The Gazette Drops The Ball -- Again

Here is the local paper of the DC Suburbs and there are two key races in Maryland for Congressional seats. One is nearby -- the 4th District, covering PG and MoCo; the other is far away -- the 1st District, covering the Eastern Shore and portions northeast of Baltimore.Guess which race is the lead for Gazette.


The headline caught my eye: Turnout is the key to congressional races. I thought hum, the Gazette is going to discuss the turnout in the contested Wynn-Edwards race. Great. I would love to hear what some of the experts have to say about turnout now that we have a contested Democratic Presidential primary. Will it hurt Wynn or help him. What does this do for the challengers.

Boy was I wrong.

We get four paragraphs of Republican Mitt Romney dropping out. The impact this has on the 1st Congressional District. You know that Eastern Shore race.

Where was the editor on this one? Must be in OC working on his summer place.

Did they interview a political expert? Sure some prof down in Salisbury. What the local phone lines don't work? Did this expert add anything to the story. Nothing that was worth quoting.

Did they talk about the most important Democratic primary for Congress? Oh yeah, at the end of this story we have Wynn and Edwards trade barbs in final days. Maybe someone should give them a map of their territory or a clue.

The Gazette sure knows how to stick their neck out on a key local race. Maybe the staff was busy calling car dealers for another print ad because they sure weren't talking to someone who could help them get to the bottom of the story. Great headline; lousy story.

I write for this blog in my spare time. I would not waste my time writing about turnout in a district three hours away when you have the best story in the country in the middle of your circulation. But the Gazette paid someone to write that crap. No wonder circulation is down.