You can barely turn on Fox News these days without hearing someone whine how the "liberal media bias" is to blame for Mitt Romney's falling poll numbers. David Carr, the New York Times' media critic, rightly demolishes that myth today in an editorial. But what he didn't contemplate is how the myth nonetheless serves some very useful Republican purposes regardless of its absurdity.
Carr noted that the conservative Wall Street Journal is the widest circulating newspaper, that three of the top five radio broadcasters (Limbaugh, Hannity and Savage) get way more listeners than NPR and that Fox News "continues to pummel the competition."
Many Republicans see bias lurking in every live shot, but the growing hegemony of conservative voices makes manufacturing a partisan conspiracy a practical impossibility.
Let’s be fair. It’s not as if everyone who believes there is a liberal bias needs to be fitted for a tinfoil helmet. But the trope is losing traction, partly because there are many robust champions of the right, which gives conservatives the means to project their message far beyond the choir.
It’s hard to picture conservatives as disenfranchised in the fight for attention from the news media, not after a campaign season in which the audition for the Republican nomination seemed to include some combination of hosting and making guest appearances on Fox News. Another thing about the media blame game? It doesn’t work. Newt Gingrich ran hard against the news media and that didn’t turn out so great.
I highly recommend the entire piece and everything in it. But one thing that isn't in it: That the "liberal media whine" will come in very handy if the election results are close and the Republicans start yelling that voter fraud skewed the results. No matter how bogus their argument, they have cast in doubt any reporting that doesn't comport with their message. But even if Obama wins unquestionably, let's say by a landslide, the narrative is set to start discrediting his success as somewhat illegitimate. So even if the media blame game doesn't help Romney, it's still a win/win for the conservatives.
I’m sorry, but would you please refresh our memories about the “tough questions” the press asked of Dubya during his 2004 campaign? I can’t recall ANYTHING “tough” that was asked of Dubya. If anything the press was more softball towards Dubya (at least until AFTER Katrina) than it’s been at any time in US history, and completely unquestioning in 2004.
As far as being kicked out of press conferences, you’ve obviously forgotten how Dubya handled HIS press conferences. Take a softball question from James Guckert (aka porn star Jeff Gannon), ignore the REAL members of the press, then answer another question from the FoxNoise crew or other members of the right-wing noise machine.
And you might want to check all the “hard” questions being asked of Romney. Anything he wants to answer (without being challenged) comes from the right-wing noise machine (led by FoxNoise. Anything asked by ANYONE else is answered with nothing but obfuscation and, when he’s challenged on what nonsensical shit he does say, he simply ignores the challenge.
With any luck, Fox “News” frauds are next in line.