B3: It’s always helpful to read how FAIR analyzes how the mainstream media cover a major story. FAIR is the media advocacy organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
Misquoting Sotomayor
Media let right-wing critics frame debate
At this point, the confirmation battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will hinge in part on whether the media want to fact-check her critics. So far, the press is largely failing.
Right-wing critics and politicians have been circulating comments Sotomayor made in 2001 at UC Berkeley. One quote has been replayed endlessly: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” (Sometimes the quote is replayed without the “I would hope that” qualifier–e.g., NBC Nightly News, 5/31/09.)