“The reason so many Americans who are pro-life and anti-affirmative action or who support gun rights detest the mainstream media is that day after day they fail to see in the media any respect for their views. What they see is a mainstream media seeming to legitimize one side (the media elites agree with) as valid and moral while seeking to cast the other side as narrow, small-minded, and bigoted.”
So wrote Bernard Goldberg, New York Times best-selling author and, for almost three decades, a former member of the elite media establishment. Though written in 2003, the words are quite appropriate to what we are experiencing with the media in the 2008 presidential campaign.
The recent announcement of Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain’s running mate has exposed the contempt of many in the mainstream media to “middle America.” The shock generated by the Palin candidacy has caused near-hysteria among many. We have all read Gene Robinson’s rants about Sarah Palin’s “inexperience” in foreign affairs, opposition to abortion or her support of “intelligent design.” We watch feminists and Democratic commentators decry Gov. Palin’s support for “abstinence only” over mandated sex ed in public school. In a hypocritical turn of events, the same liberals who self-righteously defended Bill Clinton’s public scandals as being “between Bill and his wife” now highlight and lambaste Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter. This being used as an attack against Palin’s Christian beliefs about sex within marriage. What brings this emotion and vitriol against a person holding the views of so many in “middle America”?
The answer lies with a mainstream media primarily made up of liberal, like-minded people.
Individuals who are not part of a conspiracy to slant the news but naturally tend to conform events to their world view. Ted Smith III of Virginia Commonwealth University conducted a detailed and comprehensive study of those making up the mainstream media establishment. His focus was on the national news media. For the sake of brevity, I will not list off all the statistics. The voting patterns of journalists are in overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats, well beyond the national average. Those in the news media overwhelmingly favor abortion rights, gay marriage, and gun control. The following quote from Ted Smith sums up the study: “(there now exists) a huge body of literature − including at least 100 books and research monographs − documenting a widespread left-wing bias in the news.”
Bernard Goldberg explains why the mainstream elites won’t face the bias and see support for Palin as a threat: “Given their arrogance, I should have known that sooner or later they would say, ‘We don’t have a bias problem − and if you think we do, then that proves that you’re the one with the bias problem.’ Never mind that millions of Americans scream about liberal bias in the media; all the journalists say is “you’re the one with the bias!” The emperors of objectivity have been naked for quite some time now, and sadly, they’re the ones who haven’t noticed. ... Their liberal friends in Manhattan and Georgetown share those same views, which practically by definition make them moderate and mainstream.
So the thinking goes, it is all those MIDDLE AMERICANS who take the opposing view on, say, guns or gay marriage who are out of the mainstream, the ones who are on the FRINGE.” As Andrew Sullivan put it: “Only those elite armies of condescension keep marching on, their privates swinging in the breeze.”
Many in the mainstream media look at a person like Sarah Palin and sense the antithesis of everything they hold dear. To add salt to the wound, Gov. Palin went to University of Idaho (clearly not “Ivy league!) and has lived a small town life. Conditioned through media peers and superiors to believe only a “fringe” of “middle Americans” support gun rights, Christian beliefs and traditional marriage, they become angry and confused. They lash out, in subconscious hatred, at the symbol of middle America, Sarah Palin. American support for Palin shows “they,” the elite media, are actually on the “fringe.” In anger, they move beyond even the pretense of objectivity and attempt to find some kind of “dirt” on Sarah Palin to tarnish her image. Anything to bring her down and ensure “their” candidate, Barack Obama, is elected. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule and many fine objective journalists, particularly at the local and state level. However, liberals like Gene Robinson predominate at the national level.
My advise to Gov. Sarah Palin: Ignore the talking heads and hold fast to what you believe. The majority of Americans are “middle Americans” and know biased reporting and condescending attitudes when they see them. When the garbage is thrown your way, understand the source and motivations. Don’t attempt to become “liked” by the media establishment. Nothing you do can appease their desire to destroy you and your candidacy. Just look past them into the cameras and speak to the American people. We are waiting for true leaders.
Attorney Bill Connor of Orangeburg is a regular contributor to The Times and Democrat. He is author of the book Articles From War about his experiences in Afghanistan (www.bbotw.com).