Heard much about the union protests in Wisconsin, lately?

Probably not.

Even though protests will be entering their third week on Tuesday, media coverage has been sorely lacking. Sure, the world needs to know about the violent and inexcusable crackdown on anti-government protestors in Libya — that’s a given.

But aren’t the ongoing union protests more important than the frilly stories of Hollywood?

Not according to CNN’s NewsPulse, which tracks the Internet’s most popular stories. On Saturday, the Wisconsin protests did not even break into the top five, having been eclipsed by the sordid tales of a voodoo sex ceremony gone awry and the ongoing, drug-fueled saga of Charlie Sheen (my suggestion: CBS should continue the show, but change the name to “Two Men”).

If anything, the Wisconsin protests seem to lack a certain edge. Calm, reasoned debate has gotten them nowhere. Perhaps the media would pay more attention to them if protestors start dressing up like Benjamin Franklin and brandishing misspelled protest signs with swastikas drawn on Gov. Scott Walker’s forehead?

Such tactics worked for the Tea Party.

But, in case the Wisconsin protestors are too reasonable to crank up the crazy, let me draw your attention to five important points that have been largely drowned out in the media’s coverage of the protests so far:

1. Wisconsin does not have an emergency budget problem.

This is a phony talking point spread by Gov. Walker in order to provide momentum for his cause of busting unions. The fact is, when he took office, Wisconsin had a forecasted surplus of $121 million — before a Medicaid shortfall and discontinued tax reciprocity deal — according to Wisconsin’s director of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

The surplus, however, evaporated the day Walker decided to splurge on more than $140 million in business tax breaks over the next few years.

2. The unions of Wisconsin have already agreed to a number of concessions.

These concessions include reductions to their health care and retirement plans. Teachers and service workers have also accepted pay cuts, asking only that they be allowed to collectively bargain for wages and benefits in the future.

3. Collective bargaining is a fundamental human right.

Let’s keep it simple.

Negotiating for wages = expression. Doing so in a group = assembly.

Freedom of expression + freedom of assembly = collective bargaining by free trade unions, something that President Reagan once called “one of the most elemental human rights.”

4. Quorum prevention is a perfectly legitimate tactic.

It’s ironic that the fiercest supporters of filibustering healthcare reform have turned into the fiercest opponents of Democrats delaying the union-busting vote.

You can’t have it both ways. Either you support both tactics or you oppose both tactics. It’s all or nothing.

5. Politicians have been using the tactic of preventing quorums for hundreds of years.

Abraham Lincoln once tried to jump out of a window in order to prevent a vote he thought would injure Whig-dominated state banks. If Honest Abe was willing to give it a try, I’m betting the tactic isn’t as underhanded as Republicans are now trying to make it seem.

Stepping back, I don’t believe the mainstream media has a nefarious agenda. I don’t see the mishandling of the Wisconsin protest coverage as evidence of ill intent or a concerted effort to delegitimize the union movement in America. And you can bet I’m not going to start calling our major newspapers and broadcast outlets the “lamestream” media any time soon.

But I do think the conversation needs a change of focus. In the next week, I hope journalists will stop focusing on the shock-and-awe journalism of where Democratic lawmakers fled to and start examining their reasons for fleeing in the first place.

Jason is a senior in Engineering.