The Mainstream Press is the Democrat Press
By Dennis Melby
The local Washington region we live in the perfect storm area for the Democratic party. The majority of television, print and on-line media follow a left-wing agenda. The first time I ran for office as a Republican, Richard Nixon was president, and the media hated him and most Republicans – and it’s only gotten worse since then.
After Washington Post reporters were able to assist in the downfall of one president, that gain in notoriety and fame skewed the reporting so that today most news people go the anti-Republican route. Add to that the fact that now there are far fewer newspapers and periodicals, hardly any local news, and a blossoming of on-line media driven by the number of views or clicks on each article. Articles with the most clicks generate the most revenue, so headlines and stories have to be so outlandish that they will hold the reader’s attention. With that plus the far-left slant, pro-Democrat is the way to go.
No matter which party controls the White House and Congress the local and national media skews left. Most call it mainstream media – I call it Democrat media, because that’s the result of coverage and editorial content. The public is fed a constant diet of anti-Republican fodder, the results of which are anti-Republican rallies, demonstrations and votes. Even the local school boards and teachers consume a diet of far-left reporting, and it shows in their education policies and the views of many of their students.
A few sources go in the opposite direction, but they’re far outnumbered by the left and the Democrats. It’s hard to say it’s balanced when the ratio is about 10 to 1, but with the expansion of technology (and the arrival of the Murdochs and talk radio) there is a little more conservative choice now than there was years ago – and the left and the Democrats hate it.
Conservatives, moderates and Republicans need to follow a number of balanced sources to get a full picture of politics. And they need to answer when articles and reports go so far beyond the pale that even mainstream Democrats joke about how bad the stories are. When we answer we should do it the way we want the coverage to be – fair, factual, and not condescending. All the “You’re an idiot – No, you’re an idiot” talk gets us nowhere. The arguing on Facebook and Twitter makes the commenters feel good, but it changes no one’s opinion when it comes to politics or society.
Perhaps one day we’ll see a more balanced media which will lead to a broader and more social discussion on all the issues so important from our local towns to our national government. Like all politics it will start with us.