I know DU has many Obama and Hillary supporters but WHY do THEY get all Free Air Time?

[KoKo]

Doesn't it seem odd that those two get even more airtime that John Edwards? And what about Vilsack (whomever the hell is he) and Kucinich (well, many of us DO KNOW who the Hell he is) but with the huge money being donated to both OBAMA and HILLARY ...WHY DO THEY NEED ALL THIS MEDIA ATTENTION?

Shouldn't they have to PAY like the rest of candidates? Isn't all this attention to those two PROVING that MEDIA SHOULD GIVE FREE and BALANCED TIME to ALL CANDIDATES both Repug and Dem?

:shrug:

[parasim]

1. It's kinda obvious, isn't it? Ratings.

Why? Because of the novelty. Clinton's a) a woman b) the wife of a former, popular president. and Obama is a) African-American and b) extremely charismatic.

As for the others you mentioned? Well, they're kinda boring. and Kucinich won't get any freebie airtime because he's too anti-corporate, too far left and a peacenik.


Now, all that said, let me say that I disagree with those lame reasons and totally agree that they should all get equal attention, but that's simply not the way the media business works.


just my 2cents...

[KoKo]

2. It's why we need ELECTION REFORM! Bring back the "Fairness Doctrine"

so that Equal time for all Candidates is the NORM and not the EXCEPTION.

[MonkeyFunk]

6. Almost all the "free time"

they're getting is on Cable. The Fairness Doctrine wouldn't affect them at all.

[rinsd]

10. Neither would equal time which exempts news orgs. (nt)

[rinsd]

9. Equal time doesn't apply to news orgs and I for one am glad.

You see it as a path for Kucinich.

I see it as a path where the lunatic fringe parties get a larger stage.

[MonkeyFunk]

12. Right...

there are dozens of candidates from all sorts of fringe parties that we've never even heard of. They aren't due "equal time" on TV.

[rinsd]

13. You got it. I'm not talking about the Green's Or Libbies

I'm talking National Alliance, the Natural Law party (its big enough tobe on the ballots here in CA) and a whole host of even smaller fringe parties.

Does anyone really want Larouche on TV?

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

17. YES

"Does anyone really want Larouche on TV?"

Uh, yeah. He's got a better chance to be president than Joe Biden, and at least LaRouche is funny, in the really tragic/awesome sense of the word.

[Rebellious Republican]

3. Because the others don't have big coffers backing them to buy all that

"Free" air time.

:think:

[bigdarryl]

4. it's obvious there trying to get Hillary or Obama as the nominee. its up to us to stop them and...

tell the media they will no longer try and pick our candidates for us

[rinsd]

11. Oh look its DU's source for RW hit pieces on Hillary

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

19. That's it exactly

Every morning, every journalist in every medium in the country sits down and reads The Talking Points, then sets about creating the Tancredo vs. Hillary election that the Men Who Pull The Strings devised. And now, only a small group of Internet Freedom Fighters can stop it!

[blm]

5. Corporate media decision - they gave all the airtime to swifts and little to Kerry's counter

to the swifts. That left the impression Kerry didn't fight back hard enough.

Corpmedia can control nearly every aspect of the campaigns in their editting rooms and in their production offices when they decide who/what/where gets covered.

[mtnsnake]

7. Hillary was a highly visible First Lady & Obama is simply INSPIRING. That's why.

It's not their fault they get the attention they do. Love her or hate her, people just can't get enough of Hillary. In Obama's case, I don't blame the press for being so attracted to him. The guy simply has that kind of appeal.

Doesn't it seem odd that those two get even more airtime that John Edwards?

Heck no. Edwards just doesn't seem that interesting.

[loyalsister]

14. Aside from that....

They have just successfully used non-presidential election promotion press time very effectively than the other candidates.
Obama recently did a book tour. His timing was not coincidental.
Hillary has joined other candidates for major campaign events and had national press follow her as the big attraction. Also no accident.
Obama was also requested for speaking engagements during the last election cycle.

The other candidates don't have this action going on and don't bring the same qualities to the table that encourage the invitations, and therefore don't give the press events to cover.

Until they call attention to themselves from the sidelines they aren't going to get the coverage.
Richardson made a good start with beginning to build his foreign relations credibility and to build some coverage around him with his recent trip to Africa.

[mtnsnake]

22. Good post. Obama & Hillary have pretty much made their own luck.

The press coverage they're getting didn't just jump in their laps by accident.

[ComeAndTakeIt]

8. cause the Powers That Be (tm) have determined they'd be the least

detrimental to the Agenda (tm)

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

18. ooh ooh

Is the Illuminati involved?

[Andromeda]

15. Because it's HILLARY, the lady everyone loves to

demonize. And Obama is half African-American, relatively new on the scene and making a big splash.

I can understand why they get more air time. They are being coronated in the media because they are INTERESTING and controversial.

Hillary always gets attention everywhere she goes. She's almost as much a rock star as Bill and the media love to cover this woman who may be the first woman president of the U.S.A. That will make Bill the FIRST MAN!

Obama is HOT! He's a rock star also with that million-dollar smile and that gregarious personality. If he wins, that will make him the first black president! That's HUGE!

I like the other candidates too and I'm sure they'll get their share of attention the further we get into the election season, so be patient. They'll get their turn.

In the end it's going to be whoever ends up with all the money, honey.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

16. Uhhhhhhh

There is an 'agenda' in the media.

That agenda is getting paid.

Obama/Hillary/Duncan Hunter gets the original viewer interest, so they cover them, so they get greater visibility, so they get more coverage.

Its a totally dumb, vicious cycle, but most reporters would like to keep collecting paychecks, and nobody wants a thousand word expose on Tom Vilsack's views on agriculture.

In a perfect world, the media devotes completely equal time to every candidate, and The Kooch gets matching funds with Hillary, and my dog can talk and we take rocketship adventures to Saturn. But in reality, especially in the print media, the publishers of content need low risk news items.

[FrenchieCat]

20. Edwards will get his time when it counts......I'm not fooled.

Edwards is right up there.

If you concentrated on Kucinich and Vilsak and Dodd and Biden, you might have a point. Bringing in Edwards kind of muddles your point.

You see, Edwards is been covered at a very even keel.....keeping him not up too high, and not down to low. They ain't slick. There is still an entire year......so it wouldn't work to have Edwards getting too much play right now....or we might see his warts before voting begins!

Edwards was all over everywhere right after Bush's speech...and before that he was on some shows for a book on homes that he edited not too long ago.....like Charlie Rose, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart....etc.

And Edwards gets lotsa of mentions...and his results of polls are always shown on TV.

I think that Edwards is doing pretty good under the circumstances of having been on a losing ticket just a couple of years ago (I know, I know...no one votes for the VP! :eyes) and being the only White Guy from the South in the race. I'm sure that what is expected is that we'll all get tired of Obama and Hillary and say....gee, look at that nice young white boy with the nice smile talking about poverty and stuff. Now, he's truly electable--that's what I call real Charisma...not like that awful and controversial Hillary and that Almost Muslim Black guy with no experience.

Plus, Edwards is too busy talking shit about Iran at Isrealite warmongering groups right now anyways. He doesn't need the glaring light on that he is doing.

[Apollo11]

21. Edwards is the strongest candidate in the race at this point

Despite the fact that he has changed his position on Iraq a few times.

I am hoping that Al Gore will jump in before the end of this year.

Let's all find ways to show our support for Al Gore! :)

In Gore We Trust
www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com - Sign the petition!
www.draftgore2008.org
www.patriotsforgore.com