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.
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2 comments:
I think that while FOX is incredibly right wing they have to maintain a certain amount of a professional unbiased facade, they can't exactly tear Obama's infomercial to shreds. But it is odd that it didn't get a lot of media coverage, and yes it is amazing that other countries are interested in our political entertainment.
It was hard to find coverage in that aspect, but I have come across how Obama states the term "change" in almost all of his speeches. I don't really know if it was to sort of bash him for repeating himself, or if that's just their way of putting him up on a pedestal of greatness. Either way, it has to add some pressure to him.
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