Clik here to view.
In the Feb. 1 issue of Dig Boston, Dan Schneider, of the Boston Occupier, wrote that the media is too concerned about what he called the “horse race” of the Republican primaries, and not focusing on the candidates’ “ideological differences” purely to make the race more “entertaining.”
I won’t defend every corner of the media—who would?—but there’s been a lot of great reporting on all the candidates. The spotlight revealed Rick Perry’s memory problems, we were regaled with New Gingrich and Mitt Romney’s varying positions on the individual mandate, and the media pressured Romney to release his tax returns and then scoured them for dirt and stories after he did.
So I’m not really sure what Schneider is asking for. No narratives? No polling data? Less “entertaining” stories? It doesn’t sound like he’s asking for any more reporting, just less colorful language maybe.
Schneider writes about the “idea of a narrative” as though it was a plot device invented by reporters to make stories more interesting. Actually, I think it’s helpful to have some chronological context mixed into a news story.
Imagine learning that Herman Cain had dropped out of the race without the benefit of knowing he did so after all those sexual harassment allegations started dropping his poll numbers – and apparently rankling his wife.
We’d all be pretty ignorant without the narrative. The narrative and the non-policy actions a candidate takes tell us about his or her character.
I’m sure everyone who pays attention to politics has cursed a poll at some point, but I don’t see the point in ignoring them. Some polls are right on; some are way off. They’re like weather forecasters. It’s pretty telling that to bolster his point, Schneider relied on Edison Research exit polling.
Finally, Schneider seems to take exception to people who follow politics simply for the drama of it all. “All of this is done, it seems, in the interest of making things more entertaining.” Well not for Schneider, I guess. I wonder if he takes similar issues with literature? “Where is Nabokov’s discussion of recidivism rates for sexual predators? Why didn’t Rushdie also include a more traditional reading of the Quaran for comparison?” If he wants to read rebukes of candidate’s policies, there are plenty of commentators and opinion writers who do little else. Some of us would be disappointed if that was all that was available.
Back to the horses. If you’re going to flog a tired old cliché, at least add something new to make it relevant, say a story about Mitt’s all-oat diet leading up to his win in Florida or an analysis of Newt’s trainer’s past success at the Belmont Stakes.
If Schneider is able to come up with anything in presidential politics that could have just as easily been torn from the Daily Racing Form, I will eat a bucket of hay.
ANDY METZGER IS A REPORTER FOR THE SOMERVILLE JOURNAL AND AN ASSISTANT EDITOR OF THE CAMBRIDGE CHRONICLE. DUDE LOVES HIM SOME POLITICS.