"We" Know What Our Failings Are, But We Aren't Ever Going To Change Them. Sorry.

[babylonsister]

Political Pundits And Commentators: "We" Know What Our Failings Are, But We Aren't Ever Going To Change Them. Sorry.
December 16, 2007 -- 11:55 AM EST


Over at Media Matters, Jamison Foser has a terrific column today in which he quotes a number of influential journalists over the years talking about their own addiction to imposing narratives of their own collective choosing on their coverage of politics.

Take a look at these doozies:

Anne Kornblut: I have to say we in the media are spoiling for a fight. Usually we are biased in favor of a good tussle at about this point. ... I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere between now and January 3, now that we know that's when the Iowa caucuses are going to be, to see some kind of reverse, some kind of Obama surge or an Edwards surge. Something that is going to knock Hillary down a few pegs. Whether it's a media creation, or something that actually happens on the ground. I would be shocked if there were nothing like that. <10/26/07>

And:

Gloria Borger: "We take people to the top of the mountain and then once we get them to the top of the mountain, it's our job to knock them down." <9/10/06>

And:

Brian Williams: "{I}t does seem true over the years that the news media almost reserve the right to build up and tear down and change their minds and like an underdog. <9/21/00>

And:

Howard Fineman: "We want a race, I suppose. If we have a bias of any kind, it's that we like to see a contest, and we like to see it down the end if we can. And I think that's partly the psychology at play here." <9/21/00>

As Foser rightly notes, the political media is again imposing such narratives of its own choosing on the coverage of the Dem Primary as it enters its final stretch. But I'd like to point out something else that's truly bizarre about this, something you see popping up again and again.

Specifically, I'm talking about the fact that pundits and commentators have a strange and widespread tendency to talk about their profession's collective failings -- but without displaying any desire to change them, without showing any awareness that these failings could be changed with a little effort, and even without betraying any awareness or concern that they themselves might be contributing to the problem.

more...

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/12/political_repor.php

[madfloridian]

1. Borger: "it's our job to knock them down."

Earth to Borger...who told you that?

[flashl]

2. Did you know that Blue state vs Red state is a 'media' creation?

Think about the the number of hours wasted using that premise.