Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Political softball

I once heard a reporter say, "How can anyone be in the news business and be a Republican?"

Hello, McFly! It's a free country. People are entitled to their opinions. Unfortunately, many times those opinions are painfully obvious to the viewer. The "liberal news media" gets that tag because our national news primarily originates in three liberal leaning cities: New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. There are cable networks that skew the other way. In many cases, the network you watch or the newspaper you read is not because of information, but affirmation.

If you're a reporter, you spend a lot of time talking with politicians. Over the years I met some who I grew to like personally. Some were Republicans, some were Democrats. Some were just nice to reporters, never ducked a question, and seemed to be generally interested in helping the public. Others wouldn't have brought a tear if they were hit by a bus.

It is only natural to treat nice people better than those who aren't. But in any matter of political coverage, you have to do your best to put your personal feelings aside. Lately I've been watching some of the biggest softballs lobbed at politicians during the presidential campaign, and that's not our job. I swear that if a certain candidate came to an abrupt halt, a certain network reporter would break his nose.

Giving a candidate a hanging curve ball over the plate doesn't do the public any good. It is our job to get the facts, present them and let the viewers decide. Lobbing softballs isn't right, and it is often obvious the the average viewer.

Hard news like politics demands hardball questions. Fire away.



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