Somerby: Media biased against Democrats

The Daily Howler's Bob Somerby has suggested that the entire press corps now has a partisan bias against Democrats:

What has changed since 1960? At one point in his iconic first book [The Making of the President 1960], [Theodore] White painted a truly remarkable picture. He described the way the mainstream press corps was flying around the country, mocking and laughing at one of the candidates—and bonding with the other candidate, the one who was pandering to them. And wouldn’t you know it? Forty years later, during Campaign 2000, a string of major profiles painted a very similar picture! As White had done forty years before, they described the way the mainstream press corps was flying around the country, mocking and laughing at one of the candidates—and bonding with the other candidate, the one who was pandering to them. But uh-oh! In White’s account, the press corps was bonding with Candidate Kennedy—and mocking and laughing at Candidate Nixon. By the time of Campaign 2000, though, the press corps was bonding with Candidate Bush—and mocking and laughing at Candidate Gore.

In short, the press corps’s conduct was exactly the same—but the press corps’ party allegiance had changed!

Somerby previously made the same charge against Tim Russert. In both cases, it's simplistic and unconvincing. Here's what I said about his Russert accusations -- I think the same logic applies here:

I actually agree with Somerby that Russert tends to be more aggressive in his questioning of Democrats. (Anyone remember his interview of Howard Dean during the last presidential campaign?) The problem, however, is that we can't know Russert's motives. More importantly, it is strange to assume that the ex-Democratic operative wants to embarrass Democrats for partisan reasons.

There's a simpler explanation that seems more persuasive. Like most journalists, Russert is far more sensitive to the approval of his peers than to the opinion of the general public (they're a lot like academics). So how do you win acclaim for being a tough journalist? First, you grill your subjects on alleged inconsistencies and constantly try to throw them off message (his signature style). But you must also fend off any suggestion of liberal bias, a charge that could be especially potent for Russert given his history as a Democratic operative. As a result, it makes perfect sense for him to go overboard in grilling Democrats and to treat Republicans less harshly. There's no reason to think it has anything to do with partisan animus.

Comments

[Lee]

Um, what's the difference? You're splitting hairs just to find a point of disagreement. Somersby says: "media biased against Dems." You say: "yes, but it's not like he thinks!"

But you sound very "reasonable."

ps. Can you really disagree that in the 2000 the Kewl Kids thought Bush was folksy/fun/manly, while Gore was the wooden phoney-baloney?

[Rob]

It wasn't just the Kewl Kids who thought Al Gore was wooden, it was damn near everybody. And of course there was a simple reason for that: he was wooden.

It's nice, though, that Al Gore's former Harvard roommate, Bob Somerby, has made it his mission to speak out for Mr. Gore. That's loyalty, not ass-kissing. Still, it wouldn't hurt for Somerby to explain why he has splinters in his lips.

[Lee]

I take it you subscribe to the idea that Al Gore underwent a radical personality transformation after the election. Yes, that's the simpler explanation.

[Noumenon]

So you think Russert's media peers would exert pressure on Russert to appear not liberal. Isn't that the sort of thing they would do if they did have a partisan bias against Democrats?

[Sean-B]

There will always be bias in the media of some sort. But to think that there is some kind of cohesive slant in an almost colluded way is idiotic. An idiotic disease that seems to strike the left and right at will.

[Ben Hartman]

Rob, the reason "damn near everybody" thought Gore was wooden was because the media made him seem that way. When the main news about a candidate is why they chose to wear earth tones or what effect their sighing has on their candidacy it is fair to say that the media is not doing their job.

[Barry]

Brendan: "More importantly, it is strange to assume that the ex-Democratic operative is wants to embarrass Democrats for partisan reasons. "

Wow. "ex-Democratic operative" means that the guy won't want to embarrass Democrats. No matter how right-wing he goes, an "ex-Democratic operative" is always unbiased.