Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Re: Is Obama Another Jimmy Carter?

One other element about the story being about the story, though, is that there is actually something important for voters to know in what the media are doing in this election. Voters need to understand that the "facts" reported on Oberman and O'Reilly and Hannity and Dobbs and Courick are the chosen frosting and not the core essence. That can't come from 17 seconds of coverage in a story or 90 seconds of rant. When major media refuse to print the op-ed of a presumptive presidential nominee or focus coverage during one candidate's trip abroad on his opponent's concentration on domestic issues then blatantly cast coverage of the other's first significant trip abroad as the pre-beginning of the Presumptive President's administration instead of like Dorothy emerging in deep awe from her black-and-white house into the full-color world of OZ, there is a story there that voters should know.

BRM

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 10:52 PM
Subject: RE: Is Obama Another Jimmy Carter?



Brian M.

"Though I'm buried with reading and writing for a class, I can't sit out any longer on all the "media are for McCain" comments. Are we really in such different worlds that you guys think the media are shilling for McCain when Obama just did his superstar world tour with the three major network anchors and their accompanying entourages in tow? In my world, all their attention gave him a nice poll bump, though he somehow seems to have managed to lose much of it again in just a couple days despite all the fawning media efforts to help him any way they can."

Sorry, but I've got to comment on the above topic.

Yes, we really are in different worlds... Because, left-wingers are focusing on the story around the story. The story as told by the corporate media was Obama as "Rock Star" - - McCain criticizes Obama for not going overseas and then criticizes him for going overseas - - Looks like grandpa is the flip-flopper.

The media story was about the media covering the story. What is enlightening though is how little the media actually covered Obama, what Obama did and what Obama said. Instead the media was the message. The story was all about how big the story was. So, we're all left with the knowledge that Obama went to Europe and took an entourage of media with him to cover his big trip? What did we actually learn about that trip? What was actually covered? Just the story about how big the story was? How bizarre. Look at how Obama was covered in Europe. In Europe Obama was the story; In America the medias coverage of Obama was the story. Remember, Neil Postmans landmark book on television, "The medium is the message."

Brian Adamson

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