There was a ton of new stuff posted over this past week on the political blog that I'm following. As you already know, this blog is all about following the media and different sites, TV channels, and radio stations. There's not much about the actual politics themselves; there's just more information about how the media portrays the candidates, the political parties, and the debates. Michael Calderone updates his blog several times through out the day so there's a ton of new stuff on there. I decided to focus on his posts over the last few days (10/14, 10/15, 10/16).
Last night, after the debate, there were many new updates on Calderone's blog. Many feel as though Obama won the debate last night hands-down. On Fox, Frank Lunster (Fox's pollster) asked everyone at Fox who they thought wont he debate. An over-whelming majority believed that Barack Obama was the clear winner. I'm going to have to agree. Obama has a presense and ease about him that is easy to listen to and follow. He didn't get worked up. I feel like McCain, on the other hand, was tense and angered throughout the debate. I think that Obama won the debate, and Calderone posted about how many others in the media feel the same way.
Today, Calderone posted an update entitled "Obama v. Fox."
He says, "Barack Obama's swinging back at Fox News."
I was very unaware of the fact that Barack Obama feels as though he is negatively portrayed on the Fox News station. Apparently, people have been falsely stating that Obama voted for a tax increase for those in America who make under $50,000. This is untrue, and Obama was very upset about it, rightfully so. Last night during the debate, he said "even Fox news disputes it, and that doesn't happen very often when it comes to accusations about me." He's clearly taking a stab at Fox News when he says this because he's saying that normally, Fox doesn't dispute any false accusations about Obama. In this past Sunday's NY Times Magazine cover story, Obama brings up fox as well. He says:
"I am convinced that if there were no Fox News, I might be two or three points higher in the polls. If I were watching Fox News, I wouldn't vote for me, right? Because the way I'm portrayed 24/7 is as a freak! I'm a latte-sipping, New York Times-reading, Volvo-driving, no-gun-owning, effete, politically correct, arrogant liberal. Who wants somebody like that?"
Even Obama's communications director agrees that Fox really isn't very fair when talking about the candidates when he says "fair and admirable reporters at Fox are the exception rather than the rule." I think that America has to do their own research and become informed on their own. We can not always rely on the news channels to deliver us accurate information.
After Obama's comments towards Fox; they fired back:
Fox pretty much says that both Obama and McCain have complained about Fox, but they think that it's only because Fox asks tough questions and neither candidate can take the heat.
I think it is very interesting that Obama thinks that he would be a few points higher in the polls if it wasn't for Fox News! When I first read that, I wasn't sure if Fox News had that much of an impact or not, but after I thought about it I think that it really could. Think about it. Every single morning, afternoon, and evening; people are watching the news. Whether it be Fox or any other news station, people listen to, trust, and rely on the new channels. I think if Fox portrayed Obama in a negative way; people would start to look at him in a negative way. The media is extremely powerful, and it definitely comes into play when people decide who they are going to vote for.
I found these videos to be really surprising and worth watching. They're Fox News reports about Obama.
1 comment:
This is a really good blog post. It is well written and I really like the photo and links. I was very surprised to hear about the Fox News situation. I had heard before that both candidates had been criticized by fox but did not know it was directed at one more then the other. Also, I liked reading your post on your blog because mine is very similar and it is easy to compare and contrast.
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