Posts filed under 'media'
September 16th, 2008
This little blog does all right in terms of traffic and readership, but I’m not so foolish as to think its net effect on the world of politics is much above zero.
Applesauce is a microscopic speck in a media universe of countless millions of images, words and voices. No matter its strongly partisan slant, it probably changes few, if any, minds among its readers. Its mostly entertainment for those who come here from the left and right to argue among themselves and with the host. Never once has anybody said: By God, you’re right about that; I never considered the points you’ve made here. Nor has any commenter here said that to another.
At best, this blog is merely a low-power electronic stimulus for the brains of a comparative handful of political junkies. I like to think of it as fun — and the regular visitors seem to enjoy themselves — but I don’t kid myself that it’s of any great importance.
Having said all this, I also recognize that Applesauce is not unlike political media in general. We’re all part of the noise. As the political media multiply in numbers, the potential for meaningful impact diminishes amid a cacophony of conflicting messages.
These media play by rules that are constantly changing or that they mostly make up themselves. I say things here that I could never have said in a newspaper in my early years in the business. Some of what I say here would have been a sensation, if not a scandal, not so long ago. Today, it’s mild in comparison with what certain others are saying.
Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly say things on cable television that never would have passed muster with network executives less than a generation ago. They’re part of a phenomenon that has diminished the audience and influence of the three major nightly newscasts that ruled the airwaves for more than 40 years. Yet, on any given night, all but a tiny slice of the American public is paying no attention whatever to Olbermann or O’Reilly. And even at that, they’re preaching mostly to their respective choirs.
We’re all part of what futurist Alvin Toffler once called “demassification of the media.” And we’re all contributing to a media fog that is transforming, for better or worse, the way we do politics and almost everything else in this country and this world. The influences in this regard include every form of media, electronic and otherwise, from the fading behemoths to the little voices in the proverbial wilderness.
Which brings me, finally, to the essay that provoked this little tangential rant I’ve foisted upon you. It’s from Adam Nagourney, and it relates more directly to the matters suggested by the headline on this post. You can read it HERE.
September 15th, 2008
HERE’s a handy collection of 25 media responses to the McCain-Palin campaign’s tawdry record of recklessness with truth and honesty over the past few weeks.
This suggests that the Republican ticket is going to face a more skeptical and vigilant press corps over the final seven weeks of the presidential campaign.
Putting it another way, John McCain’s “base,” as he used to call the media, is no longer as reliably pliant as it once was. And the change is coming at the worst possible time for him.
September 13th, 2008
Jamison Foser DOES the honors.
September 6th, 2008
If you’re one of those who believe that the media never give conservative Republicans a break, you won’t want to read THIS. It’ll only confuse you.
August 9th, 2008
The mainstream media are asking themselves why they were late to the John Edwards infidelity party.
Check HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.
August 2nd, 2008
The BIGGEST PURVEYORS of John McCain’s attacks on Barack Obama — even when those attacks are proven to be baseless — are the so-called liberal media.
July 28th, 2008
It’s an article of faith among conservatives that the mainstream media give more favorable coverage to Barack Obama than to John McCain.
It’s also not true, as THIS STUDY shows.
I think the reason conservatives tend to be mistaken on this score is that they recognize, perhaps only subconsciously, that photos and video of Obama are more visually appealing than those of McCain and that Obama is a better speaker.
Those factors might seem unreasonable and irrelevant in terms of the relative qualifications of the two men. But they also may help explain why Obama has survived an almost relentless onslaught of attacks over his background, his middle name, his religion, his acquaintances, his patriotism, his wife, his shifts on certain issues, etc., when candidates of lesser charms would long ago have fallen by the wayside.
If you doubt my theory, consider this story the late Sen. Paul Simon once told me:
Simon was speaking at a luncheon meeting of some club, maybe it was Rotary, and he asked for shows of hands by the people there on whom they voted for in the 1984 presidential race, Ronald Reagan or Walter Mondale. Nearly everyone in the audience had voted for Reagan.
Then he asked for a show of hands on whether those who voted for Reagan would have voted differently if Reagan and Mondale had completely switched their positions on the issues — with Mondale backing the conservative agenda and Reagan pushing the liberal agenda.
None of the Reagan backers in the audience would have changed their votes.
In other words, fairly or unfairly, personality and charm count.
July 25th, 2008
One of our regular commenters here at Applesauce expressed dismay the other day over the failure of the mainstream media to follow-up on a sleazy story in the National Enquirer about the “love child” of some Democratic politician.
The guy should be more careful about what he wishes for. Some of the stories in the Enquirer and the other supermarket tabloids are about, purportedly, the scandalous goings-on among conservative politicians he probably admires.
HERE’s a more colorfully-illustrated treatment of the subject.
July 8th, 2008
It’s all about whether the reporters get free pizza or donuts or something:
July 7th, 2008
I don’t know that I understand everything in this video, but I find it provocative — and scary.
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