Coble blasts lack of ACORN coverage

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican, criticized the national media this morning for what he called a lack of coverage on the ACORN scandal.

ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) came under criticism after two activists, posing as a prostitute and her pimp, secretly recorded some of the group’s employees offering advice on how to fill out tax returns for an illegal business, Barb Barrett reports.

In the wake of the scandal, Congress pulled federal funding for the organization.

In his brief speech during the House of Representatives’ "one-minutes" this morning, Coble said the national media should report the facts.

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His statement, in full:

In his latest column, The New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt criticized the Times for its lack of coverage of the ACORN fraud and corruption scandal.

Hoyt wrote that the Times showed "slow reflexes" and risks appearing "clueless" or "partisan" if it does not cover similar stories in the future.

The Times wasn’t alone. The Washington Post’s ombudsman admitted the Post was slow to cover the story as well, and speculated that reporters’ liberal leanings might have played a part.

Most other national news outlets ignored or downplayed the ACORN scandal. Days passed before the network news programs covered the story. And only one out of five Sunday news show hosts asked the President about ACORN last week.

The national media should report the facts instead of ignoring stories that don’t fit their liberal agenda.