I love the press.

Being a news junkie has its pitfalls, sure, but it also means that I’m often the first to notice the hypocrisies of the press. I mostly rely on SFGate, the San Francisco Chronicle’s website for my news because it tends to be a nice blend of national and international news stories, provided by the ever diligent Associated Press news feed and local stories and columnists writing about issues that affect my life in a more direct way. Although the recent tanker truck explosion doesn’t affect me too much, except for affecting traffic where I live, I’ve been following the story pretty closely.

On Monday, the day after the accident, the Chronicle posted a story about the driver’s escape from the burning truck and his journey to the hospital. A little bit of background on the driver was given, and buried deep within the article was some information about his church ties. Apparently, the man volunteers for a Christian ministry. And as for his survival, "If he walked away, it's only because the Lord was with him," says his friend, the Reverend. All of this is at the very end of an article that, while on the SFGate page, was far from featured.

Today’s homepage tells a different story. The featured article – front page news, if you will – is a photo of the man with headlines blaring about his criminal past. As it turns out, the gentleman has a bit of a history:

“James Mosqueda's criminal record in Sacramento County includes a 1993 conviction for misdemeanor possession of a syringe, for which he was sentenced to 60 days; a 1994 conviction for felony possession of stolen property that resulted in a 180-day sentence; and the 1996 conviction for felony heroin possession, said Lana Wyant, a Sacramento County prosecutor and spokeswoman.”

Apparently, he was legally cleared to get a commercial drivers’ license and even to transport hazardous materials. It even sounds like the guy’s reformed, what with helping others struggling with addiction. Nonetheless, the talking heads have already started screaming about changing the laws. Where were they when the man was just a Christian volunteer? Before his history came out, nobody seemed to care. And really, changing the laws won’t prevent this sort of accident from happening again: even the most rigorously licensed drivers speed sometimes. Even though the man’s convictions are not relevant to this case – his licensing was completely lawful, as soon as it made front page news, the reactions began.

But if this doesn’t affect you, don’t panic. World news has not been pre-empted for this. For example, Anna Nicole Smith was in the news yesterday; apparently she made some film that’s now being released. This was important enough for CNN to have a featured article about it. Surprisingly the film was not produced by a Time Warner subsidiary. That’s yesterday’s news, you say? Don’t fret, the drama over her baby and babydaddy is prominently featured on all of today’s newsfeeds.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/30/MNGBEPI1371.DTL

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/01/MNGQUPIKI01.DTL

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/23/film.annanicole.lastrole.ap/index.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/01/entertainment/e100933D74.DTL