Persistent Media Bias in Favor of Barack Obama And Against Hillary Clinton

Original Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x342352

by Algorem

(4 pages,pdf)
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/Important%20memo%20...

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/th...

Persistent Media Bias in Favor of Barack Obama
And Against Hillary Clinton
Independent media watchdog groups have documented a persistent and pervasive media
bias in favor of Barack Obama and against Hillary Clinton.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) took the media to task for writing the
obituary of Hillary Clinton prior to the New Hampshire primary. Tellingly, FAIR’s
report ended with the admonition, “The press corps seems chastened by their misreading
of the New Hampshire electorate, and many are vowing to be more cautious in their
assumptions. Will they follow through on their own advice?” Events since then—
especially in this crucial week leading up to primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and
Vermont—indicate that the answer to that question is, “No.”
Leading up to the New Hampshire primary, the storyline on the Democratic side was the
disastrous state of the Clinton campaign. Her loss was a given; it seemed the only
considerations were the margin of defeat and whether or not she would even continue
running at all. The day of the primary, the Washington Post reported (1/8/08) that a
second loss to Obama "would leave the New York senator's candidacy gasping for
breath," and declared that Clinton's vow to stay in the race
may be more wish than reality. By Wednesday, it may be too late. By then, Obama's
campaign may have inflicted enough damage on the woman-who-was-once-inevitable
that no amount of readjusting, recalibrating and rearranging will give her the wherewithal
to overcome two big losses in the first contests of the 2008 nomination battle.
Clinton, of course, won the primary--surprising the pundits and contradicting the polls
that journalists unwisely use to set the tone of so much of their coverage. In the
aftermath, the media were left asking what went "wrong" with the numbers. As the front
page of USA Today declared (1/10/08), "For pollsters, N.H. 'unprecedented.'" But this
isn't so; the actual USA Today story included a state pollster who noted that pre-election
polls in 2000 vastly underestimated John McCain's victory over George W. Bush. Right
before the primary, the New York Times reported (1/30/00) that "a series of polls showed
the two Republican front-runners in a dead heat." Given that McCain won by 19 points,
journalists and pollsters puzzling over Clinton's showing are ignoring very recent history.
. .
As it stands now, the races for the major party nominations are remarkably close. The
most valuable service journalists could provide now would be to illustrate the differences
between the candidates on the major issues of importance to voters. The press corps
seems chastened by their misreading of the New Hampshire electorate, and many are
vowing to be more cautious in their assumptions. Will they follow through on their own
advice? And will voters ever get campaign reporting that helps them make informed
choices about the direction of their democracy?
(FAIR Media Advisory, “Humbled in New Hampshire,” January 11, 2008)....

Media Expert Decries Campaign Coverage

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hea0Sy5v_UxnEL701ZKe...

By BETH FOUHY – 1 day ago

DALLAS (AP) — The founder of a prestigious institute on media and politics added his voice Saturday to the chorus of complaint over perceived press bias in favor of Democrat Barack Obama.

Walter Shorenstein, a prominent San Francisco-based real estate developer, Democratic fundraiser and longtime supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, penned a memo to Democratic party "superdelegates" and other activists criticizing media coverage of the presidential campaign.

Shorenstein is the founder of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. His memo came days before Tuesday's key primaries in Ohio and Texas, which Clinton must win to save her waning candidacy.

The former first lady and her advisers have lashed out at the press in recent days, suggesting unfair coverage of the campaign has in part led to Obama's victories in the last 11 voting contests. They've encouraged supporters and voters to watch a "Saturday Night Live" skit that aired last weekend, depicting a group of journalists fawning over Obama...