The “Liberal Media” Delusion
Greetings from across the pond. I may be abroad in the UK this semester, but even the Atlantic Ocean can’t separate me from the farce that is the GOP nomination saga. Which reminds me…
In a recent WUPR column, Ben Cristol finds the media’s reproach of Mitt Romney rather suspicious.
To attack Romney, the media works hard to minimize his success.
OK, I’m with you. It’s true, it seems that the media has been pulling for Newt Gingrich lately. Well, that’s strange, isn’t it? What explanation does Cristol have for this kind of behavior?
The liberal media fears Governor Romney because he can defeat President Obama in November.
And here we have the classic conservative delusion. Cristol’s argument is that the mainstream media, adhering to orders from Comrade Obama, has targeted Mitt Romney in order to cripple him before November. I am as happy as the next guy to criticize the press, but not for Cristol’s bogus claim that it’s comprised of partisan activists. The media has helped to propel Newt into the spotlight because of its never-ending addiction to conflict and sensationalism. It just makes for a better story. It’s not about the electoral threat of Mitt Romney; it’s about jazzy headlines, which Gingrich has no problem generating. The dynamic is pretty ironic when you consider that the “liberal media” that Gingrich loves haranguing are, coincidentally, the ones pulling for him. Let’s read on.
Furthermore, they use this argument [that voters are searching for a true conservative alternative] to paint Romney as a weak candidate “without a core conviction”, and then mock the instability in the Republican party. In reality, this volatility reflects well on the Republican party because Republican voters closely scrutinize and vet their candidates. [my bold]
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most voters, whether Republican or Democrat, watch the primary season like I watch regular season baseball. I don’t catch too many games, but I keep up with who is hitting the most home runs at the time. However, when the playoffs roll around (i.e., the general election), I’m an eager fan with a strong opinion and favorite team. This is precisely the reason why there has been so much “volatility” in this nomination process. Voters are more likely to tell a pollster that they prefer the flavor of the month candidate (e.g., Herman Cain) because that’s who they have been hearing about the most that hour. By the way, that’s dictated more by someone like Rush Limbaugh than by an overarching leftist media agenda. Cristol blames the left for the quest for a Romney alternative, but I would sooner blame Fox News and 86 excruciating GOP debates.
The simple answer, it would seem, is that journalists hate the front-runner. They always have and always will. That’s why the media reveled in Obama/Hillary. Yes, the press tends to be chock-full of liberal coasties, but that is the nature of the profession. The notion that members of the media live and breathe to topple guys like Romney because they have a chance of besting a Democrat is nothing more than conservative paranoia.
The media’s bias is towards conflict, sensationalism, and website traffic. That’s actually something to be mad about.