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20080728
Jim David Adkisson - Terrorism - Media - Politics - Radio - TV/Channel - Tennessee - Religion - Law - Police
"Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list: 4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'." ... "Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell [Tennessee] home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show." ... "Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded six others during the presentation of a children's musical." ... "Knoxville Police Department Officer Steve Still requested the search warrant after interviewing Adkisson. who was subdued by several church members after firing three rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun into the congregation." ... "Adkisson targeted the church, Still wrote in the document obtained by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."" ... "Adkisson told Still that "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office."" ... "Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly [the latter two work for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp subsidiary Fox TV]." ... "The shotgun-wielding suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was motivated by a hatred of "the liberal movement," and he planned to shoot until police shot him, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this morning." ... "Adkisson, 58, of Powell wrote a four-page letter in which he stated his "hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said. "Liberals in general, as well as gays."" ... "Owen said Adkisson specifically targeted the church for its beliefs, rather than a particular member of the congregation." -By Hayes Hickman with contributions by Bob Fowler, J.J. Stambaugh, Frank Munger and Amy McRary -KnoxNews.com

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20080727
Barack Obama - John McCain - Broadcast - Opinion - Politics - 2008 Election
"In study, evidence of [conservative bias] liberal-bias bias: Cable talking heads accuse broadcast networks of liberal bias -- but a think tank finds that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama than on [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain in recent weeks." ... "The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign." ... "You read it right: tougher on the Democrat." ... "During the evening news, the majority of statements from reporters and anchors on all three networks are neutral, the center found. And when network news people ventured opinions in recent weeks, 28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative." ... "Network reporting also tilted against McCain, but far less dramatically, with 43% of the statements positive and 57% negative, according to the Washington-based media center." -By James Rainey -LAtimes

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20080707
Roger Ailes - Terrorism - Television - Corporate - Media - Politics - People - 
"When Fox News Is the Story." ... "Like most working journalists, whenever I type seven letters — Fox News [owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (News Corp)] — a series of alarms begins to whoop in my head: Danger. Warning. Much mayhem ahead." ... "Once the public relations apparatus at Fox News is engaged, there will be the calls to my editors, keening (and sometimes threatening) e-mail messages, and my requests for interviews will quickly turn into depositions about my intent or who else I am talking to." ... "And if all that stuff doesn’t slow me down and I actually end up writing something, there might be a large hangover: Phone calls full of rebuke for a dependent clause in the third to the last paragraph, a ritual spanking in the blogs with anonymous quotes that sound very familiar, and — if I really hit the jackpot — the specter of my ungainly headshot appearing on one of Fox News’s shows along with some stern copy about what an idiot I am." ... "Fox News found a huge runway and enormous success by setting aside the conventions of bloodless objectivity, but along the way, it altered the rules of engagement between reporters and the media organizations they cover. Under its chief executive, [Republican media strategist] Roger Ailes, Fox News and its public relations apparatus have waged a permanent campaign on behalf of the channel that borrows its methodology from his days as a senior political adviser to [Republican Presidents] Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush." ... "At Fox News, media relations is a kind of rolling opposition research operation intended to keep reporters in line by feeding and sometimes maiming them. Shooting the occasional messenger is baked right into the process." ... "As crude as that sounds, it works. By blacklisting reporters it does not like, planting stories with friendlies at every turn, Fox News has been living a life beyond consequence for years." ... "Earlier this year, a colleague of mine said, he was writing a story about CNN’s gains in the ratings and was told on deadline by a Fox News public relations executive that if he persisted, “they” would go after him. Within a day, “they” did, smearing him around the blogs, he said. (I did not ask him for a comment because the information was of a private nature.)" ... "[Fox News public relations head Brian] Mr. Lewis denied that his staff had threatened one of my colleagues or planted private information about him on blogs." ... "That comes as a surprise to reporters I talked to who say they have received e-mail messages from Fox News public relations staff that contained doctored photos, anonymous quotes and nasty items about competitors. And two former Fox employees said that they had participated in precisely those kinds of activities but had signed confidentiality agreements and could not say so on the record. " (1, 2, 3) -By David Carr -NYTimes

