|
I have a family member who works in the national media. Tonight he was chuckling over how Republican partisans accuse the media of shilling for the Democrats, while hardcore Democrats accuse the MSM of being a mouthpiece for the Republicans.
He told me that neither is correct as a broad generalization. What the media do, he explained, is look for something different from the usual narrative and play along. The more unusual or out-of-the-ordinary, the more media attention it receives.
Each of the three main candidates enters this race with something out of the ordinary: race for Obama, gender for Clinton, and age for McCain. Moreover, each of the three main candidates has done something outside of the usual narrative.
1 - McCain has somehow consolidated Republican support, despite being about as well-liked among partisan Republicans as Lieberman is among partisan Democrats.
2 - Obama is the first Gen-X candidate with a serious shot at the presidency. He is also the first politician to politically out-maneuver the Clintons.
3 - Hillary has somehow gained the support of the neo-conservative wing of the Republican party, who at one time were her biggest critics.
In essence, my buddy said there is no conspiracy - what gets reported is what resonates with the public - but only sensationalism.
|