News Media Coverage of 2016 Presidential Election - Fair or Biased? Fox, CNN and MSNBC duke it out for ratings!

.

After the first caucus and primary and the stunning results to the prognostications of political pundits what have we learned?

The most dominant and controversial news media story this election season was the Comcast - MSNBC decision to depoliticize their left-leaning, progressive liberal news slant and attempt to compete as a real journalistic news organization.

Of course, the liberals were shocked and denounced the move, conservative citadel Fox News probably liked the chaos in their competitor, CNN did not like a challenge to their false claim of being the only source of fair and balanced reporting, and the radical mouthpieces of the old MSNBC screamed as they were ushered out the door.

Chris Matthew

Lawrence O’Donnell

In the ensuing months the MSNBC line up went through painful shake ups at the anchor and reporting levels and the results have been interesting to date.  Unfortunately, MSNBC has continued to over-expose the old progressive-liberal anchors, guests, and reporters.

Rachel Maddow

Chris Hayes

People like Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell continue to trash Republicans in general, Trump in particular, and anyone not agreeing with their leftist views.  The result for the New Hampshire primary, Fox garnered 4.17 million viewers, CNN 2.73 million viewers, and MSNBC 1.75 million viewers.

Overall cable news did quite well since all the major networks were running new shows for the Sweeps period.  The Iowa caucus spectacle still drew higher ratings but a real battle between Fox and CNN is in place, and if MSNBC can continue to improve by eliminating the liberal bias and report more news, they could become a major force.

Brian Williams

More than anything else MSNBC needs continuity.  In order to accommodate their anchor egos the election coverage is broken up between the return of Brian Williams and the revolving door of worn out radicals trashing the latest news developments rather than reporting the news.

A single host with alternating partners could solve the problem but the anchor should have no baggage and most MSNBC anchors have baggage.  The sad news is that there are rising stars at MSNBC, the next generation of anchors and reporters, who are free of the bias in their reporting and entertaining to watch.  They are getting lost in the constantly changing faces of election night coverage.

If I wanted to compete with CNN and eventually Fox here are the rising stars I would push to the forefront at MSNBC, the latest of the new journalists you should check out because of their news sense, journalistic principles, charisma, and camera presence.

Chuck Todd

Chuck Todd and Willie Geist are the most underutilized of all on air personalities.  However, Chuck would be a great news analyst while Willie, effectively buried on the ego driven Morning Joe Show, could be one of those rare anchors who do not take themselves too seriously.

Willie Geist

Potential anchors

Steve Kornaski

Gigi Stone Woods

Reporters

Hallie Jackson

Jane Timm

Kate Snow

Anderson Cooper

Of course CNN has some of the same problem, too many old and worn out anchors and is slow to recognize and promote those fresh voices and faces.  Continuity is also a problem but they do have some underutilized people and new faces.

Erin Burnett

Anderson Cooper remains one of the most unbiased and entertaining anchors on the air and Erin Burnett brings a lot of objectivity to the desk.  Between them, they have helped drive CNN closer to Fox in the ratings.  If they shared the anchor desk throughout the election night broadcast, the results could be interesting.

Here are the rising stars at CNN.

Anchors

Poppy Harlow

Reporters

Brianna Keilar

          

As Variety Magazine reported on the Nielsen survey of the election to date:

February 10, 2016 | 11:23AM PT

Rick Kissell

Senior Editor @ratesrick

Fox News Channel finished on top in both the demo (narrowly over CNN) and total viewers Tuesday as it and the other cable news networks combined for another sizable slice of the viewership pie with coverage of the New Hampshire primary.

Despite going up against all-original sweeps programming on the broadcast networks, Fox News Channel (4.17 million), CNN (2.73 million) and MSNBC (1.75 million) drew 8.65 million viewers during primetime, according to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen. Last night’s tune-in for the cable networks was well above average for a typical Tuesday but couldn’t quite match the record-setting tune-in eight nights earlier for coverage of the surprising results in the Iowa caucuses (10.16 million).

For Fox News, whose Tuesday coverage was anchored by Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly, last night’s average audience represents the second highest ever for a night of primary coverage, behind only its 4.46 million for the Iowa caucuses.

After finishing second to CNN in the key news demo of adults 25-54 on the night of the Iowa caucuses, FNC moved to the top spot on Tuesday. It averaged about 992,000 viewers in the age group, with CNN a close second (951,000) and MSNBC (494,000) drawing about half the total of its rivals.

