The last hurrah?
The media's reaction to Sarah Palin has been visceral. A media that once really did consider the children of candidates off limits is willing to plaster three THREE! stories of 17-year old Bristol Palin's pregnancy on the front page of the New York freakin' Times on the same day in order to destroy the candidacy of Sarah Palin and, by extension, John McCain.
Certainly, the media was in the tank for John Kerry the last time around, with one noted media type (I can't remember who) stating that media bias was worth 12 points to Kerry.
And the media this year is in the tank for the Democratic nominee at an unprecedented level. And they will not just be operating with the usual imbalance of positive/negative coverage. It is going to be unbelievably nasty.
Don't believe me? The news of Bristol Palin's pregnancy is about 3 days old. In the next couple of days you will even begin to see 'news' or at least be seeing information on Levi Whatshisname, the 17 year-old father.
Contrast that with the media embargo on John Edwards' affair and the love child that was conceived...and even today just the trickle of information regarding money funneled to his paramour through his large donors. All to, you know.....protect Elizabeth.
But just being in the tank for Obama doesn't quite explain it. Even if you take into consideration the very real historic nature of a truly viable (and nominated) black candidate for the Presidency.
Sarah Palin's nomination to be the Vice President isn't quite as big a "first" unless she wins...but take a look at the usual media talking heads...especially some of the women and look at how they are using arguments on camera against Sarah Palin as Vice President (shouldn't she take care of her kids, etc.?) that if uttered off-camera by a man against any media-approved female candidate would be an absolute career-ender. Have any woman describe to you the outright cattiness and meanness that frequently consumes an all-woman office. Then multiply it by a thousand and you have Sally Quinn and Andrea Mitchell...and Andrew Sullivan for that matter, 'reporting' on Sarah Palin.
But it still seems odd that they would so willingly and easily go on their search and destroy mission for 17 year-old Bristol Palin. So is there something else?
Maybe there is.
Maybe it is all of the above compounded by the thought that this may their last big chance to swing an election. Looking at the decline of readership and earnings at the New York Times herself you can't say logically say that she will have even the same influence (much less more) on future campaigns. The MSM's outright monopoly on news is gone and their influence will continue to wane over the next four years.
Maybe they know, consciously or unconsciously, that this might be their last hurrah.
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15 Comments
Great blog. Just linked over from a headline on hotair (I think). Keep it up!
It was Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, and 15 points.
I especially enjoyed the beautiful sight of Sarah Palin happily holding her little infant child with Down's Syndrome on the cover of US magazine, along with the headline "LIES".
It's starting to feel shameful having to live in times like these...
Thats okay..let the left and the media rail
against her..she'll come up smelling like roses..
GO PALIN!!!
I am an evangelical Christian--you know, one of those types that the MSM says will hate Sarah Palin and her children because of Bristol's pregancy.
I really, really love Sarah Palin and the whole Palin family. I pray for her, and them, to be strong and to make it through this.
I have two young daughters. You can't imagine how proud I was to be able to tell them "John McCain picked his running mate. And it's a GIRL." I had always told them that they could be whatever they wanted. Sarah Palin is the proof.
Win it, Sarah. It isn't just about you. It's about my daughters. They believe in you. Make it happen.
_______________
Maybe they know, consciously or unconsciously, that this might be their last hurrah.
<shudder> But, what is to replace them? The Daily Kos? </shudder>
But, what is to replace them? The Daily Kos?
I think that they get replaced by real newsmen and women again.
It sounds pretty naive, I know, but what they are doing is losing money and eyeballs and just might be replaced by something that doesn't.
Like a true news product. I think people are still willing to pay for that. And where there is demand.....
At least I hope.
Congrats on getting linked by HotAir! Nice to see a hometown blog get some serious recognition (I'm a midlander).
Spot on with your analysis of the Palin's treatment by the MSM. They see her as a serious threat, not only in this election, but even more so four years from now. If her performance as VP equals her work in Alaska, the Dems will be steamrolled in 2012.
They need to remember the old addage, "If you strike at the king, be sure to kill him." Or in this case, perhaps the queen, and if the royal doesn't die, the vengance will be dramatic. I think she may be formidable.
Spot on. I can handle the trooper gate thing (I love how everything a conservative does is something 'gate', while anything a dem does is... well not reported....) but this pregnancy issue is really getting to me. I have seen very devout folks have a teen go preggers on them... no matter what you tell your children.. sometimes they don't do what you want (they aren't slaves...) and when they do... you do your best to love them, protect them, help them help themselves, and still try to go about your life (job, career, hobbies, political life, etc...).
My only silver lining is that the Palin pick has caused all this fuss... really shows how scared the Dems are... I think they really will loose this one... and deservedly so.
Cogent analysis.
I'm liking where your head's at on this.
Great blog! Question women capability is biased. Women are capable of doing multi-tasking. My wife works full-time and still makes time to take care children. Cooks for them, do laundry and drop them off at school. Women are capable of doing things beyond our imagination. Sarah Palin is qualified to be president, period.
I would say you are on the right track, but I think its more prosaic than spinning an election. In the case of NYT and probably some others, this will likely be their last presidential election. Many of them, NYT especially, have been bleeding red ink heavily. There is a very good possibility that many of these brand names will be gone in'12.
This assault on the Palins is a hail-mary attempt to cash the bottom line. She's popular, so the readership is there. The media market laps up salaciousness, so in the name of expedience, sacrificing a 17 year preggers is just "good business". See, its easy when toss your ethics out of the window...
News analysis in the blogs is now often superior to the "professionally" written columns. The only edge the MSM has left is the discovery of facts on the ground, i.e. reporting. But there is precious little of that now. It's usually all innuendo. Sources are not named or at best referred to in generic terms, e.g. "a former top strategist confirmed today", or "insiders say" or "it is widely reported" or "local officials say". Uh, who? Exactly? Yes, I want a name.
The truth is that most of the MSM "reporting" has degenerated into gossip and opinion. There's no reporting other than chatting up other gossips (I'm sorry, "journalists") and snickering over lunch. And as with the Hillary debacle, simply making up anything they want, attributing it to "well-placed sources" and then wrapping a personal rant around these "facts".
Meanwhile, the blogs have dynamic cross-checking, cross-referencing, error correction, feedback, endless criticism, and a true desire to penetrate the issue - instead of the true desire to impress an editor and other "professionals" in the biz.
It's fantastic, and the MSM hates it and fears it. They are in decay and the blogs are in bloom.
Note the number of news programs when journalists interview each other. Someone unkindly referred to this as a circle jerk. And it is.
Rush Limbaugh is, despite all the efforts to silence him, including an attempt to revive the Fairness Doctrine, wildly popular, and there's a reason. Insulated lefties like Dan Rather and sneering pinks like Andrea Mitchell made people seek other news. If CBS et al had been doing their job, would there even be a Rush? Would there be Fox News? And let's remember that Fox News on radio has the Alan Colmes show so it's not entirely conservative.
It's the monolithic liberalism of the MSM which is destroying them.
Good.
"Maybe they know, consciously or unconsciously, that this might be their last hurrah."
From your lips to God's ear! May it be so....
Can't remember how I found your blog, but wanted to say I think your assessment is spot on.