How will President Kerry be treated by the press?

[pifflePill]

Better or worse than the coverage Bush is getting? Can we defend him for four years enough to keep the repubs out of power?

[MirrorAshes]

1. Will any democratic president ever be treated fairly by this media?

I don't really think so. There is going to have to be a major cultural renaissance before a democratic president will be treated with proper respect.

[shraby]

2. If Kerry goes on the offense

right away and opens investigations of the crimes of this administration he'll do okay.

[MirrorAshes]

3. Good point, I hope you're right.

Kerry does sort of demand respect, something Al Gore did not. I guess we'll just have to see.

[freakonaleash]

9. Amen.

They're going to carry on what they started with Clinton (and what they've continued ever since), and it's not going to change overnight...unless he caters to big media & big money like W has. I'd like to see media become INDEPENDENT again, but it would be so funny to see the folks at Fox have to do an about-face because Murdoch wants to keep his current benefactor happy. We need another Cronkite about now.

[Tom Kitten]

16. Hi freakonaleash!

welcome to DU!

[newyawker99]

18. Hi freakonaleash!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[WLKjr]

4. If I can get this out to Newspapers in OH

The tide will turn entirely Kerry/Edwards way.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2172523&mesg_id=2172523



get it going around.

[depakid]

5. Remember Bill Clinton's honeymoon?

didn't think so....

Kerry's only defense will be a good offense- an newly reinvigorated FCC that actively pursues media accountibility.

[Nite Owl]

6. As bad as they treated Clinton

and it was probably worse than anyone he still remained popular even at his lowest point when they were impeaching him. The majority know he was for them. I hope what we have learned is not to back away and let their scare tactics work like it did with healthcare. They will pick on his every move but I think people want to move on after the past four years and get something accomplished.

[UrbScotty]

7. I think many of them will ignore Kerry altogether

...as much as they can. "President who?" "Kerry who?" etc.

Until the 2008 Republican campaign heats up in 2007, of course.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Probably just fine...

aside from the rightwing press.

As much as everyone on all sides likes to moan that they are unfair, they generally give the party in power a pass, no matter who it is.

[freakonaleash]

10. Does anyone else wonder...

Why Brokaw is retiring? Is he really ready, or is he sick of the fact that the media bows down to those in power?

[Cat Atomic]

11. If he makes any effort to break up big media, they'll run the

biggest attack campaign in history. If not, they'll let the rightwing press steer coverage and define the debate, and they'll just nibble away at him the way they did Clinton.

He needs to break up the corporate media, by any means necessary. I'd like to see him put it off until the congressional elections. If the dems get back in, they should hit that issue hard.

I have no faith that Democratic Party leaders will grow a spine, or suddenly find the will to take an actual pro-labor stance, but this is literally a matter of their own survival. If they don't take the media out of the hands of a few conglomerates when they get the chance, they're going to pay for it for decades.

[lanparty]

14. They'll run the campaign anyway ...

... better to be on the offense than on the defense.

However, I do think our Democratic surrogates should be working hard to get it through people's heads that the conservative millionaires who are in charge of our media really DO HAVE CONTROL of the content that goes out through their pages and airwaves.

One more thing. I think we are seeing an effective alternative media being born. I think in 3 years a lot of popular bloggers will be as well respected as so called "journalists" from the New York Times. People are becoming more savvy about "pull" media. They will KNOW where to get their information and bypass the "push" media outlets shoveling crap down our throats.

Then the journalists who are just plain lazy will have left wing material to plagirize instead of relying solely on the faxes they receive every morning from the Heritage foundation.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. Think Clinton Squared.

Did you hear Kerry's answer on media consolidation at the UNITY conference? No wonder he's in their sights.

[Brian Morans]

13. Let's hope he wants to do what Dean made

the mistake of saying he would do - to break up the big conglomerates. He could try getting the fairness doctrine reinstated too. It's the only way dems will ever get a fair shake.

[bleowheels]

15. It will be open season again because they (the press) will...

not be afraid of the blacklisting that has defined this administration.

[Senior citizen]

17. If Kerry's as smart as he says he is, he'll moida da bums.

He'll appoint a good FCC head, reregulate the media, restore the Fairness Doctrine, break up the media monopolies, and most definitely blacklist (deny White House access to) any newsfolk who are disrespectful.

I've been through this before. NPR referred to "President Reagan," and "President Bush," with respect. Then for eight long years it was, "Mr. Clinton," because they absolutely couldn't refer to him as our President. When * got (s)elected, it was back to "respect for the (P)resident." If Kerry is elected, NPR will refer to him only as, "Mr. Kerry" for the next 8 years of his Presidency. And the rest of the media is even worse than NPR in many respects, although they will use the proper title, if only in the context of political attacks.

Kerry has got to go on the offensive before they do. He can't waste time defending himself, and we don't have the media power to defend him. I hope he already has planned how to surround them and wipe them out before they fire a shot.

What we need is to repeal the Clinton/Gore Communications Act that permitted these monopolies, and nationalize (the opposite of privatize) the airwaves. That doesn't mean government owns the airwaves, it means we do, and the job of government is to ensure that the airwaves stay in the public domain.

We need a majority in Congress, and we need a SCOTUS that can tell the difference between a Constitutional right (free speech), and a commodity (something for sale to the highest bidder). Having observed the attacks on Clinton, Kerry put together a strong media defense plan for his campaign, and I'm sure he'll carry it over into his Presidency.