The Chronicle obsession with the House Majority Leader is becoming a source of amusement.
Today’s effort finds this bit of Tom DeLay commentary mixed in with what is ostensibly coverage of the upcoming convention of the National Rifle Association in the Bayou City:
Attractions will include an exhibition hall with “five acres of guns and gear;” a performance of the national anthem by Ted Nugent; seminars on a variety of hunting, personal protection and political issues; and a keynote address by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.
“He’s been a great supporter of the Second Amendment,” LaPierre said of DeLay. “We’re proud to have him as a speaker.”
LaPierre declined to comment on the criticism surrounding DeLay regarding ethics issues and the controversy over his recent statements suggesting federal judges will have to answer for what he calls politically motivated decisions.
And why would NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre have a comment on such tangential topics?
For that matter, why was it so important to work that tangential commentary into a news story on a big convention for Houston?
Obviously, the Chronicle editorial board drove the commentary that appeared in this “news” article, since the article was about LaPierre’s meeting with the editorial board. So why not publish the entire transcript of the meeting? Where’s the transparency of our editorial idealists?
This sort of selective reporting from editorial board meetings is outdated. In this technological age, it’s time for newspapers to open those meetings up and make public both their own agenda and the full commentary of those they interview.