Media and Politics
by Steven Maggi
 When I turned on the car radio the other night, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Delaware Senator and potential presidential candidate Joe Biden made the following statement, “You cannot go into a Dunkin Donuts or a 7-Eleven unless you have a slight Indian accent.”
C-SPAN cameras caught him telling an Indian-American activist that Indian-Americans are the fastest-growing immigrant group in Delaware. Does this make Biden a bigot? No, of course not. Guilty of poor word choice and lousy timing? Certainly.
But what if C-SPAN had caught a Republican uttering those same words?
According to the mainstream media’s virtual “rulebook of political correctness,” Biden’s statement would have crossed the line … had it been uttered by a Republican. Not so for Democrats and their liberal allies. They hold the proverbial “Get out of jail free” card. It happens all the time.
Remember a few years ago when Republican Mississippi Senator (and then-Majority Leader) Trent Lott complimented the late Republican Senator Strom Thurmond at Strom’s birthday party. Lott said, “"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had of followed our lead we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Mainstream media cried, “Foul!”
This violated the political correctness rulebook. After all, early in his career Thurmond was a segregationist (and a Democrat, by the way). The press was all over Lott, demanding an apology and more. Instead of fighting this, Lott went along for the ride and apologized to any black group he could find, from the NAACP to the Black Entertainment Network. Eventually, he resigned his position as Majority Leader, permanently damaged from this faux pas.
A few months later, at a party for West Virginia Democrat Senator Robert Byrd, Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said, "I do not think it is an exaggeration at all to say to my friend from West Virginia that he would have been a great senator at any moment," praising Byrd on the occasion of the eight-term Democrat's 17,000th Senate vote. Mr. Dodd continued: "He would have been right at the founding of this country. He would have been in the leadership crafting this Constitution. He would have been right during the great conflict of Civil War in this nation."
Hmmm, a very, VERY similar situation. Also a faux pas. Maybe even a little worse, as Byrd admitted joining the Ku Klux Klan in 1942, eventually rising to the rank of "kleagle." And, in 1964, Byrd made a 14-hour filibuster speech in an unsuccessful effort to block passage of the Civil Rights Act. Yet, where was mainstream media’s outcry over Dodd’s remarks? When a few GOP senators complained of the hypocrisy, Dodd laughed and said these were two totally different situations. And you know, he’s right … Byrd’s history was worse than Thurmond’s. Yet, the matter dropped a day or two later with no injury to Dodd’s career.
These decisions, whether to pursue or drop stories, are made all the time and not just by reporters seemingly intent on shaping the news rather than reporting it. It is also the editors and producers, wielding much too much power, who shape the political dialogue. Setting up different rules for different political parties is simply wrong. Accuse Bob Packwood of philandering and he loses his job. Make the same accusations against Ted Kennedy and he does not.
Think this is just one person’s opinion? Brent Bozell and his political watchdog group, the Media Research Center, have been quantifying this kind of hypocrisy for almost 20 years. The growth of the new media has made a dent in this one-sided system. A few decades ago, Dan Rather’s story based upon the still-to-be-invented font on George Bush’s military records may have had an effect. But these days, blatant lies can be quickly disproven and the issue forced into the realm of public discussion.
Still, more work remains. Mistakes, hypocrisies and lies need to be pointed out each and every time and the press must be held accountable. True, people are beginning to vote by opting out of traditional newspapers and network news. Declining newspaper circulation numbers and network news ratings speak volumes, but it is not enough.
A free press is an absolute necessity in a democracy. Opinions are desirable be they from the right, center or left. But let it be known as opinion, whether it’s Rush Limbaugh on the right or Eleanor Clift on the left. Democracy is not well served to have seemingly hardcore, fact-based news reports tainted by mainstream media’s desire to make political statements. Their job isn’t to set the agenda, but to report on it. Just as justice should be blind, our news media needs to be objective.
Steven Maggi is the President of Aanko Technologies, Inc., a Homeland Security Consulting firm. Steve is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Public Policy, with an M.P.A. in Intergovernmental Management. A 15-year veteran of policy and outreach work, he was awarded “Best in Public Education” from the United States Conference of Mayors for his work with the City of Burbank, CA
E-mail
the Editor |
