Tuesday, January 4, 2011

San Jose Mercury News Shows Media Bias in Reporting Dog Attacks

The San Jose Mercury News reports on a dog attack that occurred December 21st:

Dec 21, 2010San Jose woman viciously attacked by pitbulls
* 47 comments
* breed mentioned in title
* breed mentioned twice in article
Dec 22, 2010 Pit Bull that San Jose woman captured, one still loose
* 38 comments
* breed mentioned in title
* breed mentioned three times in article
Dec 27, 2010 San Jose: Investigators believe they know who owns pit bulls that attacked woman 
* 3 comments
* breed mentioned in title
* breed mentioned once in article

The San Jose Mercury News reports on a dog attack that occurred January 4th:

January 4, 2011 Loose dogs attack elderly man in south San Jose
* As of 12 pm, 7 comments
* breed NOT mentioned in title
* Pit Bulls from Dec 21 attack mentioned BEFORE actual dogs involved in attack are mentioned (5th paragraph)
* Breeds of dogs involved in attack mentioned in 8th paragraph - Boxer and Labrador Retriever
* Breed of dogs mentioned twice, once in the article and once in a quote from the victim
* Dogs have an actual history of aggression, unlike the two Pit Bulls.
* Dogs are described as "attacking", severity of attack is diminished as compared to the attack by the Pit Bulls.

The language used for both attacks is very different. The Pit Bulls "viciously mauled" a woman while the Boxer and Labrador Retriever "attacked" and, you know, didn't cause much injury...except for multiple bite wounds, similar to the Pit Bull attack.

No media bias? Indeed!

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