Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Newsweek Blogger on Media 'Bias'

Good column (blog) on media bias from a Newsweek reporter/blogger, Andrew Romano, on "How the Media's Real 'Bias' Works in McCain's Favor"

The really damaging bias is narrative in nature--bias for tension, bias for conflict, bias for drama. Which is why when Schmidt and Co. release a misleading ad about Obama that's not actually airing on TV, the cable newsniks air it for them. Or why we jump to cover Schmidt's histrionic attack on the Times instead of focusing on McCain's economic speech in Scranton. Schmidt knows how the MSM works, and he's doing a brilliant job--far better than Team Obama--of capitalizing on its weaknesses.
This is all quite relevant, of course, to our discussions about issues in news coverage these days.


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