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20080702
John McCain - Karl Rove - Rick Davis - Arizona - 2004 Election - 2008 Election - Media - 
"McCain camp puts Rove man in charge: New chief Steve Schmidt, right, a veteran of the [Republican President] Bush campaign, will focus on honing McCain's message. Republicans have complained the campaign lacked clear themes." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign has gone through its second shake-up in a year. Responding to Republican concern that his candidacy was faltering, McCain put a veteran of President Bush's 2004 campaign in charge of day-to-day operations, and stepped away from a plan to have the campaign run by 11 regional managers, McCain's aides said Wednesday." ... "The elevation of Steve Schmidt -- who worked closely with Karl Rove -- at McCain's headquarters represented a sharp diminishment of the responsibilities of Rick Davis, who has been McCain's campaign manager since the last shake-up nearly a year ago." ... "The move is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Rove's shop in the McCain operation. Nicolle Wallace, who was communications director for Bush in the 2004 campaign (and in his White House) has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, and will travel with McCain every other week. Greg Jenkins, another veteran of Rove's operation who is a former Fox News [TV] producer and director of presidential advance in the Bush White House, was hired by Schmidt last week after a series of what McCain's advisers acknowledged were poorly executed campaign events." (1, 2, 3) -NYTimes -WashingtonPost via -StarTribune

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20080623
Media -  - Radio - Communications - Corporations - Government - Politics
"July 18 Deadline for Cross-Ownership Move Requests: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Gives Broadcasters, Media Activists Until July 18 to File Requests for Moving Appeal of FCC Decision." ... "The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals gave broadcasters and media activists until July 18 to file their requests for moving the appeal of the Federal Communications Commission's decision to loosen the ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership." ... "That's according to one of the parties involved." -By John Eggerton -BroadcastingCable.com

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John McCain - Political - Media - Television - Censorship - 2008 Election
"FOX Erases McCain Saying He "Really Didn't Love America"." ... "On March 13, 2008, FOX's Sean Hannity interviewed [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain for the full hour. The interview started with questions about McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. At one point, this was said: HANNITY: You spent two years of this five-and-a-half-year period in solitary confinement. What does that do to a person, to spend that much time in solitary confinement? MCCAIN: I think it makes you a better person. Obviously, it makes you love America. I really didn't love America until I was deprived of her company." ... "Get that? McCain "really didn't love America" until he was a POW." ... "Jedreport.com discovered that the transcript of the McCain/Hannity interview on FoxNews.com had no mention of McCain saying he "really didn't love America" until he was a POW. I checked and sure enough, it wasn't there. So I started watching the video of the interview of FoxNews.com — it wasn't there either." ... "FOX has completely erased the first segment to hide McCain's statement that he "really didn't love America"." ... "They [Rupert Murdoch's Fox News television stations] are the republican propaganda machine." ... "PS This isn't even the first time McCain has said he "didn't really love America" until he was a POW. He's been saying it for years." -YouTube user Jsjkim

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WATCH "FOX Erases McCain Saying He "Really Didn't Love America""

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20080617
Obama - 2008 Election - Internet - Media - Cable Networks - Politics - Religion - Women - "Jon Stewart Mocks Media For Peddling Insane Obama Rumors." ... "On Monday night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart mocked the media's willingness to peddle insane rumors about [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama — and their tendency to blame the rumor-mongering on internet sites. Calling it "Baracknophobia," Stewart showed clips of anchor and pundits from all three cable networks repeating baseless rumors (Muslim, plagiarist, sexist, etc.) about Barack Obama (and his wife Michelle)." -HuffingtonPost.com

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WATCH!-) Jon Stewart on "Baracknophobia" ... "The irrational fear of hope." 

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20080613
Gordon Smith - Oil - Money - Auto - Makers - Oregon - Television - Ad - 2008 Election
"Political ads try to tie Smith to gas prices." ... "An independent Democratic group launched two television ads today that try to tie [Oregon] Republican Senator Gordon Smith to skyrocketing gasoline prices." ... "Both contend that Smith has accepted huge contributions from oil companies and automakers, and that he had voted against higher fuel mileage standards while supporting tax breaks for oil companies." -AP via KTVZ

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WATCH Ad on Gordon Smith oil corporation "Billions"
WATCH Ad on Gordon Smith gasoline "Dollars"

