Covering the Convention: Let's Talk About What Matters

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really disappointed in the news coverage of this convention and moreover, this election. I didn't hear anybody talk about or analyze Senator Clinton's outfit until this morning. I think that these news organizations are not getting in-depth about the issues that are important to America -- they are not living up to the responsibility that they are mandated to have by our Constitution. In fact, last night my son came up to me (again) when I was watching the convention and said, "Dad, please turn off ESPN". He could only think it was ESPN due to the whole aesthetic of the broadcast with people behind the stage screaming things out, touting signs of their favorite "players" -- like a Superbowl or a college game day event. The only reason that one could tell that it wasn't said sports network was that the graphic with a guy in a helmet or someone bouncing a ball was strangely absent. They are analyzing as if this is a Clinton Convention and that Barack Obama is walking into a Roman arena filled with lions -- that narrative is apparently the most important issue involving our country. Is this the Twilight Zone?

My suggestion to the news organizations would be to discuss the following:

If you want to talk about experience, lets discuss experience. Neither one of them has run a country. No matter what you did before, you will not know what is like to run an entire country! Let's talk about John McCain going on-and-on like a 72-year old man repeating himself about his years in a prison cell during the war. I don't want to diminish its importance nor his service to this country, but it doesn't need to be brought up as a counterpoint to every issue raised -- particularly regarding his experience that qualifies him for the presidency -- in fact, we might discover that such trauma could create the wrong mental state for a man who is to be at the helm of our nation. Perhaps the news should go into in-depth analysis on the effects of such an episode on a person's mental state. Let's talk about the fact that he had a severe cancer and by the end of his first term he will probably have a recurrence. Let's talk about Obama's energy policy and if it is the right step. Let's talk about the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan and which candidate's choices demonstrated a greater quality of experience.

Let's talk about that.

Comments

[RenoSage]

Today I read Martin Luther King's famous speech, I HAVE A DREAM. It was courtesy not of our news
media, but the BBC.
In retrospect, everyone should reread those words, if only to marvel at the intelligence and supreme use
of our English language. But it also gives one pride in how far we have come, and humility to know
how far we have to go.
And it ties right in with our current campaign and press coverage.

[peachesmahoney]

Great post. Seriously, let's talk about the energy crisis. Someone, anyone? It's as if it doesn't exist.

[BottomLine2008]

Issues?!

You can't be serious.

:)

[timothe]

There has been some talk in this thread about discussing the issues.

To my knowledge, there is one candidate who wants to conduct regular townhall meetings and numerous debates and there is another candidate who will only agree to one debate and no townhall meetings.

Perhaps we can convince the other candidate to agree to more townhall meetings and debates.

[BottomLine2008]

Wrong. They're not having 1 debate, they're having 3 debates.

[bhk2sl]

Ari
Have you seen Bill o'Reilly coverage of the DNC,It 's a joke I can not believe people tune in to hear him. Thank God Bill Maher is coming back on HBO at lease someone will talk about important issue involving our Government .

[blueroses70]

At the blog onevotematters.com most of the bloggers and commentors are watching only cspan during the convention and providing our own commentary unprompted by talking heads. It's much better than being spoon-fed by pundits on the cable and broadcast networks and lets us point up the REAL issues instead of just politics. And, no, I do not work for the site -- I am just an ordinary user who likes it.

[Clairemont]

I have read through the Democratic Party Platform Draft but haven't seen the final copy with any corrections or changes before it was approved.

I did find "Renewing America's Promise" Janet Napolitano Chair and dated Aug 7 2008 at http://www.workinglife.org/storage/users/4/4/images/111/2008%20democratic%20platform%20080808.pdf

There's nothing about it at demconvention.com which surprised me. I thought it would be essential to showcase what it is Democrats are standing for. I'm willing to bet that 60,000 out of the 70,000 there have not read the Platform and have no idea what they're voting for.

[23000Days]

Watched it onC-Span, no commercials, no commentary. It was a breath of fresh air, except earlier, when they tried to introduce a rethug counterpoint.....

[JoanE]

We switched to C-SPAN to watch Kerry's speech, and I wish the other channels had shown it. Kerry came through with a much-needed, honest attack on the Bush/Cheyney/ McCain record.

[LiberalDem]

C-span is the station for decent convention coverage. The MSM is too invested in the status quo to present honest coverage. I can see and hear the speakers myself, I don't need or want Chris Matthews or any other talking head to interpret for me.

