Media bias favoring McCain doesn't only come from the right...

[Youphemism]

A lot of complaints about media bias appear on this board, and just about everywhere else. There's no doubt it exists. But I see people complaining about the right wing bias of pundits who clearly come from a left-wing background, just because the don't like what the person is saying. (And, of course, there are people who make the same type of complaint from the Dark Side.)

Here's the uniform media bias that I see -- and it does work against Obama:

The media -- which, of course, doesn't include Fox News -- is biased to make this a horserace, to keep people watching and up their ratings. That bias worked against Obama in the Primary, once he had an insurmountable lead over Clinton. Now that he's mopping up McCain in the electoral college, you keep hearing pundits instead talking about his smaller margin in the meaningless overall popular vote -- the exact same thing they were criticizing Hillary for doing during her campaign.

So, get ready for a frustrating election. Obama is once again going to have the media disadvantage of being the frontrunner. And pundits on both sides of the political spectrum are going to discount his lead as much as possible, to keep viewers interested in the race.

The sponsor bias seems (to me) to be the most overpowering, ubiquitous bias of all.

[blondeatlast]

1. Good point and let's face it, Obama is far more interesting on every level than is McCain.

More photogenic, young, a beautiful family with young children--the sponsors would like to be identified with the Obamas--he's a representative of their ideal market.

[Youphemism]

3. Agreed -- except for sponsors like Dentu-Grip, Preparation H, and Urine-B-Gone. /bt

[NewJeffCT]

4. well, don't forget sponsors like

big oil, big defense contractors, the lobbying industry, big health insurance companies, big pharmaceutical companies...

well, you get the big picture.

[Major Hogwash]

9. One would certainly think that is true. So how did Bush get back in, sponsored by morons?

I mean, they want to make it a horserace, I can certainly agree with that concept, but we are involved with a war in Iraq.

When Bush was re-elected in 2004, 1125 men and women had been killed, and yet most of everyone on tv just acted like "so what, those are relatively low numbers considering we invaded Iraq".

But now, it's over 4100 men and women and yet the media is still acting like "those are relatively low numbers."

Butm they aren't low numbers to the families that lost one of those 4100.

Can you imagine what the outpouring for 4100 men and women killed in Iraq would have looked like if the media had acted toward them the way they acted toward the death of Tim Russert?

Yet, we aren't even allowed to see pictures of the caskets of those 4100 dead soldiers.
We aren't even allowed to see pictures of the planes that bring their bodies back to the States at Andrews Air Base!!

[iamjoy]

2. I've Often Thought This

For example, all the stuff about Hillary voters not coming over to Obama and how they'll vote for McCain...

It just makes for more interesting media than letting them lick their wounds in silence for a while and come around to Obama in their own time - which I fully believe the vast majority of them would do (many already have). The media exploited sexism all throughout the primary, and then near the end when the bell was tolling for the Clinton campaign, started talking about it.

There is nothing new about it, the media has always been terribly biased for whatever keeps people watching and sells ad space. Making a fuss over wedge issues (gay marriage, for example) is one way. The Republicans are wise to this and use it to their advantage.

Another thing you see is the media and Republican pundits making it sound like if the Democrats can't win this year there is something really wrong with them. This totally ignores the fact that many people vote for candidates, not party. John McCain is admired by many Americans, he's already defined, whereas Obama is relatively unknown. This ignores the Republican political machine which has already begun the smears.

[NoFederales]

5. Yep, and the contemporary media MO is somewhat like fishing with old fashioned nets.

Casting and casting away, it's not easy to catch anything in the Medias depleted lagoons, but "small fry" become the inflated whoppers of dementia. To the nonfishing public, these antics are exotic, and tales of mermen/mermaids, of known denizens, of unknown denizens that we know, and the unknown unknowable denizens, too--well, keep us tunin' in fer sure.............

Media bias can only be countered by a knowledgeable public, whatever that is.

NoFederales

[Johonny]

6. I agree

Republicans are very good at controlling the conversation. The media period needs stories to drive these 24/7 news cycles and republicans have figure out how to work the system. Create nothing stories that have easy he said/ she said sides and work them, work them.

[Overseas]

7. I wonder who you are talking about when you say

complaining about the right wing bias of pundits who clearly come from a left-wing background

Perhaps you just mean pundits who may vote Democratic most of the time? Perhaps you are using the term left-wing as it is used by Republicans today-- they would call Senator Diane Feinstein left wing.

[Youphemism]

8. Perhaps you are a little defensive and missed the point of the post. /nt

[FrenchieCat]

10. It's the corporate media along with the Right.

That is a mighty force...but we can do it.

But we need to be writing to more than just ourselves. We need to take the media on.

[wowimthere]

11. You're absolutely right and this is why I only watch KO

I don't watch the rest of the news shows because they are shilling for a horserace. I only watch what I want on the web then I go to the blogs that make sense. Sometimes I get a web cast and well I laugh til I'm breathless at the seriousness with which they scream their lies.

Turn the cable channel off until they start telling the truth. The blogs are more trustworthy.

[anonymous171]

12. That is why is he opted out of public financing. He has to combat the media as well as McCain.

[Thrill]

13. The media could of killed the Obama muslim rumors a long time ago. But they haven't

They clearly favor GOP candidates. This is the only reason McCain is even close in the polls. His base has been doing a great job for him