A Lesson in Identifying a News Story

If a public figure says something really really stupid in public, and the media don't report on it, has he made a gaffe? Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, said on his radio show on Wednesday that aborting future generations of black Americans would lower the crime rate. He pointed out that he certainly was not advocating that this be done -- he called it "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do" -- but his implication was clear: African Americans = crime.

The blogosphere went ballistic on this, but the media were silent -- until Sen. Henry Reid and other Democrats raised a fuss. So now the story is the Democrats demanding an apology, and at last the mainstream news editors and producers take notice. By early Friday, News Google registered dozens of MSM stories, the first one at 10:55 p.m. Thursday. The original statement, on its own, was not newsworthy. And that, gentle readers, is how the news business works.