‘Liberal media’ myth dead? It’s just getting started …
Glenn Greenwald suggests that Scott McClellan’s new book should once and for all put to rest complaints of a liberal media. It should. It won’t. In fact, expect the cries of “liberal media!” to get louder than ever this summer and fall.
Greenwald’s Salon piece cites McClellan’s criticism of the press for its complicity in the run-up to war:
“In this case, the ‘liberal media’ didn’t live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served.”
Notice, however, that McClellan doesn’t say media people aren’t liberal. They just failed to do their job. That’s not the same as my view, for example, that many large media outlets are little more than propaganda machines for the conservative establishment that did their jobs extremely well.
Nope. Now there’s a new talking point. The disaster was caused by the failure of the liberal media. Liberals are to blame for the war, just like they’re responsible for every other problem in the view of conservatives.
For a glimpse into the future, look no further than the concerted effort of the Republican Party and Fox News to discredit NBC. Ed Gillespie, George Bush’s counselor, is busy whining about MSNBC’s news division blurring with its liberal commentators. We’ve seen many examples of this, such as MSNBC’s almost non-stop bashing of Jeremiah Wright, and of Barack Obama for not repudiating him soon enough. How liberal! Chris Matthews is far left, according to Mr. Gillespie. You remember Chris Matthews, they guy whose gushing adoration for George Bush in his Mission Accomplished costume would have made Bill O’Reilly blush? Yep, that liberal Chris Matthews.
Soon, coverage of McClellan’s book will be further proof of liberal bias in the media, just as coverage of economic problems is dismissed as a partisan attack. The failure of reporters to expose conservatives’ version of The Truth About Barack Obama is another obvious example of liberal bias.
The myth ain’t dead. It’s just getting started.
p.s.: Scott, thanks for the compliment. We always knew that being fair and balanced was the hallmark of a liberal media …
