Sunday, May 18, 2008
Blame The Media
It is a sign of desperation when one blames the media. On the other hand, there are times when the media should be faulted for jumping too quickly or falling into a herd mentality. Hillary Clinton appears to be suffering both from desperation and a media that has jumped to a conclusion. It doesn't help that her opponent is pulling huge crowds.
Still, there is little advantage to turning one's fire publicly on reporters unless one is sure others will follow. Only a few have won this gambit. It is better quietly to let reporters know they have made a mistake and to let the editorial process issue a correction. Of course, a correction rarely carries the impact of an initial story but in the databases, the original article and correction will live together. That, however, is of little consequence to one fighting for her political life today. There is no long-term resolution of an error in her favor if Hillary fails to gain the nomination. So, she is trying for the long shot. She is telling supporters to ignore the press and to listen to her.
What else can she do?
Still, there is little advantage to turning one's fire publicly on reporters unless one is sure others will follow. Only a few have won this gambit. It is better quietly to let reporters know they have made a mistake and to let the editorial process issue a correction. Of course, a correction rarely carries the impact of an initial story but in the databases, the original article and correction will live together. That, however, is of little consequence to one fighting for her political life today. There is no long-term resolution of an error in her favor if Hillary fails to gain the nomination. So, she is trying for the long shot. She is telling supporters to ignore the press and to listen to her.
What else can she do?
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