Media Blackout

I'm not sure where or when it happened, whether it is a concerted effort or independently decided by every nearly major news organization in the USA, and I'm not sure how far it goes or exactly why it exists, but there is a media blackout on Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul. I didn't want to believe it when Paul rarely got coverage after Iowa and New Hampshire, but after Michigan, I'm beginning to really believe this exists. The problem with such a theory is that it is so hard to prove. I don't have access to memos or emails that go out to journalists or editors saying "Do not report on Ron Paul." This makes it very easy for anyone to dismiss the idea as completely conspiratorial.

But, don't take my word for it. Look through the recent articles about the GOP race for oneself.

The problem exists in both TV and print. If a reference at all is made, it is usually just a name with a number beside it (indicating the primary results or the latest polling data) or a negative blog under a major organization that lacks fact and merit. No editorializing of Ron Paul takes place, no statement from him or his campaign, no question about it really.

Take the recent opinion editorial in the Wall Street Journal as an example. It discusses the "jumbled GOP" after the results of the MI primary. The Wall Street Journal's article "No Standard Bearer" (Jan 16, 2008) even goes so far as to claim that Giuliani and Thompson were winners after Michigan because of the fact that there is no clear frontrunner.

Wall Street Journal:

The candidates now head into Saturday's South Carolina primary for what can only be called a free-for-all. Rudy Giuliani is delighted, because the lack of a clear frontrunner means the race might still be jumbled on January 29 in Florida, where he has staked his claim.

Another winner yesterday was Fred Thompson, who is competitive in South Carolina and is running as the conservative who can unite the GOP's fractious wings. The former Tennessee Senator has laid out an impressive policy map, but he's suffered in early contests because his heart and energy didn't seem to be in the race.

Not even a mention of Ron Paul despite the fact that Paul beat both Fred and Rudy quite heartily. Despite the fact that Rudy Giuliani has yet to show any major competitive threat to Romney, McCain and Huckabee in the primaries thusfar, he is still talked about as if he is a major player in this election. Granted, his Florida strategy buys him time before serious scrutiny will take place, but now, after losing an enormous primary (one that name recognition alone should have brought him in higher than Thompson), why do all these media outlets suddenly act as if Giuliani could still really show up in Florida? I think he could........but only with the media's help. Be prepared for talk of how Giuliani is polling high in Florida (even though the polls before MI had him lock-stepping with McCain and Huckabee coming up fast); be prepared for the media that so richly criticized Rudy's original plan to start to talk a little about the cleverness of it; be prepared for Rudy to be talked about more and more, the closer we get to Florida. Prepare for little to no mention of Ron Paul, even if he comes in 4th in South Carolina. And before you know it, Rudy does well in Florida.

No one is willing to admit the truth about Rudy Giuliani and his campaign. Rudy Giuliani is a Fringe Candidate! His name is losing its value faster than the US Dollar, he has yet to garner even 50,000 votes from over 1.1 million voters so far nationally (which is only 4 %), and yet he always finds a way to creep into any media outlet.

Here's the real score so far....

Current National Tally
1. Mitt Romney = 443,139 (38.88 %)
2. John McCain = 299,848 (26.31 %)
3. Mike Huckabee = 207,308 (18.19 %)
4. Ron Paul = 84,554 (7.42 %)
5. Fred Thompson = 50,925 (4.46 %)
6. Rudy Giuliani = 49,198 (4.31 %)
7. Duncan Hunter = 4,567 (0.4 %)
= 1,139,539 Votes in total in 2 GOP Primaries & 1 Caucus

In fact, to make matters worse, there are several instances of incorrect figures from the Michigan primaries finding their way into graphs and stats from major news organizations.

Lou Dobbs talks about how all the presidential candidates - Democrat and Republican - fail to address important issues head-on, like the War in Iraq, Immigration, and the looming economic crisis. Ron Paul has hardly been silent on any of those three issues. The only candidate not filling the debates with more patriotic rhetoric.

New York Times tries to indicate by their scorecard of election results that it is a five-way race, despite Thompson and Giuliani having zero affirmed delegates. In this case where there is a "tie" for last place, perhaps alphabetical order may be a good organizing principle; also, there is popular vote. Adding the votes from all the primaries held thusfar, Ron Paul comes in 4th, in front of Thompson 5th, and Giuliani 6th.

Boston Globe - Front Page Graph says Ron Paul came in 5th place at 4% behind Thompson's 6%, which is completely inaccurate. Those figures should be reversed. No mention of Ron Paul in the article either, but reference made to both Fred and Rudy. The graph an honest mistake? Perhaps. But its a mistake that shouldn't have happened and one the paper can easily sweep aside.

Fox News Main Website around 10:00 am this morning. Pictures of 5 candidates. 2 of which did quite poorly in Michigan. One who came in fourth in Michigan and is surprisingly absent. Notice the ironic "Inflation Alert" right above it: ironic both in that Fox is inflating the horse race into something it is not and in that Ron Paul is the only candidate to really bring up the problems inflation is having on the US economy.

But, then again, there are a few rays of hope in Ron Paul's recent media coverage:
Charleston City Paper editorial about Ron Paul being the Johnny Cash of American Politics.

The Los Angeles Times blog talks about Ron Paul beating both Giuliani and Thompson....again. (L.A. Times has been by and large more fair in their coverage of Paul, from what I've seen. Good for them.)

The Arab American News gave its endorsements to Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich prior to the Michigan Primary and has consistently had better coverage of Ron Paul and the election in general than the mainstream media.

As one final nail in the coffin of mainstream media coverage, its a shame that one has to leave the country of the election to find decent coverage of a candidate like Ron Paul. Here's a story from Russian Television: