The Front Page of The Bakersfield Californian is an interesting study on the rhetorical power of image, text and graphic use in how news is construction and the shaping of perceptions on public issues. Typically, newspapers are reluctant to offer overtly stated editorial opinions on the front page but in this age of increasing partisanship, the juxtaposition of image, text and graphic surely paints a point of view for the reader.
It is also rare to see an image of Governor Schwarzenegger scowling like he is here. Combined with the red lines of a climbing budget projection in the graph below his face, the message the reader gets is ideologically coded.
I feel it is important for the public to question the use of such treatments as this in the press. Calling the media to present information as fact without tweaking the message to fit a particular ideology is critical to a free and open society.