It is a common complaint that newspapers don't report the good news. And on this, the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, you can see a good example of that.

What's the big news? MoveOn.org attacks Gen. David Petraeus (523 stories as of 11 p.m. Monday).

Why? Because it's politics, it's war, it's conflict. Peaceniks vs. the Pentagon, Left vs. Right, Democrats vs. Republicans. That's the kind of story that gets big headlines on the front page -- and lots of links from bloggers (1,670 posts as of 11 p.m. Monday).

Now, if possible, take yourself out of the mentality of the news junkie, the competitive reporter, the political activist. That is to say: Don't think like a Beltway insider.

In that mindset -- as just an ordinary citizen -- suppose you were driving near a college campus on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and saw spreading across the lawn nearly 3,000 small U.S. flags:

At college and university campuses across America today, that's exactly what people will be seeing, thanks to Young America's Foundation's 9/11 Never Forget Project. U.S. flag memorials like that one are part of activities conducted by hundreds of student volunteers.

Remember, you're just an ordinary citizen driving past the campus and you see those thousands of flags and maybe you think, "Hey, that's pretty neat. The kids who did that must be really proud, patriotic Americans. Wonder who organized that?"

Don't look to the mainstream press for information. Want to guess how many newspapers had reported on the 9/11 New Forget Project as of 11 p.m. Monday? According to a Google News search, exactly one:

Flags and prayers will be part of memorials planned tomorrow at colleges and universities across the country to remember the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Students at more than 150 campuses will participate in the Young America's Foundation's "9/11 Never Forget Project."

Among the projects planned at several schools are the creation of memorials featuring 3,000 small flags, each flag representing one of those killed by the terrorist hijackers who destroyed the World Trade Center in New York, hit the Pentagon and crashed a fourth commercial jetliner in Pennsylvania.

Not a lot of work for a nice little story. But it seems no one else bothered to do it. Why? Dare anyone suggest ... bias? Consider the laudatory coverage lavished on the "Rock the Vote" project (that Google search returns 168,000 hits).

As National Review reported, Rock the Vote campaigned in 2004 on a pretty obvious liberal message: "If the younger generation doesn't vote, the environment would be destroyed, America would soon have a draft, and government funding for higher education would be eliminated." And in 2005, Rock the Vote actively lobbied against President Bush's plan for Social Security reform.

The left-leaning politics of Rock the Vote doesn't prevent the press from providing effusive coverage of the group, presenting it as a universal voice of the young generation. But YAF is a conservative group, and the 89 percent Democratic press corps thinks conservatives are "controversial," so YAF doesn't get that kind of treatment.

Bias, however, cannot fully explain why the 9/11 Never Forget Project is being ignored by most news organizations on this anniversary. The bias against reporting good news also about ego. Big-shot reporters don't do "happy news." The scoop, the exclusive, the leaked document, the "sources close to the investigation said" kind of story -- that's what the big shots want.

Sigh. Anyway, at least now readers of The Washington Times know that, out there in America, some patriotic college kids are flying the flag today. And isn't that good to know?

And here's a nice video about the project, from YAF:

-- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times