And I don’t need to write about the coverage, because a U.S. Senator has made the point so concisely and well. Brian Schatz, a Democrat of Hawaii, used the vestigial Xitter to make this point yesterday:
What is he referring to? An endless series of stories, most frequently in the New York Times but also in the WaPo and public broadcasting, which follow the following narrative arc:
- Report: Latest figures show things getting better for the economy. (Unemployment, inflation, supply chain, stock values, you name it). [ed. Medicare drug pricing reform]
- Economic “analysis”: But things probably will get worse.
- Political “analysis”: Why do people feel so bad about the economy? And why that’s a problem for Biden.
And one the week before:
One from Politico this month:
And one from The Atlantic:
For whatever reason, the Wall Street Journal’s news—not editorial—pages have been much better in this regard.
Why do people feel so “bad” about an economy that by all measurable indicators is getting so much better? Gee, I dunno.
by James Fallows, Breaking the News | Read more:
Images X, NYT, Politico, The Atlantic
[ed. Glad to see Mr. Fallows has a Substack now (see also: the post following this one, about flight safety). Another post worth reading: Forgotten Americans (of a different type), and the essay it references: The Media Still Doesn’t Get Biden Voters (The Bulwark):]
Conservative and mainstream media don’t agree on much, but one point of consensus is that everyone should work harder to understand Trump supporters. The implicit message: You don’t have to agree with the populist right, but you should be listening to, empathizing with, and engaging them more.
A common style of this coverage is the safari to “Trump Country,” in which journalists from various outlets, most of whom live in big metropolitan areas, go to a rural community or Rust Belt town and talk to Trump voters, often white, working-class men in diners. The resulting articles are often tautological—basically “Trump Supporters Support Trump”—and framed as if explaining to liberals who might think that Trump’s failures will cause some voters to abandon him that they won’t. A great example is a May 2019 New York Times story titled “There’s No Boom in Youngstown, but Blue-Collar Workers Are Sticking With Trump.” It’s such a well-trod trope that it’s inspired parodies and running jokes. (...)
Reporters don’t do safaris to “Biden Country,” seeking to understand the voters who put him in the White House. (...)
Conservative and mainstream media don’t agree on much, but one point of consensus is that everyone should work harder to understand Trump supporters. The implicit message: You don’t have to agree with the populist right, but you should be listening to, empathizing with, and engaging them more.
A common style of this coverage is the safari to “Trump Country,” in which journalists from various outlets, most of whom live in big metropolitan areas, go to a rural community or Rust Belt town and talk to Trump voters, often white, working-class men in diners. The resulting articles are often tautological—basically “Trump Supporters Support Trump”—and framed as if explaining to liberals who might think that Trump’s failures will cause some voters to abandon him that they won’t. A great example is a May 2019 New York Times story titled “There’s No Boom in Youngstown, but Blue-Collar Workers Are Sticking With Trump.” It’s such a well-trod trope that it’s inspired parodies and running jokes. (...)
Reporters don’t do safaris to “Biden Country,” seeking to understand the voters who put him in the White House. (...)
