Is the Media Really Helpless to Challenge Palin?Randy Shawbyline‚ Sep. 16‚ 2008Prior to Charlie Gibson’s interview of Sarah Palin last week, Chris Mathews of MSNBC’s Hardball asked Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker why the media was not focusing on Palin’s lack of experience. Lizza responded that Palin’s scant political background made this a critical question, but that the McCain campaign had done such a good job of “working the refs” (by claiming that the media was anti-McCain and that questioning Palin was “sexist”) that the media was not highlighting the issue. Of course, nothing stops Matthews from devoting his hour-long show to Palin’s qualifications; news shows did this in the matter of Reverend Wright. But others have echoed Lizza’s assessment, as the traditional media seeks excuses for not doing its job. Do attacks on the media really prevent adverse coverage, or does this only apply when conservatives are doing the attacking? |