Networks Sleep While Democracy Burns

Sometimes mainstream media reveal their failures in displays so stark that it makes the job of media critics too easy.

NBC, ABC and CBS frequently forget to serve their viewers, to be sure, but certain miscues are a special boon to bloggers and media reformers, who work tirelessly to show that the titans of the mainstream consistently miss the most important stories of our time.

Network coverage of the political conventions this week and next is a case in point, as American politics takes a back seat to mainstream media reality.

The "Big Three" have decided that democracy is bad for business, and are treating viewers to excited hormones (ABC's "High School Musical"), miniskirts (NBC's "Deal or No Deal") and bachelor hi-jinks (CBS's "Two and a Half Men") instead of Democratic and Republican convention coverage in Denver and Minneapolis.

Citizens v. Consumers

At PBS, where "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" still thinks of its audience as "citizens rather than consumers," the conventions will be covered from gavel to gavel. ABC, CBS and NBC are yielding little more than an hour of prime time on most convention nights.

This is the sad reality of a corporate media that prefer laugh-tracks and the bottom line to political discourse.

While the networks yuk it up with sitcoms and teen libido, the message they're sending the American public is that the most important political gatherings of the last four years don't merit the nation's full attention - and certainly matter less than the standard prime-time fare offered up on any other night.

Television and the Age of Apathy

The damage goes beyond that: In the era of television elections voter turnout has been stuck between 50 and 55 percent. Over the same period, many young voters (aged 18 to 24) have increasingly passed on voting altogether - there's been a steady decline in youth turnout, despite spikes during the 1992 and 2004 general elections.

Even when they tune in network news, the public is spoon-fed coverage that rarely reflects the viewing public's political interests.

NBC, ABC, CBS and their cable counterparts overwhelmingly portray the elections as a horse race pitting TV-ready personalities against one another. Obama is the inexperienced firebrand, McCain the seasoned, straight-talking maverick. This drama may play well on the small screen, but it accomplishes little towards informing voters about the candidates' political views.

According to MediaTenor research from the 2004 presidential elections, less than 5 percent of networks newscasts dealt with candidates' positions on policy issues, such as health care, education, the war in Iraq, the economy and employment -- even though American voters consistently rank these topics as the "most important issues for the government to address."

The same pattern can be seen on the news in 2008. Candidates are not being identified according to their stances on the issues, but by their posture of the day. As a result, too much coverage emphasizes immediacy and spin over substance and issues. Who's up in the latest polls? Who scored the latest zinger on the campaign trail?

In 2004: Worm Munching Trumps Obama

In the face of this critique, network executives have circled their news vans and lobbed criticism at the conventions themselves.

In 2004, NBC's then anchor Tom Brokaw called the conventions heavily scripted "infomercials" not worthy of news. That year, NBC fed viewers a prime-time diet of worm munching on "Fear Factor" instead of featuring the debut of rising political star Barack Obama, who took the stage in Boston, delivered an electrifying speech and launched his political prospects.

NBC was not alone. ABC and CBS also deemed Obama's historic moment as "too scripted" for prime time.

To be fair, conventions are designed by the parties to spin their candidate before the media, but it's up to the networks to unpack the hype and deliver real political analysis and breaking news to their audience.

Turning their cameras on is a start.

For more Huffington Post coverage from 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.

Follow Timothy Karr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TimKarr

Comments

[FirstShirt]

The networks used to have gavel to gavel coverage. You get to sit there and watch someone you don't know trashing the other party ad nauseum. And, you get to watch the vast bulk of the delegates ignoring the speaker. Today we already know who the nominee is and there is no drama. Sound bites are all these conventions are worth.

[ToxicSox]

I don't agree with the assumption that gavel to gavel coverage by major networks will somehow result in the enlightenment of the masses. In fact, I find that tone condescending. The majority of the country already knows who it wants to vote for and why. Why should those people have to be force fed continuous drivel from talking heads and (yes) manipulative scripted speeches? The point of these conventions is to whip the true believers into a frenzy. So why not devote a channel or two to that process (without the ridiculous commentators) and let those who've decided go on with their lives - minus the constant clatter of "will she/won't she", "what's Bill going to do?", ad nauseum? I don't want to watch 99% of this convention, and I plan to vote for their candidate! Imagine how much I'm looking forward to the Republican spectacle.

[Chavez08]

Question: Does "Democracy" mean "Capitalism"?

Can we have Democracy without Capitalism?

[AnthonyVolpe]

Uhmmmm... maybe ABC, NBC, and CBS realize that people are sick of political coverage, will deal with Obama and McCain in November when they can actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, and will try to have fun until then.

[rkrenke]

Network and cable news are nothing but infomercials designed to feed the American public whatever pablum corporate America thinks they should hear - if we turn them off, they'll go away.

[JimR]

In their defense... there once used to be an actual point to political conventions, but they are now little more than circuses, marked by rousing speeches and trumped-up drama. Conventions are not about democracy; they are about political theater.

[newhouse1]

Sorry friend, but conventions have ALWAYS been "circuses, marked by rousing speeches and trumped-up drama." That's the exact description of what democracy is all about.

