The Press, Romenesko, InVitro, and The Slant

In the last few days, the story about the 'maverick' teacher vs. the Big Bad Church has gone national.

Let's talk about the Press' manipulation of the story.

The woman in question announced her intentions in October 2004. The story goes national in May, 2006. But she was fired by the Big Bad EEEEEEEEvil Church in October 2004.

What happened in the meantime?

Pictures of cute little babies, THAT'S what happened in the meantime.

Now if you really want to manipulate public opinion, start with pictures of cute little babies (and they ARE cute, and they are little--about 6 months old, one would guess.)

But that's hardly enough for a National Story, is it? I mean, get serious. This woman lives in Appleton, WI--not exactly New York or LA.

So how did The Press get into this?

The name Romenesko gets a LOT of hits on Google. Try it sometime.