CNN reported that CNN Digital’s traffic surpassed last week’s record-setting audience on the day of the Iowa Caucuses, with more than 7 million unique visitors and 15 million page views on CNNPolitics.com. Nearly 3 million unique users engaged on CNN’s mobile app and there were 13 million unique visitors for CNN Digital overall.

Tuesday night proved to be a big one for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, who scored huge victories for their respective parties. Next up on the political front are a Democratic debate on Thursday (PBS) and a Republican debate on Saturday (CBS).

.

The Crucifixion of Chris Christie

.

Once upon a time a bunch of political partisans, special interests, defenders of the faith and powerful interests got together to decide what was in the best interest of the people without bothering to ask the people what they thought or wanted.

 

The media at the time did their best through the use of lies, deception, deceit and demagoguery to undermine the credibility of someone who just wanted to help the people and teach them the power of love.  So the media whipped up a frenzy in the people to destroy this person.

 

Unfortunately, for the hordes of special interests calling for his destruction, their success in winning public support was fleeting and the malicious and deceptive facade was exposed and crumbled before nightfall of the Crucifixion.

 

And then came the Resurrection - reinforcing that the people, not the media, not the radical special interests or the crooked politicians who tried to control the people's minds and will through corrupt government, financial institutions and a disregard for the truth, that the people would overcome.

 

This was proven by the test of time as billions of people today embrace the teaching of the lonely voice in the wilderness crucified over 2,000 years ago.

 

When the intent of the Crucifiers is to mislead, control or subvert the will of the people, they are destined to fail.

 

 

So what does this have to do with Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey?

 

First, before you get carried away with theological challenges and heretical demands from the Inquisition era to burn me at the stake, let me make it clear I am talking about a comparison of the act of crucifying, not the actual victim of the crucifixion.

 

 

I am talking about the highly visible and obvious attempts by some very special interests to destroy Chris Christie by using every obscure incident that comes along to smear him in the media.

 

The Ft. Lee bridge lane closure was a trigger that brought out the worst in our politicians, news media, radical left wing, radical right wing and presidential hopefuls in an attempt to destroy Christie's credibility with the people across America.

 

 

Why might that be?

 

Think about it.  Professional politicians and the political campaign machines behind them have effectively neutralized the voice of "We the people".  It has been accomplished through years of manipulation and collusion between the political demons and money changers, those who profit from the business of government or the subversion of government regulations.

 

As Obama has proven it no longer matters right now if our political leaders are a Democrat or Republican, they are all puppets and the puppet masters pulling the strings control the financial institutions of Wall Street and corporate America.  Main Street and rural America simply have no chance as long as the status quo remains.

 

 

Christie is an outsider, demonstrating over and over that he is not a professional politician under the control of the puppet masters, while his popularity in New Jersey and now throughout the nation have grown.

 

Like 2000 years ago, the political corruption and moral morass of the system is suddenly threatened by this brash outsider with no strings attached.  The most dangerous threat to the puppet masters is that of a populist movement to expose them and their practices.

 

 

Populist movements require a person to personify the nature, character and ethics of the movement.  For example, one third of all Americans reject the control of the two-party system and signed up as Independents.  The number grows every election cycle.

 

This huge block of people is leaderless and thus will remain disenfranchised until they get a standard bearer for their movement to rid our nation of the strangling control of the puppet masters.

 

Chris Christie is an outsider.  Look at the people who attacked him before they even knew the truth about the Ft. Lee situation, so desperate are they to derail his success at uniting people.  For Christie can unite the disenfranchised Democrats and Republicans with the Independents, as many polls have shown.

 

 

Supporters of Hillary Clinton and numerous other potential presidential candidates have led the charges against Christie along with their supporters in the news media.  Hard-line leftist liberals and radical, right wing conservatives have joined in the hatchet job.

 

Then there are the New Jersey politicians, the good old boys, from the high profile aspirants to the unknown, from potential candidates for governor to state senators.  Finally, there are the mayors, so many egos furious that Christie had become the darling of the media and not them.

 

 

I lived in New Jersey longer than anywhere I lived in my life.  Working for Governor Tom Kean I spent 8 years travelling every nook and cranny in Jersey and came to respect and appreciate the incredible diversity of the people, the strength of their convictions and their tolerance for other people's opinions.