[Epicuran]

Indeed! C-Span is the exclusive means to see and hear the convention without the self-serving punditry. Unfortunately, I didn"t discover this until after the first night so I missed Obama"s sister. I"m amazed that the MSM feels compelled to talk over so many relevant speeches, choosing instead to formulate their own stories and drama.

[zitlight73]

Taxpayer funded weeklong infomericials. If we are to continue with these coronations, let's either make the parties involved pick up the entire tab or put them at permanent sites where we could erect windfarms and at least generate some electricity. I remember watching the old conventions with my dad back in the '60s, I wasn't sure what exactly all was going on but I knew it was important and exciting, big decisions being made, down and dirty floor fights, smokey backroom deals being hatched, unflappable Huntley and Brinkley doing commentary, that was great television it was real and organic instead of this highly choreographed ballet of the automatons.

[jgaines7]

We need more balloons!

[zitlight73]

I want one like the one in The Wizard of Oz.

[UnbiasView]

I hear the Democrats talk about universal health care a lot this election season, we really need to put aside "feelings" and "fairness" on this debate and take a look at if we can actually afford it. Medicare has already set us on the path of $35+ TRILLION in unfended liabilities and that only covers 45 million people . . . no chance of adding another 280 million people, we will collapse under a mountain of debt.

Take a few minutes and listen to David Walker who was our Comptroller General and ran the GAO.

If you have time watch these as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS2fI2p9iVs

America's future finances:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIgrxpp97OQ
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXr_Ga_n0pY

[knighthowl]

Strange to think that every other major indistrialized country on the planet can afford universal health care, but we cannot. Who are you gonna believe? Your lying eyes or Rethug jillionaires?

[minerva117]

If the kajillions of dollars that are lining the pockets of Big Insurace CEO's was shifted into the Medicare kitty, we would have more than enough!!

[zitlight73]

I think that debt with social security etc is over $50 trillion over $4 trillion is just missing mostly from DOD but that never makes MSM news, Britney and Paris take up too much time.

[pjean]

If you can tell me who to call or to get them to do this I would gladly call. I soooooo agree with you and I am sick of these news network. 24 hour news just isn't working anymore they remind me of TV shows or soaps that are fighting for ratings. This is why I no longer watch 24 hour news stations.

[schatsie]

Read this

This month, the Bush administration rolled out a new strategy to solve illegal immigration and just as quickly rolled it back in. It was called Operation Scheduled Departure, and it was simply this: It asked people to turn themselves in.

This administration and McCain the enabler need to be mocked for their gross incompetence...
This self deportation program resulted in 8 people turning themselves in....These are the same deregulators who believe self regulation works ---- look at the S&L crisis, look at the banking crisis, look at Enron and tell me again that self regulation works..... it is the same reason that we have 1 million people sick every year with Salmonella and Sweden (needless to say with regulation) has 800 people sick.... Think about the waste in the health care system because of that and the effect on working people who do not have sick days... This is a social engineering issue that can be managed with due diligence and due concern (and the republicans have neither....)

[BannedInBoston]

EIGHT PEOPLE turned themselves in! Operation Scheduled Departure is working! (Positive spin, positive spin, keep thinking positive spin, he mumbled to himself....)

[SilviaMaria]

Watch PBS as well. They are covering the convention and when there is an intermission the "talking heads" are actually having a good discussion and they do not try to spin anything, and you can learn a few new things. I have really forgotten what journalism was about. Yesterday they interviewed Michelle Obama and it was a good interview: Michelle Obama is just a smart woman.

[Ahoon]

Totally agree...I don't have CSPAN....but PBS is very good...they do have intelligent conversation during the breaks...and they show the speeches without interruption...CNN is a joke...Blitzer thinks that for some reason we would rather listen to him & his merry band of bloviators than the speeches.

[Danny]

Until we have a Democratic President, and a majority in the House and the Senate, we will be victims of the dumbed-down media coverage of ... anything. This is why I am looking forward to a new Federal Communications Commission [FCC] with Dems in charge, and a congress that will break up the monopolies all around, but specifically the one [FCC] that governs what we see and hear on OUR publicly-owned airwaves, day in and day out. There used to be fair allocation of these family jewels but Raygun gave them away to his buddies.

[schatsie]

Yes I have Verizon Fios and let me tell you at least 20% of the time I am watching the community channels because the presentations are wonderful.... We need to get community channels out there in regular TV land so people without cable can watch them instead of the MSM.. which inundates you with xxxx commercials....

[SFox88]

I like your view on how the media is trying to keep the race close in order to keep ratings up. It really shows just what values most Americans hold nowadays.

However, I think watching the news is more like a comedy, because I did not stop laughing through two hours of CNN and Fox News.