Recent pattern of news coverage supports conservative claims of media bias

What do these issues have in common: ACORN, ex-presidential adviser Van Jones, last weekend's protest in Washington, claims that President Barack Obama's opponents are racist, and illegal immigrants getting health care?

All of these are evidence for conservative Americans that the "mainstream" news media — excluding Fox News, of course — ignore, downplay or slant coverage of matters that conservatives care about.

And taking all these recent issues together suggests there is a higher bar for conservative issues to get attention, as if the "objective" arbiters of news often say, "Oh, it's just those right-wing nuts again."

Conservatives have been complaining a long time about ACORN's tactics and evidence of fraud. But not until a good, juicy video emerged — the sting staged by a fake prostitute and pimp — did the story get prominent, mainstream attention.

As for Van Jones, he is a published and quoted authority on "green" jobs, but also a one-time avowed Communist who recently labeled all Republicans in Congress with the a-word. He signed a petition for a group that wants an investigation into whether the Bush administration knew about Sept. 11 in advance. I can't see any doubt as to whether this was newsworthy.

Last weekend in Washington, D.C., some number of Americans protested health-care reform and, for some, the Obama administration in general. I do not know if it was a million, as some claimed, but I am reasonably sure it was a lot. This event got a remarkably short shrift.

Another media theme last week was that much of the opposition to Obama's health-care proposals is based in racism. Former President Jimmy Carter declared it to NBC's Brian Williams; Carter was followed on that broadcast by a think-tank expert who agreed, with no evidence or rebuttal. This theme was recycled by other outlets the rest of the week.

Now, I am a Floridian born in North Carolina, and I am gettin' a little nervous. Really? Really? I can't say that it might cost too much, that it might drive up the deficit more than "one dime," that it might be too bureaucratic — if I say any of that, it is because I am sittin' down here in my bib overalls plucking a banjo? I don't think so. There is plenty of overt, ugly racism against the president in this country. But this is slinging a pretty broad paintbrush.

That fellow who yelled at the president in Congress acted like a jackass. But no matter how much Obama says his plan does not cover people who are not in the U.S. legally, conservatives are skeptical — and here's why.

First, it's not like people who show up at hospitals in labor or with medical emergencies aren't going to get treated. Second, the Democrats in Congress have rejected Republican attempts to require verification of legal status. It seems like a legitimate, ongoing dispute.

In no way am I claiming that every bit of hot air that somebody yammers on TV is news, or even worth notice. But I would keep an ear and an eye out for those that are.

Some of these topics had legs. The ACORN story did. The Van Jones story did. A lot of people showed up in Washington last weekend. Not all opposition is racist. People who are not here legally are getting health care. Millions of Americans are paying attention to these things. That makes them news.

Now, about that cap-and-trade legislation …