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Mike's America

Welcome to Mike's America, a view of news and opinion that has caught my attention. You're welcome to share your thoughts by commenting on posts.

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Name: Mike's America
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States

Currently living in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Mike has taken a keen interest in politics and government since his days as a young whippersnapper in Ohio. There, he organized College Republicans clubs, worked as a professional staffer on two statewide campaigns and was elected to the Delaware County Republican Central Committee among other achievements. In 1986 he began graduate studies in government at Columbia University where he specialized in National Security matters under the tutelage of former National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski. Leaving New York in 1988 he moved to Washington, D.C. to become a White House Intern in the Political Office of President Ronald Reagan. With backing from the first Bush Administration he spent four years at the Environmental Protection Agency. He has lived on Hilton Head since 1996 where he writes, photographs and gardens.

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

3 Major Television Networks Set to Run Free Obama Campaign Commercials

The major media lovefest for Obama comes out into the open!

3 Anchors to Follow Obama's Trek Abroad
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post
July 17, 2008; C02

The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama's trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza.

Lured by an offer of interviews with the Democratic presidential candidate, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will make the overseas trek, meaning that the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts will originate from stops along the route and undoubtedly give it big play.

John McCain has taken three foreign trips in the past four months, all unaccompanied by a single network anchor.

Obama has "proven adept at generating excitement," says David Folkenflik, media correspondent for National Public Radio. He said the anchors hope "a little bit of that excitement will rub off on their newscasts if they can convey an American phenomenon abroad, if that's what it turns out to be. Senator McCain is not as magnetic a figure in that way."
It's been a given that most "mainstream" "news" media types have been in the tank for Obama from the beginning. It's also no secret that the "news" media's former darling, John McCain, has been largely kicked to the curb by the same folks who built up his reputation in the first place.

But now, the medias bias is becoming so obvious that it would be laughable if they tried to deny it. Three major news anchors going on the road with a presidential candidate? It's unprecedented.

But what isn't new is the media fascination with Obama which often treats McCain as an afterthought. The following chart by the Project for Excellence in Journalism makes it clear:

Bias in reporting isn't always HOW you cover a story. In large part it's whether you choose to cover a story at all. With three "news" anchors leading the cheering section for Obama's upcoming trip, it's clear whose side they have chosen.

posted by Mike's America | 7/17/2008