Representative Press Blog

Someone agrees with me about the arson attacks, " but to attack innocent people, regardless of their religious belief, is an atrocity."

I reply that if we can apply that universally we can make progress. Did you notice that the motive for the arson attacks is mentioned right away? On 9/11 and the days after, can you find ANY instance of the media even using the word "motive"? Notice that the article mentions possible motive in the first paragraph (when the terrorism is directed at Muslims), in the American media most articles and TV news reports never get around to mentioning motives when the terrorism is directed at Americans. post Notice how on 9/11 and the immediate following days that the media instinctively knew not to utter the word motive? Here is another example where the press shows it can mention motive when it wants to: again-motive-is-mentioned

More examples of when other crimes occur the media OFTEN refers to motive: "cops still looking for a motive", etc? Here is one recent example, look how the media is reporting the Kansas plant shootings:

Sixth person dies after shooting at Kansas plant
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A sixth person shot in a rampage at a meatpacking plant died Saturday, and investigators said they still have not determined the gunman's motive.

Victim wounded in Kansas plant shooting dies
Police say they don't know why employee opened fire
Police Chief Ronald Miller told reporters. "Obviously, there's a motive for this. Why exactly, or what pushed him to do this, we really don't know."

Six dead in Kansas workplace shooting
Authorities still don’t know gunman’s motive
Police did not offer a motive for Friday’s 10-minute rampage, but said there appeared to be nothing random about the killings at the Kansas City, Kan., ConAgra Foods Inc. plant.

And of course before 9/11, motive was talked about too. See this older story from 1999:
Shooting spree motive vague; suspect kills self
A white supremacist driving a hijacked van took his own life as he was being sought in a series of drive-by shootings that targeted blacks, Jews and Asians in a deadly Independence Day weekend rampage in two states, authorities said Monday. A specific motive for Benjamin Nathaniel Smith's three-day shooting spree was under investigation.

Some people think they know what the media is doing and what the bias is. The truth is the bias is towards powerful interests.