Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has made it clear that he has no love for the "corporate media."
The independent senator from Vermont, whose poll numbers keep creeping up on those of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, frequently criticizes reporters for being interested in him only if he personally attacks Clinton or other candidates. He reiterated this point to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Monday, saying that his campaign isn't "against" anybody but for the middle class.
Sanders argues that the media have a responsibility to stop pushing "soap opera" politics and start focusing on the major issues facing the country, like income and wealth inequality, the influence of money in politics, climate change and racial justice.
Check out some of Sanders' best media criticisms below.
"What I said is that corporate media talks about all kinds of issues except the most important issues. OK? And time after time I'm being asked to criticize Hillary Clinton. That's the sport that you guys like. The reason this campaign is doing well? Because we're talking about the issues that impact the American people. I've known Hillary Clinton for 25 years. I like her. I respect her. I disagree with her on a number of issues. No great secret," Sanders told reporters at a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa.
"But this is what I worry about. In terms of campaign coverage ... there is more coverage about the political gossip of a campaign, about raising money, about polling, about somebody saying something dumb, or some kid [who] works for a campaign sends out something stupid on Facebook, right? We can expect that to be a major story," Sanders said in an interview on CNN.
"But what your job is, what the media's job is, is to say, look, these are the major issues facing the country. We're a democracy. People have different points of view. Let's argue it."
"Are you and the media prepared to allow us to engage in that serious debate, or do I have to make media attention by simply making reckless attacks on Hillary Clinton or anybody else? I don't believe in that," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"One thing that has disturbed me is how the media treats campaigns," Sanders told a crowd in Salem, New Hampshire, recalling how Sen. Marco Rubio accidentally hit a child in the face with a football and "that will get more coverage than Marco Rubio's position on Social Security."
"Politics is not a soap opera. We should not be going around making terrible attacks on each other. Let's debate the issues. If Joe [Biden] comes in, that's what I will do," Sanders told reporters outside a campaign stop at a school in Conway, New Hampshire. "What impact it will have on the race I honestly don't know. I mean, I wish I could tell you, but I don't. Will it help or hurt me? Will it help or hurt Hillary Clinton? I just don't know."
The corporate media spends enormous time and energy diverting our attention away from the most important issues facing us.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 23, 2015
"When the media worries about what Hillary's hair looks like or what my hair looks like, that's a real problem," Sanders said in an interview with the New York Times Magazine. "We have millions of people who are struggling to keep their heads above water, who want to know what candidates can do to improve their lives, and the media will very often spend more time worrying about hair than the fact that we're the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people."
