Suppose you watch and read Big Media after the Super Bowl. The Patriots beat the Rams pretty convincingly. But most commentators on Big Media don’t talk about that. They tell you those Rams looked terrific. Big Media beats up on the Patriots. They tell you the Patriots were lazy. Their quarterback looked old and sluggish. The Pats chose the wrong plays, etc, etc. The Rams certainly looked the better team.
You gag on your popcorn and kick over your beer. And ask whether these birds saw the game you saw.
Suppose you take in a new film. As do many millions. Big majorities of those millions tell pollsters they love the film. But most Big Media critics pan the film. They describe it as garbage.
You choke on that popcorn again.
Millions of Americans scratched their heads over the Big Media reactions to the State of the Union address. Clearly, a majority of Americans liked the address. One poll had the approval rating at 76 percent. That is an impressively high rating for this annual address.
Nobody is arguing that maybe 76 percent of viewers have fallen in love with their president. But a few things are abundantly clear. Most viewers approved of what they saw and heard.
Suppose you just missed the address. You did not see it or read about it. But you tuned in to the network shows immediately afterward. And you read a few big newspapers next morning. You would probably conclude the address was a flop.
NBC’s Chuck Todd blasted it as “absurdist theater”. Actually, he declared such before the president spoke. No bias there.
CNN’s poll numbers showed 76 percent of viewers approved. Yet its political director, on screen, pooh-pooed those numbers and that poll. Because viewers were more Republicans than Democrats. But 82 percent of independents approved. Significant. But let’s not talk about them.
MSNBC featured a lineup of critics. Joy Reid called the speech “grandiose and over the top”. Chris Mathews belittled the president’s criticism of socialism and its failures.
Then he praised, repeatedly, the Democrat response to the address. The one by Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams who failed as a candidate. She was heartfelt, inspiring, very impressive, patriotic, happy, basic and optimistic, perfect. Pass the thesaurus. He ran dry of adjectives with which to praise her.
Also on the panel was Alcindor Johnson. Who gushed about Abrams. She talked about the president not telling the truth.
Barbara Boxer called Abrams response brilliant. And compared Trump to Jack the Ripper. Literally.
NBC’s disgraced former Nightly News anchor Brian Williams lit into Trump for his “graphic language” on abortion.
Lester Holt, same network, introduced us to the address with dreary talk of shutdowns, investigations, etc.
NBC’s website welcomed readers with “On Trump’s big State of the Union applause line, the sound of silence was stunning.” And “This country flipped for Trump. Two years on, the enthusiasm may be waning.”
CNN’s website hosted lengthy comments from 13 prominent social and political observers. There was barely a word of praise among them.
CNN’s Van Jones called the address “a psychotically incoherent speech with cookies and dog poop”.
Meanwhile, the NY Times headlined “A Message of Unity From an Agent of Discord. Let’s see how long it lasts.” It wrote about “fictitious alter egos” of Trump’s that were exposed in the address. The Washington Post depicted the address in similar bleak and negative terms.
On and on they went. Downward. One after another Big Media guys belittled or criticized the president and his address. One after another sang the praises of his opposition.
This is why the American public thinks so little of Big Media. They expect opinion. They expect lack of enthusiasm from liberals when a political opponent is on stage. But they also expect some attempt at balance. They wish for a few signs of objective coverage. Instead, they get wall–to–wall negative opinion.
They figure that when the Pats win the Super Bowl the focus will be on how well the winning team played.
Maybe 75 percent of viewers had a favorable impression of the speech. I bet 95 percent of Big Media people (Fox, the exception as usual.) dissed it.
Millions of Americans reckon Big Media distorts what they see and hear. They reckon accurately. They remember the televised presidential debates. They recall that when big majorities of viewers called one debater the winner, Big Media declared the other one the victor.
Viewers know that networks pack their panels with bias. The networks give the opposition sweet little air time.
After many instances of this bias, Americans have lost trust in Big Media. Numerous polls confirm the distrust.
‘Tis a case of who are you gonna believe? What you see and hear? Or what Big Media tell you, you saw and heard?
PS: You can buy Tom’s novel, THE LAST COLUMNIST on Amazon.
From Tom…as in Morgan.Find Tom on Facebook. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com.