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Tim Russert - Barack Obama - John McCain - Internet - EMail - Media -  - Politics - Religion -Indiana - Illinois- US - Iraq - Iran - Military - Money - Social Security - 2008 Election
[NOTE: On the day MSNBC's Meet the Press television political journalist Tim Russert died, MSNBC published this interview with Tim Russert:]
"Vigilance needed on campaign claims: Big issues, not smears, need to be the focus." ... "Msnbc: Tim, www.fightthesmears.com is a web site launched by the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama campaign to combat potentially damaging rumor about the candidate and his wife, Michelle. Is this necessary?  How big of a problem is this really?" ... "Tim Russert: It’s amazing how much the Internet has changed our lives.  People get emails that make accusations without foundation and they are circulated around the country within seconds and suddenly become topics of conversations around water coolers or in lunchrooms." ... "I remember being in Indianapolis [Indiana's capital] covering the Indiana primary and a man came up to me and said he wasn’t going to vote for [Illinois] Senator Obama because he was very concerned about the comments made by Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor.  I said, “That’s interesting.  As a reporter, I’m curious what comments particularly bothered you?”  He said, “Well, I can’t think of any that come to mind, but I also read on the Internet that he’s a Muslim.”  And I said, “Now wait a minute.  You can’t have both.  You can’t be offended by his Christian minister and then say he’s a Muslim.  You’ve got to pick one.”" ... "But that just underscores what we’re dealing with in this modern era." ... "Now I’m told there’s a counter organization with a very similar name that is going to be positioned and posted to spread the rumors, so that people that go to the Internet to get clarification will go to the wrong web site and get confused." ... "It’s a virus.  You have bloggers on both sides, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats all trying to utilize this vehicle without any kind of fact checking and without any kind of editorial control." ... "Msnbc:  Given the way people use the Internet, do you wonder if there are going to be some things said or done during the course of this campaign that will be very unsettling?" ... "Russert:  That’s what we have to be conscious of and vigilant against, particularly at the end of the campaign as things are put out there.  We’ve already had a few fake videos with different words dubbed in and people say, “This must be true because I saw it on the Internet.”" ... "What we hope to do in this campaign is recognize there are big differences on big issues between John McCain and Barack Obama – the war in Iraq, Iran, Social Security, taxes.  You don’t need to get into this other stuff.  If it does surface, then I think the mainstream media has an obligation not to just instinctively put it out there without vetting it.  Or, if it is something that is manufactured as a virus, report on that – who did it and why.  But sometimes it’s very hard to trace it back to its original source." -MSNBC

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20080611
Racist - Media - Politics - 2008 Election - Obama - Family - Mom
"Fox News calls Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"." ... "An alert reader wrote in just a little while ago to let us know about something he'd spotted on Fox News Wednesday afternoon. During a segment discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of [2008 Election] presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described the former as "Obama's baby mama."" ... "I checked, and sure enough, as you can see below, our e-mailer was right. In fact, that description was displayed on-screen several times during the segment, which featured anchor Megyn Kelly and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, an FNC contributor. " -By Alex Koppelman -Salon

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20080529
• John McCain - Rod Parsley - John Hagee - Military - Terrorism - Religion - Politicians - Homosexuals - Racism - Television - Media - Ohio - Texas - 2008 Election - "In Rebuking Minister, McCain May Have Alienated Evangelicals." ... "The [Republican televangelist, Reverend] Rev. Rod Parsley paces the stage, wiping his forehead and shouting to his congregation in a taped sermon that marriage is under attack by "tortured and angry homosexuals."" ... "During another of his nationally broadcast television shows, he compares Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan, saying that its goal is to "eliminate" blacks. And at another service at his 12,000-member World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, he punches the air and calls Islam a "false religion" that God has told America to destroy." ... ""We were built for battle! We were created for conflict! We get off on warfare!" he adds." ... "Images of one of the nation's rising stars of television evangelism are widely available on DVDs and Web sites, with sermons that are almost certain to inflame some segment of the voting public. But in its quest to secure support from evangelical Christians, the campaign of presumptive [2008 Election] Republican presidential nominee John McCain did not note a long record of inflammatory statements by Parsley and the [Republican televangelist, Reverend] Rev. John Hagee of Texas, another TV evangelist, until long after McCain had accepted their endorsements." ... "The move backfired last week when clips of the ministers' sermons gained national attention, prompting McCain to reject their support. The candidate's abrupt turnabout brought criticism not only from secular viewers, who questioned why he had aligned himself with controversial religious voices, but also from evangelicals, who said he may have alienated a powerful bloc of potential Republican voters." ... "In February, McCain appeared with Parsley to accept his endorsement and called him a "spiritual guide."" ... "He [Parsley] and his family reside in a 7,462-square-foot house, valued at more than $1 million, on a 24-acre gated property." ... "In 2005, Parsley created a voter registration organization called Reformation Ohio, telling Christians that it was time to "lock and load" and to prepare for a "Holy Ghost invasion" of government." (1, 2) -By Kimberly Kindy with contributions by Alice Critics, Meg Smith, and Madonna Lebling -WashingtonPost

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  WATCH Rod Parsley, McCain's "Spiritual Guide" who claims God wants America to destroy Islam, and screamed, "We get off on warfare."

