What You Didn't Hear: State of the Union Promises Lacking Coverage

FoxNews: Obama Wants Panel to Select Federal Property to Sell Off

CNN: Obama plan would accelerate sale of unneeded federal real estate

It's a common failing of the constantly changing news cycle that some stories just don't make the front page, or, sadly enough, get buried in so many links that you're likely to never find them unless it happened to be by chance.

In this case, only CNN and FoxNews carried the story.

This story, while perhaps not fraught with GOP versus Democrat conflict does seem to address something that all Americans and media outlets seem to target at one point or another: Whether or not the President has been able to make headway on his State of the Union promises.

It appears Obama has made recommendations to various government agencies to assess what government properties could be sold off in order to cut the federal spending budget. Unhappy with the progress he's now suggested a private- and public-sector commission to evaluate the excess and propose the cuts to Congress for a vote.

FoxNews presented the story essentially as fact-friendly as possible, as did CNN, probably for lack of the juicy conflict that would make for a more catchy or sensationalist headline.

It did seem to me, though, that while CNN presented a lot of facts themselves, in conjunction with many quotes from Jeff Zients, the federal chief performing officer, there was a slight attempt at the beginning to personalize or hook the reader into the story with mention of specific buildings that were on the chopping block.

I think what really struck me was that there was a story that clearly outlined an instance in which the President was actively seeking to make good on one of his State of the Union promises, but the press gave passive attention to it on the way to the two-hundredth story about how the government is about to shutdown over the lack of a budget. Don't get me wrong, that's a pretty important thing to be covering, but for the weight and measure of success we place on a President with the prime indicator his ability to fulfill those beginning of the year promises, we sure did let this one slide to the "back page."