"Nothing to fear but fear itself... Ask not what your country can do for you... Some people see things as they are and say why... Morning in America."

Picking a resident against the backdrop of differing approaches to issues, personalities, self-interest, external factors, etc. is what makes the hamster go. Don't pay attention: habeas corpus goes out the window and billions go to Iraq while the future is being built in China. Pay attention polio is cured, poverty constrained, middle class is birthed.

All derived from the every 4-year circus(es).

[newhouse1]

oops... comment error. "Picking a President" not picking a resident.

[blueshield]

Are corporations who use public resources - that is, the public broadcast spectrum, which belongs to the people of the United States - obligated to provide some programming in the public interest? In the original conception, this was federal policy, until the responsible agency in Washington, the FCC, was politicized and gutted to accommodate the media industry.

The FCC is today such a lapdog of commercial (not public) interests, that broadcasters pushing HD programming and products have managed to get the government to invest vast amounts of tax dollars to support their expansion and profits in this area.

There is a national epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other dietary dysfunction, which can be traced to highly profitable "foods" that substitute pleasureable fats and sugars for nutrition.

The same has occurred with our media - pandering to base tastes, rather than something healthier. Are we surprised to find that mental broccoli is pushed off the menu?

[Shaddup]

This is a great post. The greed of MSM will make you a fathead. I miss the real FCC.

[rwe]

This and next week are political infomercia­ls!!!!Look at the cable outlets EXCEPT C-SPAN all look like "American Idol Top Chef Model Makeovers on Sterioids " being simulcast...These two weeks will produce nothing of societal value . The politicians and the journalists have the pompous arrogant elitist opinion that they need to give us OUR opinions and if we disagree WE are vilified...... Until we get a series of real debates from PBS and or the League of Women Voters where there is no prancing , no bloviating , just questions and answers , All this is about as surreal and credible as WWE meets TheSimple Life

[w8aminute]

We have DishNetwork and they have a live feed of the DNC Convention on channel 211 (in HD too if you have it). I was so tired of the stupidity on CNN & MSNBC (I even put on Fox at one point) that I'm glad I found it. It has all the speeches and none of the commentary. (This isn't a plug for Dish Network - I get mad at them all the time, but if you have Dish, go to 211 to watch the convention).

[jbgnyc]

NBC was the worst tonight!! Williams and Brokaw were gasbags hogging their precious hour and frequently ended up explaining to the viewers , "Oh you just missed this great speech that has the crowd on its feet" ---which they said about the Gov. of Montana, then they said, "let's listen," and the speech had just ended.. What fools!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!! How can they call themselves "journalists'? Even PBS disappointed as they, too, now must have a liberal and a conservative for those of us who need subtitles for every thought we hear. I made my family watch NBC because it got the hightest viewership and I wanted to see what a majority of broadcast viewers were getting. SHAME on them. Tomorrow night, it's C-SPAN.

[thecanadian]

BLITZER - CNN was terrible & 100% disgusting. For three days now Blitzer has TALKED over top of everything. Can you believe he sat there telling the viewers HIS take on what the speakers were saying on the stage behind him? It was totally disgusting. Why doesn't someone give all these guys a thorough vetting. We finally gave up - just waited for HuffPo to update.

[ewoman]

My room mate wanted to stick with NBC, but after ten minutes, he got up and left the room. I turned to C-Span and he returned in quick order...asking, "where's the talking heads?" And, he's a Republican. ha. I imagine the RNC will be on full force next week at this home, but only on C-Span. I guess I can live with that...

[Shaddup]

Yeah, I'm waiting for somebody at one of the big three to mention how M c Same is ready to privatize Social Security. Half the voters in his demographic would probably bail. Or where he stands on the constitution? Or how come he doesn't work on weekends etc. etc.

[InofTouch]

coverage is one thing...asking questions is another

[tbone99]

Please tell me that you don't think this corporate sponsored political celebrity fests are in any way anything but infomercials. They have absolutel nothing to do with democracy and everything to do with
advertsing. I think the strict prohibition of real protest and input from people on the street ( I.e. Pelosi's withering putdown of enviromentalists) proves that participatory democracy is seen as a be a real threat
to the staged spectacle..

No wonder most people would rather watch desperate housewives or whatever. at least its writers try to emulate real dialogue.

[sak]

I gave up on the first day of the convention. The "experts" sit around chattering about nothing, or, discuss why Obama cannot win. They show charts, The cite polls. Then, they talk about Hillary and Bill. In the meantime, people are making speeches, videos are being shown and no one would ever know. I finally remembered CSPAN. What a godsend! Hey folks, you can watch commercial free and in silence. No commentary, no one selecting what you will see and what is unimportant. For example, today Kucinitch gave a great little pep speech and yet it was not covered on CNN or MSNBC. Several people gave personal talks explaining how Bush's policies have affected them personally. Important stuff.

CSPAN rules!

[MuchMadness]

Thank God for CSPAN, which shows the convention itself rather than a lot of worthless commentary from a bunch of pundits and analysts.