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Media should stop rooting for political candidates
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Location: Blogs Marion Politics |
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| Posted by: Ocala.com Election Coverage |
4/2/2008 10:37 AM |
There's an unwritten rule about reporters who cover sporting events: No cheering in the press box!
So why is it that when it comes to something infinitely more important than a baseball game -- like a presidential election -- so many in the national media feel free to root for candidates.
Fair and balanced? My eye. Hardball? Puh-leeeease!
The cable networks trot out political cheerleaders every night, dress them up like real reporters and turn them loose on prime-time audiences with their sound-bite journalism and witty banter.
And what are they talking about? Are they offering side-by-side comparisons of the health care plans put forth by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? Are they analyzing the details of John McCain’s economic stimulus package?
No. They’re predicting outcomes in primaries that won’t occur for another week, imputing great significance to sometimes contradictory polls and divining great meaning from the most ordinary utterances and gestures of the candidates.
In short, they’re giving us very little that could be considered useful in determining the value and practicality of the candidates’ ideas.
Worst of all, the hosts of these “news” talk shows spend much of their time shilling for one candidate or another.
There’s Chris Matthews, host of “Hardball” and a historically level-headed journalist, fawning over Barack Obama. He can frequently be seen characterizing another Obama speech as among the most important in American history or badgering a guest to do so, or comparing Obama’s statesmanlike qualities to JFK, Ronald Reagan and Abe Lincoln.
Just visit MSNBC.com, click on the Hardball tab and check out the list of recent Hardball video clips, with titles like, “Presidency in Obama’s DNA” (the video leaves no doubt about it); “Clinton vulnerable on NAFTA?,” and “Grand Delusions for Clinton.”
Following one of the early primaries, he reacted to a solid Obama speech with a child-like, “I really like this guy!”
The high priests of politics aren’t much better at Fox, where John McCain is darling to all but the token liberal, Alan Colmes.
So who cares if Chris Matthews, Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann (ugh. Please go back to ESPN) are doing a little cheerleading for one candidate or another?
You should care. We should all care that some in the media have decided it isn’t enough to report politics thoughtfully and thoroughly. They want to be political king-makers as well.
We in the press should report enough credible information to let you formulate your own conclusions about issues and events. Today, cable news show hosts try to guide us to a conclusion by inundating viewers with video clips, sound bites,“experts,” and their own analysis to support their views.
And forget the good old days when voters would just cast ballots for the candidates who best reflected their values and ideals. Now, cable news networks sort the worthies from the unworthies for us. They have tilted the playing field toward some candidates by determining who the “serious” candidates are, lavishing their hand-picked frontrunners with coverage and virtually ignoring the rest.
Against these odds, poor Mike Huckabee — cast by Matthews, Olbermann and others as a goofy hick — never stood a chance. Nor did some other candidates with leadership pedigrees, people like Bill Richardson and Joe Biden.
Even those who manage to keep their candidacies alive into February often find themselves battling not only their opponents but endless media speculation about whether their campaigns are dying. After a while, people start believing it and getting behind the “electable” candidate.
Maybe the problem is us. Perhaps we reward this behavior with ratings. Perhaps we shouldn’t.
-- tom mcniff |
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Comments (4)
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Re: Media should stop rooting for political candidates |
By Lloyd Thompson on
5/14/2008 8:10 AM |
| When I turn on the TV as soon as I hear The Political Bull Start I Turn it OFF!!! This Morning it was on for 15 seconds. |
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Re: Media should stop rooting for political candidates |
By Matt Zweil on
5/14/2008 10:05 PM |
| Tom, I feel your pain. The "Media" has been characterized as the "4th branch" of government because it serves to provide its own form of "checks & balances" by keeping the people informed about goings-on in politics. However, unlike the other branches, there is no corresponding checks and balances system in place for this "4th branch". I think that the problem you are outlining is an example of the media running unchecked. Nevertheless, two facts encourage me: 1) it is still within the power of the audience to use discernment in deciding how much credibility to give the opinion of any reporter or TV pundit. 2) I believe that the media is self-policing to a certain extent. For example, I view your effort at posting this question to be a form of media self-policing, since you are drawing attention to this issue. Regards, Matt Zweil. |
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Who Cares |
By BK on
5/24/2008 1:39 AM |
| Does anyone really care what Whitfield Jenkins has to say? The little bit of credibility he had went right out the window when he used that little plastic card to SUBSIDIZE his gambling habit and got arrested for it. Now we're seeking him out to get his HONEST opinion about who should be the next Deputy Chief of the Ocala Police Department! I'm sure it won't be the last article.....YOU CAN BET ON IT |
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Tumbling Dice? |
By M. Jag on
6/6/2008 12:55 AM |
| Now that the glue which once held the police department together has moved on to face chilly winters and fulfill his own personal career ambitions in another state, what will happen to the OPD? An expected announcement of Graham's replacement later today should provide us with some useful insight. Vegas odds give Rodney the nod with a 70/30 split over Robin. I guess the legitimate question is, did the mayor cave to <br>Jenkins & Rich and base his decision on what is best for his political career, or did he grow some stones and pick the more qualified candidate to lead OPD through some difficult times? How many of you wish Howie was still here? Buckle up my friends, we're all going for a ride! <br> |
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