Working the Ref

The liberal media. We've all heard so much about the liberal media, but like the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot, very few people have ever actually seen it. Sure, we hear about it all the time but where exactly is it? Who is it? How can I find it?

Well, fear not my friends. I'm here to tell you today that the scarier than communism boogeyman called "the liberal media" does not exist. A study released this week by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University has concluded that over the first 6 weeks of the general election, reporting of the two major party candidates by the big 3 news stations can be broken down as follows:

Obama 28% positive reporting, 72% negative.
McCain 43% positive, 57% negative.

So there you have it. Concrete numbers that put to rest the myth of the "liberal media". And how on earth could the media possibly find that many positive things to say about McSame? Stunning.

What this all comes down to, and always has, is the political equivalent of "working the ref". The neo-cons are masters at bitching and complaining at the slightest hint of parity in political reporting. So they scream and yell and work the ref and what do you know, suddenly the media are on the defensive and start going out of their way to prove that they aren't biased. At the same time, the "average Joe" hears the unending drum beat of the neo-con media machine with the result that the uninformed masses buy into the myth of the liberal media. Brilliant.