This is Real News -- Don't Cover it Like a Sport

Call me old-fashioned, but I could not believe last night's convention coverage: they were analyzing things as if it were college sports.

I sat down with my sons last night to watch the convention coverage, thinking I was exposing them to something important, and I was amazed. It was truly like football game analysis -- the news has turned into football game analysis! The media have kept this race close so that the public will keep tuning in.

I was watching MSNBC and CNN -- but it felt like ESPN. I watched as they started talking about how Michelle would be a different dressing First Lady. That was actually a point of conversation! How about: Is Obama's energy policy on point? Is McCain backing a new Cold War? Is there a chance McCain's cancer will reoccur? These are the kinds of questions I want to see discussed -- not how Michelle Obama's wardrobe will differ from previous First Ladies.

And how about discussing how McCain twisted a Jay Leno joke about how he owns 7 houses into a diatribe about being forced to live in a box for five years? With all due respect to him, one has nothing to do with the other. Maybe McCain is losing it. When my father was 72 he started to forget things. I still loved and respected him -- but that doesn't mean I wanted him to be president.

For more Huffington Post coverage of the Democratic National Convention, visit our Politics @ the DNC page, our Democratic Convention Big News Page, and our HuffPost bloggers' Twitter feed, live from Denver.

Comments

[ba555bobby]

C-SPAN C-SPAN C-SPAN.......... get it ?

[dndelyne]

AGREED! I actually started watching the whole thing live online. Aside from all of the bickering (although Buchanan & Maddow are very entertaining), it's rather unfortunate that the talking heads are yapping while some great 'primetime' speeches are going on behind them. Is it just me or was it not like this before?

[InofTouch]

C-Span and there always TRL theme fun stuff

[magen]

Mr. Emanuel-

Stop watching the MSM circus. Until more Americans do this and start getting their news from legitimate sources, the advertising dollars will keep flowing to these "news" organizations and they will get worse.

It's all about the money bro, no ratings, no advertising dollars, no voice.

OBAMA NEEDS TO MAKE MEDIA CONSOLIDATION A CAMPAIGN ISSUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TampaStephie]

I agree completely. Coverage on the main news cable outlets has been terrible. They should be embarrassed. I tune in to the convention to hear the speeches, not Wolf Blitzer or Chris Matthews. God knows you can get enough of them when you want to. They are on ad nauseum.

The disrespect to the speakers is incredibly rude. If this were 4 years ago, Barack Obama would not have made the cut with his speech. The producers and directors of CNN and MSNBC should be fired. I'm tired of James Carville and the other so-called experts pontificating. Say it once and get on with the actual, live coverage of everyone speaking, not just the "stars"!

[Bill]

Call me crazy but I love to watch the 3 ring circus that is msnbc campaign coverage. Where else do you get to see Rachal Maddow smack down Pat Buchanon in front of a live audiance? Or the insane bloviation of Chris Mathews.

[erykah]

You should have tuned into c-span

[Redhead]

It's Olbermann...I've said it before, he needs to go back to sports casting. He is out of his element in his present job. He is abrasive, opinionated, preachy, onesided, sexist, etc. On the other hand, Matthews puts everything into terms of "like in the movie"... Together they spend three hours trying to "make up" stories to drive their news. Then when the real news unfolds it is not at all like what they've been spinning.

[elizaW]

Ari,

You're in the entertainment business and you're surprised that news goes for an entertainment spin? I'm not buying it. As for the cracks about John McCain's age, why no mention of Biden's 66 years? If you're going to use age against McCain then the argument that youth (relatively speaking) has a downside...inexperience...is completely acceptable. Maybe you're frustrated because you see that Obama has been stumbling lately. If I were an Obama supporter I'd be concerned about the stage for his acceptance speech. Greek columns? And the Democrats wonder why Obama can't shake the elitist tag.

[BachelorJohnnyCool]

I give all the cable news coverage a resounding D minus and CNN is by far the worst of the bunch. Every time I switch over to them in the hope of catching one of the speeches, all I see is the usual bunch of hacks and media personalities engaging in a circle jerk of inane prognostication and pontification led by the excruciatingly smug and self-important Wolf Blitzer. It's obvious that they consider themselves way more important than the event they're supposed to be covering.

