Brokaw Admits: Media 'Stampeded The Process,' Got It Wrong

Thinkprogress.org :

Talking with Tom Brokaw, Chris Matthews lamented the fact that the pollsters and pundits got it all wrong. Brokaw suggested that the results today should cause the media to reevaluate its desire to "stampede the process," and he cautioned the media to "wait for the voters to make their judgment":

BROKAW: You know what I think we're going to have to do?

MATTHEWS: Yes sir?

BROKAW: Wait for the voters to make their judgment.

MATTHEWS: Well what do we do then in the days before the ballot? We must stay home, I guess.

BROKAW: No, no we don't stay home. There are reasons to analyze what they're saying. We know from how the people voted today, what moved them to vote. You can take a look at that. There are a lot of issues that have not been fully explored during all this.

But we don't have to get in the business of making judgments before the polls have closed. And trying to stampede in effect the process.

Look, I'm not just picking on us, it's part of the culture in which we live these days. I think that the people out there are going to begin to make judgments about us if we don't begin to temper that temptation to constantly try to get ahead of what the voters are deciding, in many cases, as we learned in New Hampshire when they went into the polling booth today or in the last three days. They were making decisions very late.

Read the whole story: Thinkprogress.org

Comments

[ResidentChimp]

The MSM is biased. What a surprise. They want Obama to win and will do whatever it takes to help him out. One only has to look at the slanted coverage HuffPo gives Obama to see the truth.

[leftbehind2000]

The media are so reckless.

First they set Obama up under the false pretense that he's running away with things. They talk about his inevitability and Clinton's demise.

Then they proclaim last night the biggest upset in political history. They declare Hillary the "comeback kid" of all time and wonder if the wheels have come off the Obama bus entirely.

All this spewing is based on false presumptions on their part, and then bewilderment. It creates the impression that something was terribly wrong with the Clinton camp and now something is terribly wrong in Obama's. All based on these ridiculous polls and their non-stop spin.

But, you know, it didn't start there. All these bloviating pundit are the ones who manufactured the democratic landscape from the beginning, foisting the inevitability of a Clinton nomination on us at the outset, and indicating Obama was the only candidate who could conceivably make a race of it. From the very outset, the dialog excluded such deserving candidates as Joe Biden, John Edwards, Chris Dodd and others. The lack of any credible coverage of these candidates ultimately dooms them to any chance at a breakthru.

All of this punditry has merely engendered an environment of self fulfilling prophecies. They are in fact creating the realities they profess to be following.

[jeersforfears]

The media stampedes the process because the media goes in the tank for their favorite candidate. Conversely, they go negative against all opposition to their candidate of choice, the negativity of which increases exponentially depending on how much any given opponent threatens the media's favorite.

The media then indoctrinates their readers (most people still get their vital information from the MSM) through slanted "news" stories and editorials, and then conducts push polls to make it seem like everyone loves the news media's favorite candidate, and that everyone hates those whom the media hates.

Some say the MSM is liberal, some say they're conservative - but that is not the most important point. The most important point is how the MSM operates, whether you're talking about political candidates, or the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker.

[OhgReaTone]

Brokaw need to exert his authority with NBC and MSNBC to stifle the bigots who are dominating the television news.
Ohg.
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/01/09/clinton-and-obama-expose-media-bigots/

[samuraijack]

Brokaw Spews: "In my day, we would have just sat there and asked the candidates the stupidest fucking questions you could ever imagine". "Hey, does anyone have any "blow"?

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

If you wnat to find out why the polls were wrong how about doing some analysis on the demographics in the polls as compared to the demographics of those who voted.

If 57% of the dem voters were women, were 57% of those polled women as well? If they weren't and Clinton won big with the women, that could explain some of it.

If the over 40 crowd went big for Clinton, what % ofthe voters were over 40 and what % of those polled were over 40?

Did the polls include more young voters and Indies because those voters were so importnat in Iowa?

This shouldn't be that difficult to find out

[milo22]

The media is and has been terrible for quite some time now which is glaringly obvious. Why does a candidate that speaks about issues instead of passionate rhetoric get ignored? Because poverty and real life economic issues that affect people is'nt marketable, well it is marketable, but not to the people that have enough time to stare at a TV or read a blog etc. It is marketable to those that are working 2 jobs so they can afford paying $3.20 a gallon for gas or to afford heating their homes. John Edwards is the only candidate that is talking about real life ISSUES, Listen carefully, you just might learn a thing or two. And if you don't want to and think your $4.00 Latte is more important, then I guess that's fine too..

[Nyla785]

Brokaw suggest we start waiting to actually 'count the votes' Radical!! What would the media do all day??

[pennyfortheguy]

Pat Buchanan is reasonable and insightful.

[ArchAngel]

The polls perfectly predicted all of the candidates except Clinton and Obama.

The many polls were correct.

Diebold made them wrong.

[GoCards1978]

This is precisely why Tom Brokaw is my favorite newsman. Professional and humble, with a solution to the problem.

[duckfan00]

At one point last night Matthews was blathering about the Clinton's possibly claiming victory prematurely and that he knows the Clinton's tactics. It was a scary TV moment. NBC news executives need to review Mattews role and maybe put him on their DOC-BLOCK prison segments.

[Spanky]

Man o' man 24/7, CNN, MSNBC, FOX.... what' a waste of news. Plenty of news going on in the world yet the bug three are stuck 'as usual' on repeating themselves every 30 minutes and saying absolutely NOTHING. Not only does the country need a new face... the cable news chanels need to report international news instead of the 'All about me, USA) news. The Cable news channel that can break through this agonizing and boring waste would be a 'god send

[sonofdy1]

And if I hear the word "change" anymore I am going to puke. "i'm going to change things" over and over again. Not one of them actualy presents a workable plan. Change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change changeChange change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change changeChange change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change changeChange change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change changeChange change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change UGH

[hannitizer]

I watched much of the evening's coverage on MSNBC and have the following analysis.

Tim Russert was about to burst with excitement. He has lost all credibility and objectivity. He acts like the election process is a sport and the primaries are the games to be analized like their is no real consequence for we the "fans". This is not a game and he is not a sportscaster. He was way to pumped with his comments. Hewas saying something like, and I'm paraphrasing, " strap yourselves in this is gonna be one hell of a ride", and "I love this, its remarkable". He was like a kid at Christmas. Again, no objectivity, just blathering on and on.