Reuters: “Media bias largely unseen in US presidential race”
By Steve Gorman – Analysis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – At times during this year’s U.S. presidential race, it seemed that supporters of Republican John McCain bashed journalists covering his campaign almost as hard as they did his Democratic rival, Barack Obama.
McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, famously stoked anti-media catcalls and boos by Republican delegates at the party’s national convention.
And as recently as this past weekend, a crowd of McCain backers at a rally in Virginia turned to the press stand and chanted: “Tell the truth! Tell the Truth!”
McCain partisans were roused to anger by a perception that mainstream news organizations routinely gave Obama preferential treatment en route to his election as the first black U.S. president.
But media scholars, including a former top aide to McCain, disagree. They said campaign coverage often did lean in Obama’s favor, though not — as many conservatives have suggested — because of a hidden liberal agenda on the part of the media.
Instead, academic experts said, Obama benefited largely from the dynamics of the campaign itself and the media’s tendency to focus on the “horse race,” emphasizing ups and downs in the polls and political tactics.
Bull. Shit. Who in the hell are you kidding Reuters? Did Gorman write this tripe with a straight face? Tell you what, you email me and I will be more than glad to provide endless examples of Obamessiah media bias, not the least of which was the Time/Newsweek covers of him with a halo-effect behind his head and Chris Matthews tingle-up-his-leg reporting.
Typical liberal response: “Move along, nothing to see here”