The Game that Big Media Plays
Seven out of ten stories about the democratic presidential candidates on the three broadcast networks have been positive, compared to four in ten for Al Gore and Bill Bradley four years ago.
The nonpartisan center for media and public affairs also found that just 17 percent of stories focused on issues or proposals. 71 percent examined polls and strategy.
No wonder President Bush’s poll numbers are down.
The survey found that senator John Edwards received the most favorable mentions – 79 percent – followed by John Kerry, Wesley Clark and Howard Dean. NBC’s Nora O’Donnell sounded like a commentator rather than a reporter when she described Edwards as “the man who made nice politics work.”
This is the game the big media play. And when you challenge them on it, they hide behind the first amendment or accuse you of bias. It’s going to get worse, a lot worse.
But this is nothing new and it should come as no surprise. The question is: does the Bush administration have a strategy for dealing with it? As of now, it appears they don’t.
I’m Cal Thomas in Washington.
Originally published February 10, 2004.
