In a great example of how certain stories play out, San Francisco Bay Guardian reporter Sarah Phelan opens her article by citing the play two news items recently received on the same day they broke: In Detroit, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that the Bush administration’s warrantless National Security Agency surveillance program was unconstitutional and must end. Meanwhile, somewhere in Thailand, a weirdo named John Mark Karr claimed he was with six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey when she died in 1996.

We all know which story received the most attention.

‘Thomas Kostigen’s Ethics Monitor’ on marketwatch.com (vie here) lists which he says has been ignored or downplayed in the media, the sceptical out there – including this writer – would say these stories don’t actually hold much weight until published or broadcasted in the media that are apparently ignoring the stories.