
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 25, 1993                   TAG: 9305250629
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

YELLOW-RAG COVERAGE OF JOBS BILL

THIRTY YEARS ago, I was taught in journalism class that reporters should report facts. Editorial policy should be kept on the editorial page, and slanting stories to reflect the feelings of editors and publishers was called "yellow" journalism. If these concepts were true today, this paper would be known as a "yellow rag."

In regards to the front-page story on April 22 ("Senate vote kills Clinton jobs bill"):

While I realize this is an Associated Press story, and probably printed verbatim, it is the duty of the publishing paper to point out the whole story. Any jobs created by this bill would be, at best, short-term and would cost taxpayers $90,000 per job. This is hardly cost-effective.

But to go further, this story mentions that $4 billion would go to extended unemployment benefits. This does not create jobs, it pays people not to work. It goes on to say the program provides "$12.2 billion to restore forests, provide immunization for children, create summer jobs for students and finance other programs Clinton says would stimulate the economy and put more Americans to work."

While the forests, immunizations and summer jobs are laudable enterprises, you do not mention that the vast majority of the $12.2 billion was going to programs such as repairing a swimming pool in Tom Foley's hometown of Seattle, building a parking garage in Ft. Lauderdale, building swimming pools and golf courses in Puerto Rico (a lot of jobs for Americans in that one), and other pork-barrel payoffs to big-city mayors for Clinton's election support.

The Republicans were correct to fight this bill, and the people of the United States should thank them. There is already $97 billion available for some of these programs, but the president could not tap that source for payoffs, so he devised his program and called it an "emergency." The only emergency was that those to receive the payoffs were pushing him.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., was quoted as saying the Republicans "proved that they are the guardians of gridlock." Someone in the press should challenge statements like this by pointing out that there are not enough Republicans to do anything by themselves. They had to have the help and support of some responsible Democrats.

Please, Roanoke Times & World-News, print the whole story, not just what you want people to know. SAMUEL N. WISE ROANOKE

by CNB