The Media and Howard Dean - The Nation

[Cassandra]

http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=1226

I hope this isn't a dupe; I did look.

"What if we lived in a parallel universe where Howard Dean was actually treated fairly by the media?

I don't mean some Deaniac bizarro world where the former Vermont governor's "I Have a Scream" speech in Iowa would be treated as world-class oratory, or where it would go unmentioned that his campaign is essentially broke. I mean a place where Dean would be treated like the other candidates--criticized for his mistakes, complimented for his accomplishments and, above all, treated seriously when he discusses issues.

How would a Dean candidacy be fairing today if the press gushed over him as it does John Edwards, or forgave him his trespasses as quickly as it does John Kerry, or overlooked the disorder in his organization as casually as it does the daily disaster that is Joe Lieberman's so-called campaign?

The answer, of course, is "better." "

[kayob1]

1. Great article

Haven't seen it before; thanks for posting.

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. gee that's funny

I seem to remember month after month of glowing press coverage about how Dean was reshaping American politics, bringing new people into the party, exciting Democrats again.

Must have been a figment of my imagination.

[Cassandra]

4. They are just starting to gut and fillet Kerry

We'll see if you're still laughing in a month or two.

edit: spellcheck is not grammarcheck.

[THUNDER HANDS]

5. I will be

Because all the attacks on Kerry won't resonate. Special interest stuff is only interesting to political junkies, not regular Americans.

They're gonna need, as Quinn said in JAWS, a bigger boat to catch this fish.

[On the Road]

7. Seems Like It:

"According to the nonpartisan Center for Media and Public Affairs, Dean was the favorite target of the evening news programs on the nation's broadcast networks. The center's study of 187 CBS, NBC and ABC evening news reports found that only 49 percent of all on-air evaluations of Dean in 2003 were positive. The other Democratic contenders collectively received 78 percent favorable coverage during the same period."

---snip

For a time, the jabs he took from the media bounced off Dean as easily as did the attacks from the corporate-funded Democratic Leadership Council and other fronts for the Republican-lite wing of the party.

But, eventually, the hits began to take their toll. Despite the fact that Dean is actually better on his feet now than at any time since he announced his candidacy, he is greeted with skepticism even by Democrats who admit that they like his message.

It is true that every disintegrating presidential candidacy since that of John Adams in 1800 has blamed the media for its decline. But, in this case, Dean's complaints appear to be more credible than those of most damaged contenders.

This is exactly what I've seen happening -- it took hold the week before Iowa. I've started to question Dean's negativity myself, but I just don't trust the coverage any more.

The only time I've seen Dean give a speech recently was the town halls meeting on the eve of the NH primary. It was a wonderful speech -- positive and uplifting. I have no idea how it was reported -- they probably selected a couple of throwaway lines and ran a headline "Dean Goes Negative!" That woud be par for the course.

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. so the frontrunner got 49% positive and 51% negative

Or some other number if you factor in the number of stories that were balanced.

And the point is what? That the media stopped propping Dean up like they did over the summer?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. What if Dean were a sympathetic character?

Instead of a trash talking know it all?

[bhunt70]

6. touche'

[afraid_of_the_dark]

9. It's a cruel world...

Dean suffered the same rise and fall as Bennifer, Britney, and others (ad nauseum).

First, you are the plucky up-and-comer, the media darling. People are interested in you, so you get a lot of airtime.

Then, you peak.

Finally, the vicious backslide. The attacks start coming, your reputation suffers. And then, you make a small (yet critical) mistake. It gets blown out of proportion, and your popularity tanks.

It's sad, but not uncommon. The rest of the candidates should take note of what happened to him, and beware - it could happen to them too.