefferson did not say, "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the prosperity of the Cubs."
The founding fathers didn't just cherish a free press, as in free from government influence, but also an independent press, as in independent from the influence of business interests.
The founding fathers certainly didn't envision our free and independent press as a ticket outlet for a baseball club, but that's the low it has reached in Chicago. Welcome to Michigan Avenue, home of the Tribune Tower, the world's most pompous ticket window.
WGN Website Update
Since we wrote about the Cubs bias on the home page of WGN radio, the number of references on that page to the Cubs has changed. Here are the latest totals:
WGN Radio
References to Cubs: 9
References to World Series Champion White Sox: 0
"The Voice of Chicago" rationalizes its neglect of half the city because it broadcasts the Cubs. So let's examine the home pages of cable Superstation WGN and the local broadcast station WGN-TV 9, both of which carry the games of both teams:
Superstation WGN
References to Cubs: 8
References to World Series Champion White Sox: 2
WGN-TV Channel 9
References to Cubs: 7
References to World Series Champion White Sox: 2
Superstation WGN reaches 67 million U.S. households, where it insinuates a pro-Cubs bias that serves the Tribune's financial self-interest. Worse, Tribune writers then write about Cubs dominance as if it's an independent fact of material reality, without disclosing their conflict of interest.
Yet anyone who visits the editorial offices of those purported newsgathering organizations is met by the spectacle of the Tribune store, its windows stuffed with Cubs gear, and only Cubs gear. To a Sox fan, it's the equivalent of a neon sign saying, "You don't belong here." There is a problem with a sign like that on a newsroom.
Unlike other businesses, newsgathering organizations play a crucial role in our constitutional republic. That's why Thomas Jefferson said, "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press." You'll notice Jefferson did not say, "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the prosperity of the Cubs."
The founding fathers didn't just cherish a free press, as in free from government influence, but also an independent press, as in independent from the influence of business interests.
The founding fathers certainly didn't envision our free and independent press as a ticket outlet for a baseball club, but that's the low it has reached in Chicago. Welcome to Michigan Avenue, home of the Tribune Tower, the world's most pompous ticket window.
WGN Website Update
Since we wrote about the Cubs bias on the home page of WGN radio, the number of references on that page to the Cubs has changed. Here are the latest totals:
WGN Radio
References to Cubs: 9
References to World Series Champion White Sox: 0
"The Voice of Chicago" rationalizes its neglect of half the city because it broadcasts the Cubs. So let's examine the home pages of cable Superstation WGN and the local broadcast station WGN-TV 9, both of which carry the games of both teams:
Superstation WGN
References to Cubs: 8
References to World Series Champion White Sox: 2
WGN-TV Channel 9
References to Cubs: 7
References to World Series Champion White Sox: 2
Superstation WGN reaches 67 million U.S. households, where it insinuates a pro-Cubs bias that serves the Tribune's financial self-interest. Worse, Tribune writers then write about Cubs dominance as if it's an independent fact of material reality, without disclosing their conflict of interest.
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