 

 

Corruption has been prevalent for a long time in Jersey from the political corruption resulting from too many government entities to the Atlantic City casino and mob influence to the New York and Philadelphia La Casa Nostra.

 

Every year more and more corrupt officials are caught and more federal cases have greatly reduced the influence of organized crime in the state.  When he was US Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie successfully prosecuted 130 corruption cases.

 

Any mayor in New Jersey who whimpers and wines about the rough and tumble politics of the Garden State needs to find a new garden to play in because they are oblivious to reality.  Of course it is rough and tough because that is what it takes to defy a culture of corruption and survive the temptations of office.

 

 

But tough politics is not corruption.

 

The greatest danger to those attempting to crucify Christie for something he denies doing is not that they fail to derail his place in the hearts of New Jersey and national voters, it is that the people will see through the political smoke screens and fog banks to the truth and that his resurrection will make him far stronger than the person he was before.

 

 

Ironic, isn't it, that the crucifiers might trigger a resurrection that destroys everything they are trying to protect.  People, people of all political persuasions who still possess the view that politics should be ethical, free of partisan control and built on integrity share a common ideal that transcends partisan politics.

 

 

New Jersey voters know the meaning of fair play and have no interest in letting the news media or outsiders tell them what is good for the State of New Jersey.  They know the value of a Chris Christie with no strings attached compared to the multitude of pampered, pandering political hypocrites and their puppet masters claiming to have the best interests of the people at heart.

 

Will the resurrection allow the rest of America to share in this dream with New Jersey people and trigger a populist revolution throughout our nation that will sweep into national office a new breed of people's politician and restore "We the people" to our Constitution?

 

 

Will the strings of the puppet masters be severed once and for all?

 

Stay tuned...

 

p.s.  I was raised in Iowa and can tell you straight shooting Chris Christie will be a breath of fresh air to the normally polluted presidential primaries of the Hawkeye State.

.

Obamaville - January 30 - Florida Primary Eve

.

Any Surprises Tomorrow?

In a word, no. Romney, as expected before the media driven Gingrich surge, has equaled his surge in the polls with a retreat about as dramatic. In the process he has left a lot of people perplexed.

The volatile Republican candidate who wants to take on our Democratic President, in which there would have been a clash of wills over who is the most intelligent, most knowing and most scholarly, has fallen by the wayside in spite of media efforts to prop up his flailing campaign.

The problem is Newt can never live up to his exaggerated opinion of himself. The second problem is he might be a senior member of the establishment, but it was an establishment that lost control long ago.

While the media wants him to remain in the race to rip Mitt Romney apart and leave Romney vulnerable to the expected billion dollar attack by the president this fall, I believe the media, Obama and his Chicago gang are way out of touch with the public.

Newt's petulant and insolent attacks on Romney just make Newt look smaller and smaller in the eyes of the public. He shows no signs of being interested in what the public wants, only satisfying his raging animosity toward a candidate who is simply walloping the schoolyard bully.

Revenge, anger, and jealously are hardly becoming a GOP candidate for president and the more he sho9ws his true colors the faster his fall from grace in the eyes of the public.

As for Romney, he is getting a Harvard education in the primary because as soon as he wins the nomination, the Harvard president will try the same tactics only then Romney will have the experience and class to keep the election focused on the economy.

Barack Obama, through his mouthpieces in the media and campaign, is doing everything possible to encourage Gingrich because the biggest obstacle to his re-election is not Romney, it is the truth. This president has failed to address high unemployment, his $1.3 trillion a year deficit, and his ballooning nearly $16 trillion national debt.

As a result, there is no growth in the economy and no way health care costs can be controlled, Social Security can be saved, and Medicare can be protected. We are in a whale of trouble is the president is not held responsible for what he didn't do, and what he shows no signs of wanting to address in the immediate future.

ObamaCare does nothing to reduce health care or health insurance costs, and most certainly will not make Americans healthier. Just tell us the truth, that the problem is greater than they thought and is not being addressed.

The same with the unemployment, deficit and debt. We are not over the recession, but we could be, if the White House would admit they failed with social engineering to solve our problems and now must listen to the people who want less government, less regulation and most certainly a lot less hot air from our nation's capitol.

There is nothing wrong with admitting we still have a problem. Honesty is always better than cover ups, misinformation and distortion. We have had three years of intellectual thought. We need solutions, not theories. We need a will to take on the problems, not ignore them. We need foresight to tackle issues like Social Security and Medicare reform, not act as if they will take care of themselves.

