Liberal Media defends Liberal bias
The idea that these examples of youthful misbehavior by our presidential candidates should be given equal weight by news organizations, as defined in this case by their placement in the physical newspaper, consciously disregards the fact that Obama’s drug use has been known ever since he wrote about it in the early 90s. It was talked about incessantly during the 2008 campaign. Maraniss adds detail to the story, but it can’t be rebroken.
With Romney it’s different. He didn’t do us the courtesy of writing a memoir confessing his bullying ways — as Allen and VandeHei note, “swing voters are just getting to know him.” Contra the entrenched right-wing narrative, one could plausibly argue that we know less about the former Massachusetts governor than we do President Obama. It seems more like a question of what’s new, not what’s “worse” for a candidate. And, as noted by Andrew Beaujon at Poynter, one feature of online journalism is that “every story has a fair chance at becoming a huge ‘talker,'” regardless of its placement in the actual paper.
But this is all essentially meaningless as it pertains to the accusation of “liberal bias.” People who level the “bias” charge aren’t looking for balance. They’re not interested in journalistic good practices and they certainly don’t give a damn where a story appears in the Washington Post. They’re looking to game the refs.
Media Matters
5/31/12
Magnolia Tribune
