Did WaPo Mislead the Kiddies About the Labor Secretary in ‘Kids Post’?
It might seem natural that on Labor Day weekend, The Washington Post would offer a profile of the Labor Secretary in their Sunday “Kids Post” section . Next to a large picture of Hilda Solis holding a doll from Central America she keeps in her office, the headline was “Secretary of Hard Work: Hilda Solis has been working since she was 10. Her main job now is helping other people find employment.” Here's what's unnatural. While working in details like her collection of dolls from all over the world and photos of the red,white, and blue M&Ms on her desk, the “Kids Post” profile never mentions how the employment picture is doing under Solis and President Obama. Here's another problem: the Post seems to have misled the children about her upbringing. The story began by noting that Solis loves dolls, and her mother worked in a Barbie doll factory, but that mean that at 10, she had to help care for her infant twin sisters: When Hilda Solis was 10 years old, her mother worked in a factory that made Barbie dolls, and she would bring them home. “I love dolls,” Solis said. “When I was a kid I had, like, every Barbie doll.” But her mother’s job had a down side, too: It meant Hilda had to help care for her infant twin sisters . “We had to cook, clean. You wouldn’t believe, back then we had to wash diapers. Rows and rows of diapers,” she said of the work that she and her older sister did. “I had to grow up fast.” But wait: if Solis had to care for infant twin sister while her mother worked at Mattel, why did she say this on the House floor in 2006 to honor her mother's 80th birthday? “When the youngest of her children turned 5 , my mom began work at Mattel Inc. After 22 years of service, Juana retired from her job as an assembler.”
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on September 5, 2011. Filed under