The New Editor - Media

Actual Headline in Austin, TX, After Obama Visit

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:34:00 -0600

'He likes us! He really likes us!'

(Headline, Austin American-Statesman, May 10, 2013)

The Gray Lady's Misleading Headline

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:48:00 -0700

Oh well.

AP: What Poor Economy?

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 09:38:00 -0600

Actual AP headline: Romney cites 'job crisis' despite employment gains

From the AP report:

Declaring that the nation is in a "jobs crisis," Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is charging ahead with his economic arguments in spite of unemployment dropping to its lowest level since President Barack Obama took office.

Romney all but ignored the positive jobs numbers while campaigning Friday night in Florida, instead highlighting his strong debate performance and presenting a more compassionate message as he sought to overcome Obama's narrow lead in the polls. He made clear earlier in the day that he did not agree with the president's assessment that the unemployment statistic -- it dipped from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent in September -- is a sign of an economy heading in the right direction.

This kind of 'objective reporting' should be embarrassing to anyone paying attention.

Redistribution and Nondistribution

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 11:44:00 -0600

(Source: Michael Ramirez)

How the Media Misrepresents the Race

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:43:00 -0600

The Weekly Standard's Jay Cost:

The gap between the way the media characterizes the presidential race and what is actually happening is growing larger by the day. In particular, we see a systematic emphasis on news items that favor the president and a discounting of evidence that disfavor him.
...

Long gone are the days of straight journalists calling the balls and strikes fairly. And make no mistake: This is not merely a liberal bias we are dealing with, but a Democratic party bias. There is now a revolving door between the leftwing blogosphere, the broader Democratic establishment, and the mainstream media -- and the phony narrative of a runaway Obama lead is just one result of that insidious alliance.

The good news is that this race will be decided on the fundamentals. Also, the GOP has enough money to communicate directly with the electorate, independent of the spin from the former Obama campaign consultants, and liberal reporters who dominate the mainstream media. Team Romney needs to settle on a plan of attack and take the battle directly to the president on the issues that voters care about -- the economy, gas prices, the deficit, and Obamacare.

The Well-Informed Citizen

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:24:00 -0600

Joy Behar, interviewed by Mediate's Tommy Christopher:

"I don't profess to be an expert on anything, or have the memory for who ran in 1952," she continued, adding "I am an informed American citizen, that's my position. I read the New York Times, I read The Nation, I read Newsweek, I read Time Magazine, I read Politico, I read Mediaite. This is what I do! I read every day, I have interests, I'm like everybody out there who's watching, who's out there watching, you know?

Well, thank goodness Behar reads from such a wide spectrum of political thought and ideology.

I once asked a 'progressive' friend who considered himself very well informed what he regularly read in order to keep up with the world's and the country's political events.

'The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Harper's,' he answered.

True story.

Spin of the Times: Bias cloaked as front-page news

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Sun, 06 May 2012 10:12:00 -0600

Glenn Reynolds:

It's no surprise to anyone who pays attention that mainstream media tilt their coverage in favor of Democrats and leftish ideas. But it's not confined to endless puff pieces about the president, or the ignoring of unpleasant facts.

Often, it's more subtle -- as when the general thrust of a news story advances a particular narrative even when the facts within the story don't really support it. For that sort of thing, you have to go to the acknowledged experts, the reporters and editors of The New York Times. And as Obama fights for re-election, you can expect to see a lot more of it.
...

Critics have been pointing out this sort of spin for decades, but it's worth noting it again, because it hasn't gone away. In fact, with the decline of editorial standards at many mainstream media outlets, it's gotten worse. These two Times stories weren't "analysis" on the opinion pages; they were front-page stories presented as important facts.

Fortunately, savvy readers are catching on. But until the Times is shamed into balance, let the voters beware. Especially between now and November.

Read the whole piece.

Media Advocacy

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:53:00 -0600

(Source: Red Planet Cartoons)

Tackling the Tough Questions: 'What Will Obama's New Campaign Slogan Be?'