[simplyirresistible]

Why do Americans keep tuning in to these whoresspondents?

American media establishment have been proved liars and water carriers for an all too willfully lying Washington administration. We can take back our power, turn off American media until we get proper "journalism." ¨¨

So long as we continue to watch these gongs shows they'll keep delivering us clown acts. When will Americans jump off the carousel?¨¨

You have other media choices. You have the freedom to choose. Why not make a better choice for yourself and your family? Send American media a strong message: Give us honest journalism or we'll find it elsewhere.

Find some of those choices here: ¨¨
http://healinganation.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/georgias-on-everybodys-mind/¨¨

Baracck Obama, annoyed by the persistent airing of the lying, filthy Republican terrorist ad, is "organizing his supporters to target the stations that air it and their advertisers."¨http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12816.html¨¨

There used to be a time when media were responsible to the American public for their content. There used to be a time when media had to prove they were serving the public good. Now they flip their middle finger at us.

How would you respond if every time you went to a shopping mall, every employee inside flipped their middle finger at you?

[RustyGranite]

Amen. I got tired of them talking over EVERYTHING...so I turned to C-Span.

[waiguoren]

The criticism of these events is as predictable as the events themselves.

In this culture, whatever is on TV --sports, reality shows, politics, natural and unnatural distasters, wars...- are all just another roadside attraction.

This includes all criticism of the above.

[gorideabike]

I think the msm needs to eat some of that other mushroom.

[russpix]

If you switch back and forth between the American Idol-derived coverage of the cable channels and CSPAN, the points made here become even more clear. You can actually see things like the MSNBC bunch discussing the Democrats' "problem" with voters not knowing Obama while a figure is seen at the podium in the background, out of earshot and nearly out of sight. Check CSPAN, and you see that the figure is Jesse Jackson, Jr., delivering an informative and inspired bio of the cadidate. Wow.

During Gov. Schweitzer's speech (also seen as background to one of the setups that MSNBC kept tossing to and from), the "experts" yammered on about how the Democrats were failing to "go after McCain as being like Bush." Meanwhile - you guessed it - Schweitzer could be seen and heard on CSPAN giving Busch/McCain a serious drubbing to thunderous applause.

Chris Matthews actually drools when he talks about "smashmouth politics," gleefully willing one of the most important events in American History into a twisted metaphor for the Philadelphia streetcorners of his youth.

[russpix]

Would that I had the technical know-how to put together a split-screen clip that showed, in real time, this lunacy. Barack's sister and Jesse Jackson Jr. serving as background for the talking heads, who complained about a lack of the very thing the speakers were busy providing. Then it happens again with Gov. Schweitzer. This is like complaining that your city doesn't have an airport, but having to shout the complaint over the roar of jet engines. Only they can turn down the roar so as to be heard. Geeez.

I'm making an urgent plea to the wizards out there who could put together such a clip, and a companion plea for other readers to build some demand for it. I'll bet a Huffpost blogger would publish it. Maybe it would go viral, and expose the media sham (shame) to a wider audience.

[MoeB]

Russ, I agree completely. CNN's coverage has actually been WORSE than MSNBC's...even factoring the loud annoying train.

I'm amazed that, DURING speeches that are blasting McCain as being more of the same, these "political experts" are blasting democrats about how they aren't hitting on the issues hard enough. Weeeellll, if you actually went to the SPEAKERS, you'd notice that they are doing a pretty good job thus far. One of my favorites has been Claire McCaskill (MO). She's been awesome...and so was Schweitzer! He tore the roof off IMO...great set-up for HRC.

Here is my prediction: in an effort to drum up ratings and keep this race close, these "political experts" are going to be huge fans of the RNC. They'll note how the republicans have hit hard on "substance" (ie-Obama's flag pin, his "exoticism", his lack of patriotism, his celebritydom, how he bodysurfs, Ayers, Rezko, M.Obama's hairdo, etc.--you know, the real SUBSTANCE), and things look bad for Obama. Then they'll roll out the new "polls" that state that McCain has taken the lead firmly over Obama. THen they'll wonder aloud why...but won't connect the dots to themselves.

[KNadine]

Yep, the media is actually ruining the experience for those who don't realize that C-SPAN is ACTUALLY covering the convention.