Media Bias? Strom Thurmond vs. Robert Byrd Obits

The life stories of Senators Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd are similar but the way they were covered in death has been as different as night and day.

Thurmond, a Republican, opposed segregation and supported states rights. When he died, the Associated Press story included the following headline that appeared on June 27, 2003:

STROM THURMOND, FOE OF INTEGRATION, DIES AT 100

Byrd, a Democrat, was a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. When he died, the Associated Press story included the following heading on July 28, 2010:

ROBERT BYRD, RESPECTED VOICE OF THE SENATE, DIES AT 92

Both obituaries were written by the same writer, Adam Clymer. The headlines appeared in the The New York Times.