Monday, March 14, 2011

100,000 Person Rally Ignored By Media


Seems pretty odd to me that the media was all over (if not encouraging, cough, Fox News) Tea Party rallies last year whose attendance measured in at 10,000 people tops, but failed to cover 70-100 thousand person rallies in Wisconsin. This was the largest political rally of the past couple of years and it was completely ignored. Maybe Tea Party rallies have more of an entertainment value, maybe cable networks were busy covering the situation in Japan, or maybe they were sick of covering Wisconsin, but no matter your views on the topic, these protests are worthy of significant news coverage.

13 comments:

John Whitney said...

What type of coverage were you expecting from FOX? I'm pretty sure that literally everytime I watched the news (either FOX or CNN or whatever channel) during the past month or so when the collective-bargaining issue blew up, I saw Governor Walker talking or a recording of him talking, or photos and videos of the Wisconsin protestors. This shouldn't be a surprise at all--might not be what you want from FOX but I'm pretty sure that what you want them to talk about isn't what they're really concerned about--no offense. Not trying to sound mean, I just feel that this blog needs some realistic flavor to bring us all back to reality. This is politics, not Pleasantville.

Ross Perot said...

"This is politics, not Pleasantville."

Now that right there is a trademark-worthy catchphrase.

Ross Perot said...

Dan Shaughnessy would be proud.

John Whitney said...

It does have a catchy jingle to it

Ross Perot said...

If CBS ever produced a thriller-drama about Washington (possible title: Capitol THRILLS) that's the sort of jingle/catchphrase I'd imagine the protagonist (played by Dennis Quaid) would use as he's leaving negotiation rooms.

Ian Thresher said...

Despite your infatuation with the jingle as it is. I believe it could be improved. "It's not Pleasantville, it's politics" would be a better jingle in my opinion because the last words really signify what our imaginary DC drama would be about.

PBM said...

I didn't mean Fox, I meant everyone. Not even MSNBC was hitting up this protest. I guess my main point was to draw a distinction between Fox and the supposed liberal, mainstream media, in that Fox actively supports tea party rallies, while the "liberal" networks, news sources, etc. ignored this, or stood on the side lines.

Basically, just trying to get a reaction out of Megan by pointing out that Fox is a political operation, not news, and they do things like support tea party rallies, that mainstream media sources that are supposedly "left-wing" don't do. You can find both sides leaving details out of their reporting, or misreporting certain things, or distorting things to make their side look better, but this instance shows that only Fox News is an active participant in rallying the public for/against certain causes.

I also think these protests are more authentic because they aren't fueled by astroturf groups, politically inclined news stations, or falsehoods. So yeah, everyone knows I hate Fox News, but just wanted to put those things out there. Sorry to waste your time John, I'll try to find a really good sports article for you next time.

John Whitney said...

I'm gonna sign you up for FOXNews subscriptions

PBM said...

I am actually watching it at my desk right now. Your World with Neil Cavuto.

PBM said...

He's currently discussing how Obama shouldn't have gone golfing right now with what's going on in Japan. Really riveting journalism.

PBM said...

He also just compared the Japanese earthquake to our spending and debt. "I'm afraid that as they are getting rocked, we are getting rolled." This guy is classic.

Megan said...

Was Fox reporting on Tea Party Rallies today?

PBM said...

No, sorry for the confusion. Here are some examples of what I'm talking about though. (On the first one, don't pay attention to the tool commentator, now MSNBC host, Cenk Uygur)

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/fox-news-producers-actively-coach-a-tea-party-crowd-during-one-rally-video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jfffjkTieo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-_LYW7_ew (I don't agree with the racism remark at the beginning of this one, just the overall video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em3I6KwmJWQ (comparison between Fox coverage of WI and tea party)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktijKFURdPg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynTLYkvy-Kw

You get my point. It's almost as if Fox News created the tea party. If your not willing to go that far, and I'm not really, then you at least have to admit that Fox played a pretty big role role in supporting and promoting the Tea Party.