McCain Parsley McCain's "Spiritual Guide" Rod Parsley "We get off on warfare!"

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20080528
• Scott McClellan - Book - Noteworthy - US - Iraq - Corporate - Media - Military - Government - Politics - Marketing - Television - History - Gore - Obama - McCain - Russert - Cheney - "Scott McClellan on the "liberal media"." ... "In a minimally rational world, this extraordinary passage, from the new book by Scott McClellan, would forever slay the single most ludicrous myth in our political culture: The "Liberal Media":"
"If anything, the national press corps was probably too deferential to the [Republican President Bush] White House and to the administration in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq."

"The collapse of the administration's rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise. . . . In this case, the "liberal media" didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served."

"Just consider how remarkable that is. [Republican President] George Bush's own Press Secretary criticizes the American media for being "too deferential" to the Government. He lays the blame for Bush's ability to propagandize the nation on the media's uncritical dissemination of the Republican administration's falsehoods. And most notably of all, McClellan actually uses cynical scare quotes when invoking the phrase which, in conventional political discourse, is deemed the most unassailable truth of all: The Liberal Media." ... "How much longer can this preposterous myth be sustained when even the White House Spokesman not only mocks the phrase but derides the media for being "too deferential" to the right-wing Government "in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during [his] years in Washington"? If one were to set about with the goal of debunking the "Liberal Media" myth -- as Eric Alterman specifically did four years ago and other media critics have more generally done before that -- one couldn't dream up evidence more conclusive than McClellan's admissions." ... "Blindingly conclusive evidence which would -- for any rational person -- forever negate the "Liberal Media" myth has been piling up for years. The extraordinary (though woefully incomplete) 2004 mea culpa from The New York Times acknowledged that not just Judy Miller, but the paper as a whole, re-printed pro-war government claims that were "allowed to stand unchallenged." The Washington Post's own media critic, Howard Kurtz, documented that anti-war views were systematically buried at that paper. The NYTrecently exposed that network and cable news shows for years continuously allowed Pentagon-controlled operatives to masquerade as "independent analysts" spouting the pro-government line with virtually no challenge. And the media's pathological fixation on the Clinton sex scandals -- which led to his impeachment -- stood in stark contrast to the widespread indifference among the citizenry." ... "Beyond all that, are there any reporters left who deny that the campaign-covering media in 2000 was gushingly enamored of [Republican] George Bush and oozing with contempt for [Democratic] Al Gore? Identically, their intense affection for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain is something they openly proclaim; as they shamelessly acknowledge, they're his "base." And while some journalists undoubtedly harbor admiration for [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama, the non-stop coverage of one anti-Obama narrative after the next -- Jeremiah Wright, lapel pins, patriotism "questions," "Bittergate," "problems" with Jewish and white voters -- simply has no parallel in any coverage of McCain." ... "Beyond that objective evidence, just look at the claims which "Liberal Media" complainers make to support their grievance. As examples of "liberal" journalists, they'll cite people like Chris Matthews -- who voted for [Republican] George Bush, and did more than anyone to prop up his image as our Great War Leader and demonize Bush critics. One of the leading examples of a biased "liberal" journalist is therefore someone who actually went on television in late 2005 and said this:"

"I like [Bush]. Everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs, maybe on the left -- I mean -- like him personally."

"Or they'll point to "liberal" Tim Russert -- Tim Russert -- about whom [Republican Vice President] Cheney press aide Cathy Martin said: "I suggested we put the vice president on 'Meet the Press,' which was a tactic we often used. It's our best format, as it allows us to control the message." That's the same "liberal" Tim Russert who confessed that he operates by the defining law of the Government propagandist: "When I talk to senior government officials on the phone, it's my own policy -- our conversations are confidential. If I want to use anything from that conversation, then I will ask permission."" ... "Or look at the recent "controversy" reported by the Associated Press over whether NBC News' reputation as an objective news outlet is being tainted by virtue of the "liberal" commentators MSNBC features. Nobody questioned whether CNN's objectivity was imperiled by featuring the likes of [right-wing commentators] Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs, nor, for that matter, did anyone raise these questions about NBC when, for years, MSNBC shows were hosted by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Joe Scarborough and Michael Savage." ... "But a single unapologetic Bush critic appears on the TV -- Keith Olbermann -- and this rarest of occurrence suddenly leads to controversy over whether the "respectability" of television news can survive while allowing a single "liberal" voice to be heard." -By Glenn Greenwald -Salon

