Abortion and journalists

The trial of Kermit Gosnell, a case centering on a Philadelphia doctor who allegedly engaged in extreme, late-term abortion practices, has made its way into the national news. Coverage has mostly been dedicated to why the trial hadn't been in the news sooner.

Melinda Henneberger, who runs the Washington Post's "She The People" blog, offers a forthcoming reason as to why the trial hadn't been "page one"...

"I say we didn’t write more because the only abortion story most outlets ever cover in the news pages is every single threat or perceived threat to abortion rights," she says in a Monday post. "In fact, that is so fixed a view of what constitutes coverage of that issue that it’s genuinely hard, I think, for many journalists to see a story outside that paradigm as news, even if that’s less a conscious decision than a reflex."

@eScarry