The New York Times is well known for trying to be balanced in its news reporting, but sometimes its efforts verge on the ludicrous. Consider the following line from the May 5 front-page article on partial-birth abortion: ” While a number of abortion-rights supporters have switched their votes to favor a ban on this particular procedure, there have been no reports of any anti-abortion lawmakers going the other way.”
Not even one? Imagine that.
Ever in the vanguard of journalistic technique, the Times may be striking out in a new direction here — reporting what has not happened, as well as what has. This new “negative reporting” could feature items like, ” There have been no reports that most Americans would like to stop driving in order to help the environment,” or, “No experts currently believe that continental drift will cause North America to smash into Europe in the next five years.” The advantages of the new negative reporting: It’s more dramatic, it requires little if any research, and it’s generally accurate.
