Sunday, November 15, 2009

Post #4: Cable News Media Coverage of the November 2009 Elections

What Happened
On November 3, 2009, the American people were drawn to the polls to fulfill their civic obligations – the right to elect their representatives. As this electoral cycle came to its end, cable news networks of the political Left and Right drew different conclusions on the election results. While the Left advanced the idea that this election was of no real national significance, the Right, in contrast, underscored the national significance of the election as a referendum on the President.

My Take
Irrespective of the way in which this election is viewed, it is clear the coverage of this event was problematic. It was simply too focused. The media seemed arbitrarily interested in only five or six elections, and (New Jersey Gubernatorial Election, Virginia gubernatorial Election, New York’s 23rd Congressional Election, New York City Mayoral Election, and the Texas State Constitutional Amendment) it never provided any explanation as to why these elections were more important than the others. I do not understand why the cable news networks did not focus on the mayoral Elections in Atlanta (particularly CNN, which is headquartered in Atlanta) Houston, Boston, Detroit, and Pittsburg. I am equally interested in the media’s choice to downplay and exclude ballot initiatives in places like Maine and Washington.

Significant?
I am not sure that this cycle of elections was truly significant. As I mentioned before, there are many who view this cycle as a virtual referendum on President Obama. However, I respectfully disagree with this assertion for three reasons. Lets take the New Jersey Gubernatorial elections as an example. While many conservatives chose to view Chris Christie’s win over Jon Corzine as a vote against President Obama, I believe it was more of a reflection of the dissatisfaction of New Jerseyans with Governor Corzine’s policies. In fact, according to a CNN Research Poll, six out of every ten New Jersey voters said that the President had no effect on the their vote in the Gubernatorial election. So, in reality, it seems that Corzine was voted out of office because of issues such as taxes. For example, in New Jersey, property taxes have increased by fifty percent since 2000, and remain among the highest in the country.
Even if these election results were indicative of the public’s dissatisfaction with the President, it is very important to view these election results in context. There has always been a history of temporary “buyers remorse” in the year following the election of a new president. People always want the president to fix more problems. This is normal.
While it is perfectly normal for the American public to want the President to fix more problems in the administration’s first year, I believe that it has been particularly unrealistic as far as what this President can accomplish in such a short time. Given the enormity and difficulty of the problems that the current President faces, I do not think that we can expect him to bring about sweeping change in 10 months.
With that said, I am happy with what the President has achieved thus far. Among other accomplishments, he has saved the economy from the brink of collapse; restored a sense of optimism and faith in America both domestically and internationally; negotiated the release of American hostages from North Korea; demonstrated a firm commitment to international cooperation; opened a new chapter in relations with the Russian Federation; and is currently making significant progress on nuclear nonproliferation.
I do not think that we should play down any election, as all elections are important. But at the same time, these results should not be exaggerated. This exaggeration (both of those downplay and underscoring the significance election results) has led different media outlets to come to diametrically opposed conclusions. This type of media coverage is unacceptable. In the end, our democracy atrophies as a result of the manipulation of the American people by cable media networks.

No comments:

Post a Comment