So we have another sex scandal in government. This time it is gay Portland mayor Sam Adams involved with young men. What political party is he a member of? The Seattle Times story doesn't say. Why? The Seattle PI coverage doesn't say either. Why? Could it be that he's a Democrat and we have another example of the media attempting to downplay another Democrat in scandal? Could it be that both papers use AP coverage of stories like this, and since the AP has already filtered the story appropriately to protect the Democrat Party, that the Times and PI can simply blame AP if challenged?

Maybe the Times and PI are forbidden to edit stories that fail Journalism 101?

Nope, I think all their assurances of fairness and balance are just words. Their coverage of scandal-ridden Democrats suggests otherwise.

When disgraced gay Spokane mayor James West died, the AP made sure the reader knew he was Republican with multiple references to party. But that wasn't enough for the Seattle Times. They reported the story, then the next day printed it after editing the headline to include his party affiliation as Republican.

Then when Democrat child molester and congressman Gerry Studds died not too long after, the Seattle Times went to work and edited out many of the more damning comments about him and his actions from the AP story, while failing to identify his party affiliation even once in the article.

And there are many more examples of this tactic.

Double standard? Bias? You decide. One thing is certain, though. Despite repeated challenges of their failure to link Democrats to scandal, they are pretty firm in their policy to downplay or avoid the link altogether.