You’ll See What We Want You to See

Today POLITICO Arena asks:

Are Convention TV cuts a bad idea?

My response:


What a surprise! The three major television networks are devoting only an hour of coverage to the three final nights of the political party conventions, even though the Republican convention runs for four nights. And doubtless those three hours will be filled as much by commentary as by the speeches themselves.


As any sentient being can see, the mainstream media has been in the tank for Obama from the time he stepped onto the national stage, as even ABC’s Jake Tapper is now saying. With the economy stagnating, unemployment growing, and the national debt exploding, the mainstream media is focused, day in and day out, on every Republican gaffe it can find — or manufacture — while treating Obama like a rock star.


You’d think some of these “media stars” would be embarrassed by their transparently unprofessional behavior. But apparently the “camp‐​following” instinct — as with a bunch of middle‐​schoolers — is strong enough to overcome any critical judgment they might have learned in journalism school. And they wonder why they’re held in such low regard by the public — which they blame, of course, on conservative‐​extremist attacks. Thank God there’s at least some “fair and balanced” reporting out there.