NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: MSM, Pundits Got NH Wrong
Clinton's come-from-behind moment came on the same evening that John McCain -- all but buried by the press last summer -- was winning New Hampshire's Republican primary. And it was five days after Mike Huckabee, all but ignored by the media for most of 2007, won in Iowa.
The series of blown calls amount to the shakiest campaign performance yet by a profession seemingly addicted to snap judgments and crystal-ball pronouncements. Not since the networks awarded Florida to Al Gore on Election Night 2000 has the collective media establishment so blatantly missed the boat.
The reasons are legion: News outlets are serving up more analysis and blogs to remain relevant in a wired world. Many cash-strapped organizations are spending less on field reporting, and television tries to winnow a crowded field for the sake of a better narrative. Cable shows and Web sites provide a gaping maw to be filled with fresh speculation. Tracking polls fuel a conventional wisdom that feeds on itself. The length of today's campaigns provides more twists and turns long before most voters tune in. And there is a natural journalistic tendency to try to peer around the next corner.
Considering the wild, unsubstantiated stories of murder and mayhem in the Superdome during the height of the storm, The Stiletto would argue that Katrina was the media’s Katrina.
Interesting analysis! I would offer something else: There are thousands,or probably more like some millions, who do not read papers or even understand "talking heads" on TV. They have no idea how to vote, and simply listen to those people around them, whether relatives or local gossip, or whatever. There is no thought!
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