The "Bernie Blackout" appears to be over: How will the media cover the Sanders campaign now?

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

Here are five types of anti-Bernie media bias to watch out for:

1. Undercutting his base of support

One of the most obvious examples of anti-Bernie bias has been the tendency to undercut his base of support. As evidenced by the “Bernie bro” narrative in 2016, we often hear that Sanders is unelectable because his base of support is too narrow. This is even more important to note in 2020, when Sanders has, in fact, widened his base of support significantly from 2016. Findings from the Economist show that women under 45 made up a larger share of Sanders supporters than men — a fact made even more noteworthy by the fact that Sanders support skews largely towards younger voters.

(snip)

2. Missing his success in polls

Polls, of course, are the go-to metric that tends to be favored in the news media. But what is weird in the Sanders story of media coverage of polls is how often the news media just seems to gloss over the actual data. In the most egregious examples, the news media seems to deliberately misrepresent the facts. CNN recently offered one of the most outrageous examples, when it reportedly twice-aired a six-week-old poll from Iowa showing Bernie in fourth place. At the time of their reporting, more recent polling showed Sanders clearly in second place behind Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

(snip)

4. Saying America isn’t “ready” for his progressive policies

(snip)

Yet, thus far, as I argued in a piece for Salon back in August, that story has been largely wrong. Recent research suggests, for example, that the notion of a political center is largely a myth, because most so-called centrist voters are actually cross-pressured on issues, meaning that they may align with different parties on different issues.

5. Highlighting the negative and going light on policy

(snip)

Thus far, in ignoring the positive news of the Sanders campaign, the corporate news media seems to be repeating many of the same mistakes. And that’s why, even if Sanders does get more coverage in the mainstream media, there is no reason to expect it to be fair or unbiased. This means that the problem isn’t whether Sanders gets coverage; it’s how he gets covered. If voters want the news media to do a better job, we have to watch out for both bias and blackouts.

SOPHIA A. MCCLENNEN
Sophia A. McClennen is Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University. She writes on the intersections between culture, politics, and society. Her latest book, co-authored with Remy M. Maisel, is, Is Satire Saving Our Nation? Mockery and American Politics.

https://www.salon.com/2019/12/30/the-bernie-blackout-appears-to-be-over-how-will-the-media-cover-the-sanders-campaign-now/

[Renew Deal]

1. I love how the Sanders camp manufactures a "blackout" just to declare it over

Don’t worry, your article shows that they’ll find something new to complain about.

[Lexee]

3. Exactly. There never was a "black out"

[OnDoutside]

4. Do they have some other forum where they're told what talking points to follow ?

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. Bullseye!

[LanternWaste]

2. Blame the media, question the polls, rinse, lather, repeat as necessary.

(ex. #3042)

[TidalWave46]

5. Is HA Goodman back at Salon?

This is from an author who used their platform to provide cover for Trump after the Mueller Report was released. An author who struggled with why it wasn't "All Lives Matter."

She does think a lot about the Big Dog. Here is a nice headline from her.

Bill Clinton's Lewinsky fail is a symptom of something bigger: Democrats' lack of integrity
Bill Clinton's blithe refusal to apologize reflects the same ethical rot that sank Hillary's presidential campaign

How clear does the trend have to be before some wake up? Sirota, Gray, Turner, Sanders, Russian assistance, funneling money and positions to family members, trashing the media while espousing populist rhetoric, trashing great Democrats and civil rights icons on the left, etc.

These people are not on the team of progress.

[Gothmog]

7. LOL-HA Goodman is back

That is truly amusing

[TidalWave46]

8. I no longer believe that people are reading and promoting things like this in good faith.

Outside of the LCD. I know this OP is not a part of the LCD. That means it's even more nefarious on their part.

[Gothmog]

6. How can something that never existed be over?

There was no bernie blackout in the first place and so how can this non-existent event be over.

The good news is that press will hopefully start vetting sanders

[tritsofme]

10. The entire premise of a "blackout" is laughable.

[njhoneybadger]

11. The war on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the blackout war on Bernie are over

[Lexee]

12. This. This is where it belongs.

[brooklynite]

13. I'd say Bernie has already undercut his base of support...

He had 30% this time in 2015 when he still wasn't as well known. Today, he's at about 17%.

[Scotch-Irish]

14. This is a great article about Bernie. I'm going to show it to my Bernie supporter friends

who feel like they're all alone in the world.

[Gothmog]

15. This amuses me

Link to tweet