I thought that today, two days after the Obama infomercial ran on a number of major television networks, there would be more substantial commentary by the mass media. Unfortunately, I must say I have found little on the subject on any of the major news sites. There was only slight mention of it on CNN in relation to their poll tracker- they included the event as one of the key points in the campaign, but decided not to elaborate. I thought Fox News would be all over the infomercial, blasting Obama’s message to pieces the best they could. Instead, the focus of the articles on the main page seems to pretty much emphasize McCain and Palin’s actions, with a headline entitled “McCain Predicts Late-Night Win on Election Day.” It’s funny that every other media site I’ve visited predicts that his prediction is incorrect, but that’s beside the point.
The ONLY article I could find regarding the infomercial was on the New York Times website (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/us/politics/31rate.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin). However, it wasn’t commenting on the content within the commercial, but instead focused on how the program was extremely well viewed and how the viewer turnouts on the major channels with the infomercial were substantially greater than their turnout with regularly scheduled programs. SO LAME! Give me some opinions from pundits who care! Sheesh
In other news, in my search I found an interesting link on BBC News to an article called “Top hits of the YouTube Election” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7699509.stm). The fact that the international media is commenting on the effects of online popular media sites underscores the rising importance in the role of entertainment in politics.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Brits dish out Best Coverage...?
After sifting through various news sites to find coverage on the final days before the election, I found that the best article was found on the BBC website. The article covers the candidates’ campaign through the key state of Pennsylvania, and I considered it to be the best because the writer took the time to give ample coverage of both campaign trails (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7695176.stm). The article includes key quotations said by both McCain and Obama on the trail, as well as video clips of campaign speeches. I thought it was especially readable for a busy public consumer because there were also subtitles within the article, giving the reader a sense of the facts if one had to merely skim the material. The writer pays special attention to remain as objective as possible, making the point at the beginning and end of the piece that, although Obama is up by at least five points in all the major polls, this does not mean decisive victory and the election is by no means won by either party.
It figures that the most objective and readable article I could find about the American presidential election was written and published by the non-American press. I guess this makes sense, since American journalists must do their best to strike a balance; on the one hand they must write news stories that are politically driven as objectively as possible while on the other they are themselves members of the American public who have their own political opinions. I am aware that this is an obvious point by now, but it’s always good to remember that journalists are people too!
It figures that the most objective and readable article I could find about the American presidential election was written and published by the non-American press. I guess this makes sense, since American journalists must do their best to strike a balance; on the one hand they must write news stories that are politically driven as objectively as possible while on the other they are themselves members of the American public who have their own political opinions. I am aware that this is an obvious point by now, but it’s always good to remember that journalists are people too!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Obama...McCain...debating...again...
After watching the debate, I got a sense that both candidates were (unconsciously) doing their best to adhere to what we decided were the six enduring values of journalism. The candidates brought up poor little Joe the Plumber twenty-four different times in the debate. McCain seemed to broach the subject to not only put down Obama and his economic values, but also to ally himself with the Everyman of America who builds his dreams from nothing and lives out the American dream. McCain’s attempts to show his allegiance with the common people is a palpable reference to what he wants us to believe is his respect for and connection to small town “pastoralism.”
Meanwhile, in response, Obama went on to describe his plans for the economy and taxes to the American people should he become elected. His analysis of the economy in addition to his comments regarding the similarities between McCain’s and Bush’s economic plans reflects Obama’s favoring of “responsible capitalism.” I say this under the assumption that the American people consider Bush’s fiscal policies to be less than responsible, especially during our current economic crisis.
I dunno what else to say concerning these values of journalism in relation to the debate, though I think it’s clear that Obama and McCain are generally aiming for different sectors of the six values. McCain is definitely geared toward focusing on ethnocentricity, his affiliations with small town pastorale Americans, and his own story as an individual standing up for his country blablabla. Obama, meanwhile, tries to make his economic policies appear to be responsible capitalism (rather than socialism…but that’s a whole other story), while caring for the environment and standing behind altruistic democracy.
Meanwhile, in response, Obama went on to describe his plans for the economy and taxes to the American people should he become elected. His analysis of the economy in addition to his comments regarding the similarities between McCain’s and Bush’s economic plans reflects Obama’s favoring of “responsible capitalism.” I say this under the assumption that the American people consider Bush’s fiscal policies to be less than responsible, especially during our current economic crisis.