Right now Romney is the only candidate relentlessly pursuing an agenda of the concerns of the people. Yes, he must deviate for a short time to secure the primary nomination and if that means to defeat Gingrich then so be it. But rest assured he will focus on the issues, the national issues, and that is the president's Achilles heel.

Now as I mentioned before, at this time the last campaign Obama and Hillary were in a brutal battle over the attempts (according to Obama) by Bill Clinton to use the race issue to defeat Obama. Now that sounds a lot meaner than today when Romney's tax returns showing $3 million in taxes paid and $3 million in charitable contributions seems to be the big concern?

Need I remind us all that maybe we need a president that can't be bought. Maybe we need a president who spends his time on the people's business instead of campaign fundraising. Maybe we need hope and change. Maybe we can get it this time.

clinton obama dance yard party election president us 2008 humor humour hilarious animation animated gif" title="political politicians hillary bill clinton obama dance yard party election president us 2008 humor humour hilarious animation animated gif" />

.

Obamaville & GOP Primary Campaign

Obamaville January 17, 2012

With the presidential election just 9 1/2 months away and the South Carolina primary this weekend perhaps it is a good time to review the current state of affairs.

On the GOP side Romney is headed for the nomination although watch for Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Ron Paul to keep things lively for a few more primaries. None have a chance to catch Romney but the news networks are working overtime to keep them in the race both to damage Romney's position against Obama and to keep up the already rather dismal TV ratings.

Truth is Romney wins in South Carolina and Florida this month could end the contest.  No doubt Ron Paul will stay in, probably until the convention.  While Obama campaign leaders want Romney to be bloodied by Paul and the others, me thinks the Chicago backroom boys are miscalculating the Paul impact.

Truth also is Ron Paul is not costing Romney votes.  Paul pulls the youth (Democrats) and Independents and those are the two groups that gave Obama his narrow win in 2008.  The longer Paul stays in the more votes he costs Obama and the general election is already too close to call.

At least the primaries so far have seen Romney withstand a withering and blistering stream of attacks from his opponents, the Obama thugs, the news media and the Democratic pit bulls.

Conventional wisdom from the Democratic pundits and news media is Romney can't win the conservatives or Christian right therefore he is the best opponent for the billion dollar kid, our President Obama.

Do they really think the conservatives or evangelicals could embrace Obama over a Republican after the three year on the job training record of Obama?  The Obama boys from Illinois may know what makes Chicago tick, I mean the last two governors of that state are in jail, but they do a very arrogant and horrible job of reading Joe Six Pack.

As if the economy alone, yes Obama's economy, is not enough to toss the gang out of the White House and Congress, and the billion dollars Obama will spend to get re-elected is not insulting to the whole concept of democracy and free elections, they have bigger problems than Romney.

When Obama took office in 2009 crude oil sold for $36.51 per barrel and the cost of a gallon of gasoline was $1.85.  Just three years after he took control of the economy the price of crude oil is now $101.56 a barrel and gasoline is $3.44 a gallon.  According to conventional math that is a 278% increase in crude oil and 186% increase in gasoline in just three years. Some management of the economy.

That means the price of not just gasoline but everything derived from oil like cosmetics, plastics, fertilizers, and thousands of other items people use every day will continue skyrocketing right up until election day.  We won't be better off under Obama, we will be broke.  Of course he can blame that on Congress but Obama doesn't even have an energy policy for independence that Congress can vote up or down.

So besides the lack of much of anything in the record of the Obama team, the still sputtering economy, and in spite of the billion dollar campaign war chest built up by Obama while he was supposed to be governing, what else could go wrong for him?

How about a Republican National Convention surprise?  One of two things could happen at the GOP convention that could radically alter the election in November.  If Romney wins the presidential nomination as expected he could pick either Chris Christie of New Jersey or Marco Rubio of Florida for Vice President.

Christie would not just solidify the conservative and social conservative vote but would energize them with his no holds barred campaign and governing style and it has been a long time since we have had a leader like Reagan not afraid to stand up and fight for the people.

Rubio would seriously erode Obama's need to maintain the Hispanic vote in order to win, and he would also pull the conservative, evangelical and Tea Party voters.  Yet another potential powerhouse ally for Romney, both Christie and Rubio would also appeal to a lot of Independents.

So in spite of what the Obama campaign says there may still be a lot of surprises ahead for the those who think the White House is for sale to the highest bidder.