Eden Prairie News - Media Benevolence: and the recipient is? - Comments

MEDIA SUPPRESSES

mpetrus — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:02:11 -0500

MEDIA SUPPRESSES NEWS

Washington Post Suppresses News of Abuse of Clinton Campaigners
Submitted by BoGardiner on Mon, 2008-05-19 14:05.

On the morning of the West Virginia primary, Washington Post Associate Editor Kevin Merida published a blockbuster story about ugly racial incidents experienced by Obama campaign workers that continues to fuel debate.

Media pundits are now using it to prove that “Clinton is willing to ride these biases to the White House.”

Yet, in a startling admission, Merida has revealed that he also knew of similar, if not worse, abuse suffered by Clinton campaign workers, yet chose not to report it.

In an NPR interview with Michele Norris, the following dialogue took place in the last 45 seconds of the five-minute interview entitled “Confronting Bigotry on the Campaign Trail: The Obama Campaign has Chosen Not to Publicicize Incidents of Racial Slurs and Slammed Doors.”

Norris: Do you have any sense as to whether staffers working for Hillary Clinton’s campaign have faced ugly comments, similar resistance, have faced any degree bigotry based on her gender?

Merida: Well, yeah, Michele, that’s a very great point because I also heard from a lot of Clinton supporters that said people have said very misogynistic things. In some ways I think that people find it easier to say “I will not vote for a woman,” than they will say, starkly, that they will not vote for an African-American.

Merida did not explain why, in his story, he suppressed half of the bigotry he uncovered.

Nor did he explain why he omitted news that the Clinton campaign similarly chose not to publicize such incidents.

Norris did not enquire as to the reason for the Post’s suppression.

http://www.correntewire.com/washington_post_suppresses_news_of_abuse_of_...

HILLARY TAKES ON MEDIA WHERE

mpetrus — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:21:55 -0500

HILLARY TAKES ON MEDIA

WHERE ARE THEY WHEN YOU NEED THEM?

"Clinton campaign memo asks why "presumptive nominee" Obama can't win West Virginia.
WASHINGTON--The Clinton campaign realizes that the Obama team wants to brush aside Tuesday's expected thumping in West Virginia and turn the conversation to all the superdelegates they are collecting. Not so fast, said Clintom memo writers in a "Why West Virginia Matters" brief."

"Given the attempts by our opponent and some in the media to declare this race over, any significant increase in voter turnout, coupled with a decisive Clinton victory, would send a strong message that Democrats remain excited and energized by Hillary’s candidacy," the memo said"

To: Interested Parties
From: Clinton Campaign

Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Re: Why West Virginia Matters

"With a record turnout expected in today’s primary, West Virginia Democrats will make clear who they believe is the strongest candidate to take on Sen. McCain in the Fall."

"The Mountain State is used to picking winners. Every nominee has carried the state’s primary since 1976, and no Democrat has won the White House without winning West Virginia since 1916."

"Democrats carried West Virginia in 1992 and 1996, but lost the state—and the White House--in 2000 and 2004. Hillary has predicted victory against Sen. McCain in West Virginia based on the strength of her economic message."

"In the face of grim poll numbers, the Obama campaign has attempted to dismiss today’s outcome despite the fact that Sen. Obama has outspent us on advertising, has more staff in the state, and more than double the number of offices. "

"He has also benefited from the support of the most high-profile endorsers in West Virginia—Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Congressman Nick Rahall. By every measure, the Obama campaign has waged an aggressive campaign in the Mountain State. "

"Despite being the so-called “presumptive nominee” and benefiting from these advantages, Sen. Obama has been unable to close a significant gap in the polls."

"Sen. Clinton has already won Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan. With a win in West Virginia, Sen. Clinton will have once again proven her greater ability to win in the key swing states."

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/05/clinton_campaign_memo_asks_why.h...

"WE'RE HIS BASE" PRESS LOVES

edenpprairiefactchecker — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:06:25 -0500

"WE'RE HIS BASE" PRESS LOVES JOHN MCCAIN
MSNBC Chris Matthews
2006

"The "Media Myths of McCain" detail the truths hiding benneth the surface of the media's coverage of John McCain. From his supposed status as a "maverick" and "straight talker" to his supposed independence from lobbyists, this site details the real John McCain seldomly portrayed in the media landscape. Taken together, these myths show just how big of a Free Ride the Arizona Senator has received from the media over the years."

John McCain is a maverick.
John McCain is a moderate.
John McCain is a straight-talker.
John McCain is a reformer.
John McCain doesn't do things just
because they're politically expedient.
Just about all you need to know about
John McCain's character is that he showed
courage as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
John McCain has too much integrity
to use his war record to his political advantage.
John McCain is the lobbyist's biggest enemy.
The media honeymoon with John McCain is over.
John McCain has considerable foreign policy expertise.

1. John McCain is a maverick.
It sometimes seems that you can't read a story about John McCain without seeing him referred to as a "maverick." But is it true?

Perhaps no word has been used to describe John McCain more often than "maverick." In January and February of 2008 alone, McCain was called a "maverick" more than 1,300 times in newspapers and on television. And those who use the label to describe McCain rarely explain just what he has done to earn it. But a closer examination of his record shows that McCain isn't quite the maverick that he is made out to be. The truth is that McCain's breaks from the Republican Party line are few and far between. According to Congressional Quarterly's "party unity" ratings, since he came to the Senate in 1989, there have been only three years in which McCain voted with his party less than 80 percent of the time. When he has gone against the party line -- such as on campaign finance reform, global warming, or tobacco regulations -- McCain has taken a position that was overwhelmingly popular with the public, meaning that when he takes a "maverick" stance, he's gaining support with the public -- and hardly taking a political risk.

"Just as important, McCain's acts of independence aren't so much on high-profile issues as they are on issues that the press makes high-profile, precisely because of McCain's involvement. In all these cases, something important happens in the media when McCain opposes his party. When an ordinary senator crosses party lines, he or she will join members of the other party and perhaps have occasional opportunities to be quoted or interviewed on the issue in question. When McCain crosses party lines, on the other hand, the story the news media write undergoes a shift: It then becomes a story not about a conflict between Democrats and Republicans, but a story about John McCain and his rebellion. This is why McCain is perceived to be much more of a maverick than Republicans such as Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins, who actually break with the GOP far more often. Yet journalists continue over and over to call McCain a "maverick," seldom questioning whether there might be more to the story. "

http://mediamattersaction.org/freeride/myths/

MEDIA LOVE MCCAIN? "John, I

edenpprairiefactchecker — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:01:46 -0500

MEDIA LOVE MCCAIN?

"John, I hate to break this to you, but the media never loved you-they just hated your team and knew you were (and are) bad for its morale and unity. You were the enemy of their enemy, and never their friend. They rooted for you in same way that a Red Sox fan roots for whoever plays the Yankees. They loved you in the same way that Satan loves the flies that buzz around the face of a dying famine victim. Now that the fly is buzzing around Satan's face, it just needs to be squashed."

"And we're still eight months out from the actual election. The digging season has just begun, and who knows what treasures are waiting to be discovered in McCain's once-unexamined life. "

"Oh well, at least it will be nice to see McCain end his political career as he began it: as a Republican. "

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_20080225/ai_n24933439

Media Benevolence: and the recipient is?

edenpprairiefactchecker — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:22:12 -0500

We're beginning a new phase of Election 2008. The old precept that Fox had a hate on for Hillary Clinton turned on its head as the primaries progressed and Clinton turned out to be their pawn in a game to run against Obama, who they perceive as the weaker candidate, right?