Talk The Media Talk

Ever notice how often the on-camera modus operandi of political partisans is so much alike? They may ingratiatingly avoid a direct answer. They may seamlessly bridge to their own agenda. They may insert just the right connotation-heavy buzz word. They may use outrageously inclusive language. Evasively witty non sequiturs. Well, they practice. A lot. Especially those on the right side of the spectrum. At least that’s the perception of lots of liberals who keep looking to combat the impact of Fox News.

A recent piece in the Washington Post chronicles electronic media machinations by those seeking to one-up Fox. In effect, it’s a look inside a boot camp for would-be liberal pundits. It’s called Media Matters for America, and it’s the ideological counterpart of the Leadership Institute, a right-wing, media-training organization.

As hard as it is to fathom for some, there actually was a time when media bias didn’t typically refer to mainstream conservatives. Indeed, there was TV news before political proponents became professional entertainers. Life before Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and O’Reilly. Before double-dipping Huckabee and Palin.

At creation, TV news was a loss leader. An extension of the public service announcement mentality. Nationally it was a 15-minute headline service. (Cue nostalgia for John Cameron Swayze and Douglas Edwards.) Its bias, if you will, was left-leaning because that was the presumed persuasion of most journalists. That’s who came out of university J-Schools, taught by left-of-center professors. Idealistically looking out for the little guy. Print-trained. Think Howard K. Smith or David Brinkley. Politics was part of the news panoply.

Today, politics is its own self-contained, media cash cow. It lends itself to unabashed, high-decibel conflict, and conflict entertains and sells–as it influences and belittles. No one is calling this “journalism.” Remember, for example, that Bill O’Reilly hosted “Entertainment Tonight” before becoming an iconic political pundit.

But no one would dare call this faux journalism ineffective. Hence a boot camp to train would-be liberal pundits on the rules of engagement. In effect, it preaches and teaches: don’t be bullied; smile and use first names; bring a “Trojan horse” anecdote; don’t get off message; pivot out of rhetorical ambush to your bullet points; and don’t live down to that “sushi-eating,” “latte-drinking,” “elitist,” in-love-with-“big-government” label.

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