A different yardstick
How in the hell can the media look in the mirror?
8 years of George Bush, 4 of which were under 50% approval, the last two of which were under 35% approval, at record lows, the last year under 30%, and CNN wonders if Obama dropping to 61% on transition issues represents "trouble signs" for Obama.
8 years of George Bush, 4 of which were under 50% approval, the last two of which were under 35% approval, at record lows, the last year under 30%, and CNN wonders if Obama dropping to 61% on transition issues represents "trouble signs" for Obama.
While 61 percent is a solid majority, it's far lower than the 80 percent of respondents who say Obama is providing strong leadership for the country, the 76 percent who feel he's doing a good job handling foreign policy, the 72 percent who indicate Obama's doing a good job dealing with the economy and the 68 percent who give the President a thumbs-up when it comes to handling policies on terrorism.It's also 15 points lower than the president's overall approval rating of 76 percent.
Oh yeah. 76%. That's a presidency teetering.
How do you print an article saying a 76% approval marks "trouble signs?" How is that possible? How narrative framed is your thinking?
posted by mikevotes at
2:44 PM
7 Comments:
He's getting "Carterized". Printing factual information but setting the narrative as negative. A "mushy" but effective negative spin.
By
matt, at 3:17 PM
Same with bipartisanship. Obama reaches out aggressively to Republicans -- more in two weeks than Bush did with Dems in 8 yrs. And when Repubs act like chips in a zoo flinging all sorts of fecal mater, cross their arms and scream invectives (and lies), it's framed as "Obama fails in achieving bipartisan ship."
Same journalists would have reported the Lincoln assassination: "President's failure to react results in death."
By
-epm, at 4:52 PM
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By
-epm, at 4:52 PM
Matt, exactly. The question is why is that the accepted narrative?
(And maybe why the White House press shop isn't pushing back more effectively?)
.,,.
EPM, yup, that's the same narrative.
So, how is that getting set against almost all the evidence?
By
mikevotes, at 5:42 PM
I think it's because the corporate media buys into the meme of America being "center right." Therefore most "reporting" is shaped to lean toward Republicans:good, Democrats:bad. Also, I'll bet most media executives trend conservative anyway.
Another possibility is that the media simply has different standards for Republicans and Democrats.... Grading on a curve: Behavior that would earn a Republican an B+ will only be seen as D+ work for a Dem. Couple that with the media "balance" and there you go.
A third possibility is that corporate media has their heads up their ass.
By
-epm, at 7:05 PM
MAybe it's the common the people around me are America's center. Over the past 6-8 years, the Republicans and their sympathizers have dominated the dinner party circuit.
(When was the last time you heard a non-elected Dem lobbyist, media, fundraiser or whoever called powerful or a force in Washington.
All the media contacts are still wired into GOP sources.)
By
mikevotes, at 6:34 AM
I think it became clear during the Bush Administration that the media re-defined "objective" to mean that all opinions are equal. Thus, Krugman's analogy that if Bush would have stated that the Earth is flat, the headlines would read "opinions differ on shape of the planet".
Also, the Right has done an effective job in convincing the "media shapers" that they will lose the 28%-ers if they don't present the wingnut view as a valid and rational position. The trouble is, however, that those people are already lost to the MSM. Fox News has spent decades convincing Republicans that the MSM cannot be trusted and that only FNC is credible.
On a deeper level, the Bush years in-bred a media elite that simply did not question, and was not allowed to question. Posing a difficult question at a press conference would only guarantee that you would never be able to ask another question again. And voicing views that did not align with the Administration instantly marginalised one into the "Far Left". This self-indoctrination is not easy to break, and there are still incentives to maintain it.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 12:36 PM
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