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20080518
• WATCH - John McCain - Iraq - Military - Disaster - Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans - Louisiana - US - Economy - Politics - Author -  - Media - 2008 Election - "McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare." [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain]
[John McCain]

[YouTube Video] "According to Cliff Schecter, author of The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him And Why Independents Shouldn't: "It is dangerous for a democracy when a presidential candidate can lie with impunity, change positions on a whim, and physically and verbally threaten others and virtually none of it is reported by a besotted media eagerly awaiting the next moment when he might slap their backs in friendship." -TheRealMcCain.com -BraveNewFilms.org

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20080516
• Barack Obama - Communications -  - Radio - Media - Market - Government - Politics - 2008 Election - "Obama, Bush at Odds Over Media-Ownership Vote: Democratic Presidential Candidate Urges House of Representatives to Follow Senate's Lead, Scrap FCC's Media-Ownership-Rule Change." ... "The fight over the Federal Communications Commission's [December] Dec. 18 media-ownership vote set up a potential battle between the current president [Republican Bush] and a senator who wants to be the next one." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois]) Thursday urged the House to follow the Senate's lead and pass a resolution of disapproval, an unusual legislative maneuver that would invalidate the FCC's decision to allow TV and radio stations and newspapers to be co-owned in the top 20 markets, subject to some conditions." ... "After the Senate approved the measure, Obama, a co-sponsor of the bill, released a statement saying, "I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to expeditiously pass the legislation."" ... "He framed the vote, as he has before, as standing up to "Washington special interests," a campaign theme. "Our nation’s media market must reflect the diverse voices of our population, and it is essential that the FCC promotes the public interest and diversity in ownership," he said." -By John Eggerton -BroadcastingCable.com

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20080501
• US - Iraq -  - Cameras - Media - Politics - San Diego - California - ""Mission Accomplished," 5 Years Later: Since [Republican President] Bush Announced Major Combat Operations In Iraq Ended, Another 3,924 Troops Have Been Killed." ... "It was a picture-perfect moment, made for the TV cameras, in which a military leader stood before heroes and heroines to declare a victory which seemed to come easier than anyone dared hope, in a conflict which was opposed by many friends and foes alike." ... "May 1 marks the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln." ... "After being landed on the deck of the carrier in an S-3B Viking 30 miles off the coast San Diego [California] (Ari Fleischer said the president "could have helicoptered," but "he wanted to see a landing the way aviators see a landing"), Mr. Bush appeared in a flight suit to the cheers of the ship's personnel and the glare of television lights." ... "Later, he stood at a podium against a backdrop of an enormous banner reading "Mission Accomplished."" ... "To the assembled audience and the world, Mr. Bush said, "Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country." ... ""In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment - yet it is you, the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage - your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other - made this day possible. Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because of you, the tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free." ... ""Tonight, I have a special word for Secretary Rumsfeld, for General Franks, and for all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is grateful for a job well done."" ... "Now in its sixth year, the war in Iraq has claimed the lives of at least 4,058 members of the U.S. military - 3,924 of whom have died since Mr. Bush landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln." ... "And there are currently more U.S. troops in Iraq than there were when the U.S. invaded with a contingent of other coalition forces." -AP via -CBSNews 

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20080427
• Elizabeth Edwards - Edwards - Biden - Barack Obama - Media - Television - Corporations - Sports - Politics - 2008 Election - Pennsylvania - Freedom - Health - "Bowling 1, Health Care 0." ... "For the last month, news media attention was focused on Pennsylvania and its [2008 Election] Democratic primary. Given the gargantuan effort, what did we learn?" ... "Well, the rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But in Pennsylvania, as in the rest of the country this political season, the information about the candidates’ priorities, policies and principles — information that voters will need to choose the next president — too often did not make the cut. After having spent more than a year on the campaign trail with my husband, [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards, I’m not surprised." ... "Why? Here’s my guess: The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country’s inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments." ... "But I am saying that every analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture." ... "Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Joe Biden’s health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama’s bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties." ... "What’s more, the news media cut candidates like Joe Biden out of the process even before they got started." ... "News is different from other programming on television or other content in print. It is essential to an informed electorate. And an informed electorate is essential to freedom itself. But as long as corporations to which news gathering is not the primary source of income or expertise get to decide what information about the candidates “sells,” we are not functioning as well as we could if we had the engaged, skeptical press we deserve." ... "If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it." (1, 2) -By Elizabeth Edwards -NYTimes 

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