I dunno what else to say concerning these values of journalism in relation to the debate, though I think it’s clear that Obama and McCain are generally aiming for different sectors of the six values. McCain is definitely geared toward focusing on ethnocentricity, his affiliations with small town pastorale Americans, and his own story as an individual standing up for his country blablabla. Obama, meanwhile, tries to make his economic policies appear to be responsible capitalism (rather than socialism…but that’s a whole other story), while caring for the environment and standing behind altruistic democracy.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Preparing for Tomorrow's Election...kinda...
So in preparation for tomorrow night’s final presidential debate, I wanted to see how the media was covering the event before it actually happened. I searched through a number of reputable websites, including New York Times, BBC, and yes, even Fox News. Unfortunately, they did not have anything discussing the final debate in any depth. How frustrating! I, as an American citizen who would like to take part in the political discussions, was rather disappointed by the media’s lack of coverage leading up to what can be thought to be the most important debate for this election.
At last I come to CNN.com, which has an article about tomorrow’s debate entitled “McCain’s Last Stand at Final Debate?” (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/14/debate.preview/index.html) The article puts the debate in context with the past week’s events since the last debate, noting the connection between Obama and Bill Ayers. Besides that, what I thought was really interesting was CNN’s decision to interview Bob Schieffer, tomorrow night’s debate moderator, as well as to scope out the requests from both parties for the debate itself. Bob Schieffer is quoted as saying, point blank, he will not be embarrassed to re-ask questions in order to get clear specific answers. In addition, both parties requested air conditioning above the heads of their candidates in order to avoid excess perspiration, as well as clear water glasses that are identical to the ones used in previous debates. Reading about how the candidates prepare before a debate was interesting as well. Perhaps it’s because I’m a performer, but I found it very illuminating to hear about the “behind-the-scenes” work of the candidates; instead of seeing and reading about the Obama and McCain that are directly in the limelight, it was refreshing to read about them as actual people, not just as politicians and celebrities.
At last I come to CNN.com, which has an article about tomorrow’s debate entitled “McCain’s Last Stand at Final Debate?” (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/14/debate.preview/index.html) The article puts the debate in context with the past week’s events since the last debate, noting the connection between Obama and Bill Ayers. Besides that, what I thought was really interesting was CNN’s decision to interview Bob Schieffer, tomorrow night’s debate moderator, as well as to scope out the requests from both parties for the debate itself. Bob Schieffer is quoted as saying, point blank, he will not be embarrassed to re-ask questions in order to get clear specific answers. In addition, both parties requested air conditioning above the heads of their candidates in order to avoid excess perspiration, as well as clear water glasses that are identical to the ones used in previous debates. Reading about how the candidates prepare before a debate was interesting as well. Perhaps it’s because I’m a performer, but I found it very illuminating to hear about the “behind-the-scenes” work of the candidates; instead of seeing and reading about the Obama and McCain that are directly in the limelight, it was refreshing to read about them as actual people, not just as politicians and celebrities.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Palin and Biden...and Knock 'Em Sock 'Ems?
So I went onto newyorktimes.com on Saturday to see how the Vice Presidential debate was being presented. I went to the picture and caption on the main page, entitled “Palin and Biden Go Head to Head.” Sounds promising, right? Well, it turns out that clicking on either the photograph of the caption would lead me not to an article, but to a slideshow with photographs and captions. I thought “okay…this could work…” But instead of highlighting the important issues discussed in the debate, or even discussing the VP candidates and their differing body language and verbal tactics, most of the 11 slides were not about the debate at all. Sure, the first slide covers the who and where of the debate, and slide number 5 captures the moment when the candidates first meet (commenting on Palin’s question “Can I call you Joe?”), but it’s pretty downhill from here. The following slides include VP Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot Gaming at Washington University, and plenty of “who’s watching the debate” slides, be it students on campus or Republican voters in Utah. Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/03/us/politics/10022008LATEDEBATE_index.html
This is the first thing I can find about the debate on the NEW YORK TIMES?? I get that someone who might not want to watch the debate would want to get the sound byte version from the news, but I found this slideshow to be less than informative. Yes, there was an article that I did eventually find about the debate on the website that contained more substance, but what busy American citizen is going to spend ten minutes snooping around a news website for their news. Bad NYT…Bad Paper!
Anyone find a succinct, interesting, and relatively “unbiased” account of the debate? I’d love to hear your input…
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