Kucinich complains of media bias
Originally published in the Akron Beacon Journal
Posted on Mon, Nov. 24, 2003
Kucinich complains of media bias
Democratic presidential hopeful says press is marginalizing his campaign
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer
In the parlance of the hip-hop generation, presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich can't get any love from the media.
The four-term U.S. congressman on several occasions has complained that political reporters have slapped a voter advisory label -- Can't win -- on him and have given his presidential aspirations short shrift. It's a situation that the Lakewood Democrat says is more than vexing: It's downright unfair.
Kucinich's campaign press secretary, David Swanson, said that some members of the national media think it's their responsibility, and not the voters' job, ``to narrow the field.''
He added that the mass media have sought to marginalize Kucinich and belittle his chances.
``The media has a passion for covering elections like a horse race, saying who is ahead in the polls by an inch, rather than covering the issues, the candidates' platforms and what they will mean for America if elected,'' Swanson said.
Too many political reporters, pundits and columnists, he complained, have donned the mantle of ``gatekeeper... deciding for their readers which candidates are electable.''
For example, earlier this month, after Howard Dean announced his endorsement by three labor unions, several news organizations declared Dean ``unstoppable,'' ``pulling away from the pack'' and ``the man to beat.''
Swanson said when the media declare who is and isn't a serious contender, even before the first primaries are held, that's a danger to democracy.
``Saying who is in the first tier, who is in the second tier, disempowers people,'' he said.``... People get the feeling that someone powerful is making the decisions, that their vote won't make a difference, so they lose interest in voting.''
News editors counter by saying their coverage is linked to measurable components like poll standings and fund-raising figures.
According to the November findings of the leading polls, when individuals who identified themselves as Democrats or leaning Democratic were asked who they would most likely support for the party nomination, Kucinich scored near the bottom. No more than 3 percent of the respondents in the CBS/New York Times, Newsweek, NBC/Wall Street Journal and Gallup polls said they would vote for Kucinich.
In those same polls, Dean, Wesley Clark, Richard Gephardt and Joe Lieberman routinely came in as the top vote-getters.
Likewise, when it comes to money raised, Kucinich lags far behind other Democratic candidates. The reported $3.35 million in his war chest compares to $25 million for Dean, $20 million for John Kerry, $13.6 million for Gephardt and $11.7 million for Lieberman.
Fairness in reporting
Kelly McBride is on the ethics faculty of the Poynter Institute, a school dedicated to teaching working journalists. She is well aware of Kucinich's complaint.
``It's still early in the race,'' she said, ``and newsrooms need to be careful about space for candidates and not favor one or two candidates over the others.''
However, she added that newsrooms ``can't ignore the fact'' that there are front-runners.
``It's not a problem to repeat what the polls are saying,'' McBride said.
But she added that it is a problem when newsrooms ``interpret'' the polls with ``loaded'' words like ``fringe'' candidate or characterize a campaign as a ``vanity'' run -- both terms pinned on Kucinich.
``I'm not a purist, and I know you can't give inch-for-inch coverage,'' McBride said. ``But as journalists, we have to make sure we are covering the Democratic hopefuls rather than covering Clark and Dean.''
Still, when nine Democrats are vying for the nomination, the balancing act in terms of coverage becomes more difficult.
``When you have nine candidates, you are going to have complaints about fairness,'' said Peter Bhatia, executive editor of The Oregonian, Portland's daily newspaper, and president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
``I read our paper, the New York Times and many other papers when I'm traveling,'' Bhatia said, ``and I think we (newspapers) are doing a good job.... I'm getting a sense of the candidates from what I'm reading.''
John Green is director of the University of Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute, which specializes in the study of political campaigns. He said that Kucinich's complaint of bias in the media's campaign coverage is nothing new.
``It's a legitimate complaint,'' Green said. ``The media, particularly television, cover elections like a horse race. It's who's ahead, who's going to win.''
Green said he has seen many newscasts in which Kucinich has been referred to as the ``long-shot candidate'' or the ``fringe candidate.''
The only way for Kucinich -- or any candidate -- to tip the balance of media coverage his way, Green said, is to do something dramatic.
During a recent debate held by Planned Parenthood, Kucinich, who is divorced, suggested that he could star in a reality television show to help him find a first lady. The Web site www.PoliticsNH.com, picking up on the Kucinich quip, started a contest for ``Who wants to be a first lady?''
To underscore his point about media bias, Swanson, Kucinich's press secretary, complained that ``more people know that Kucinich made a joke about looking for a first lady than they know about his platform.''
But Green wasn't thinking about a televised personal ad when he was talking about boosting media presence.
``What a candidate has to do,'' Green said, ``is demonstrate progress in raising money or progress in rising in the polls. A 10 percent rise in the polls, and suddenly you become a factor.''
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