Newt and the Press

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/12/newt-and-the-press

Hendrik Hertzberg, writing in the New Yorker:

In this campaign, Gingrich's performances in televised debates have been widely deemed effective. But what has won him his most visceral cheers from the audiences in the halls—audiences shaped and coarsened by years of listening to talk radio and watching Fox News—is his sneering attacks on moderators, especially those representing the hated "liberal" media.

The only one allowed to sneer, apparently, is Mr. Hertzberg.

Actually, I shouldn't sneer at Mr. Hertzberg, because though we come from different ideological angles, we actually have a similar analysis. From my column this week, The Case for Newt, up here at the New York Sun and here at Reason.com:

He's been much tougher on the press than the other candidates. In the June 13, 2011, CNN New Hampshire debate, for example, Mr. Gingrich pushed back against CNN's John King: "John, you mischaracterized me." Later, he answered a question on immigration by calling the premise of a question "nonsense," saying, "there are humane, practical steps to solve this problem, if we can get the politicians and the news media to just deal with it honestly." At the November 9, 2011, CNBC debate, he said, "it's sad that the news media doesn't report accurately how the economy works."...A campaign that understands and conveys that the left-wing press and President Obama, not the other Republicans, are the enemies attracts a certain amount of appreciation from the Republican primary electorate.

My goodness, with the leading Republican presidential candidate surging to the top of the field in part on the strength of his complaints about press bias, you'd think it might be a good time to launch a Web site focused on that issue.

by Editor  |  Dec 12, 2011 at 1:09 pm Related Topics:  Politics, Press receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list