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:17:00 -0700

Reuters has a hard-hitting report concerning a question on nearly everybody's lips: What on earth will President Obama's new slogan for 2012 be?

From Reuters:

Advisers say a fresh slogan to replace the winning "Change we can believe in" mantra of 2008, is unlikely to appear before Obama knows who his Republican opponent will be and starts big campaign travel swings, likely in the spring or summer.

His campaign posters now say simply, "Obama 2012."

But Obama's surrogates have roadtested some slogans in recent months, including "Winning The Future," which the White House used to promote its budget, and "Greater Together," which the campaign has used to brand its youth outreach effort.

A new tagline will have to reflect a new reality.
...

"This election is also about hope and about change. That doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be in the slogan," said David Axelrod, Obama's message guru and senior campaign strategist.

How about, "President Barack Obama: Consistently Full of Shit Since He Came on the Scene"?

It's got a nice ring to it, and has the added benefit of being true.

Pointing the Finger of Laughter at the Media

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:29:00 -0700

The hypocrisy is so ridiculous, it is laughable.

The Teeny-Bopper Presidency?

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:54:00 -0700

What, no fainting?

From an actual photo in the New York Times:

(Source: Doug Mills/New York Times)

Something Strangely Missing from PBS' Newshour Report on 'Do-Nothing Congress'

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:07:00 -0700

In a seven-minute PBS report on the political stalemate that exists between President Obama and the US Congress, PBS congressional reporter Kwame Holman never once referenced the fact that the US Senate, under Democratic Party control since 2007, has not passed a budget since April 2009, a period of more than 1,000 days.

Strange for a report on how President Obama plans to 'criticize congressional inaction as a key part of his re-election strategy.'

What's equally strange is that the report did manage to include a portion of an interview with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who claimed that the most recently completed year for Congress, the first for the 112th, "has been the most obstructive year of Congress that I can imagine, and I have been in a lot of Congresses." Contrasting the 112th with the 111th Congress, Sen. Reid also said, "We had the most productive Congress in the history of the country. Some say only the most productive in the last 75 years, but a very productive Congress the last Congress."

Yet no mention from PBS (nor Sen. Reid) that the Democratic-controlled Senate only passed one budget during that "most productive Congress in the history of the country." The 111th Congress, like all others before it, lasted two years. Yet the Democratic-controlled Senate only passed one budget during this two-year period.

Why no mention of this fact? Did PBS forget about this important tidbit in this report on the 'Do-Nothing Congress'?

Here's the NewsHour's summary of the report:

"In nearly every appearance these days, President Obama has urged Congress to act. In fact, criticizing congressional inaction has become a key part of his re-election strategy. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on the president's attempt to capitalize on political gridlock in Washington."

Watch Obama vs. Congress: Good Re-election Strategy for President? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

A transcript of the report can also be found here.

Our Very Deep Media

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:03:00 -0700

(Cartoon by Michael Ramirez)

Actual ABC News Headline: 'Paula Deen Caught Eating a Cheeseburger'

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:52:00 -0700

This is what the mainstream media has become.

Apparently, a diabetic having a meal is worthy of an ABC News headline.

They need to be laughed at.

There is nothing quite so foolish in my satirical book When Lobsters Take Flight. Maybe I should have thought less highly of the media when I wrote the pieces in the book...

These two videos are for ABC News:

(inspiration from one of Iowahawk's readers)

NPR: 'Jon Huntsman was the nice, interesting, smart guy in the race'

tpelia@yahoo.com (Tom Elia) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:55:00 -0700

With news that Jon Huntsman is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, one of NPR's headline readers reporting on the story for Morning Edition said of Huntsman: 'One political consultant said Huntsman would be remembered as the nice, interesting, smart guy in the race.'

Later on in the program, NPR played the comments of political consultant Rob Stutzman, who actually said, "I think [Huntsman] will be remembered as that nice, interesting, smart guy that never had anything to say other than 'elect me because I can be more civil'..."

Come on, it's just words!