Campaign reporters have a nose for conflict -- real or imagined

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: ON THE MEDIA
Campaign reporters have a nose for conflict -- real or imagined
For discord-centric members of the media, it's not so easy to give up the last story line.
By JAMES RAINEY
June 3, 2008

Somewhere inside the brain of the presidential campaign reporter lies a huge lobe devoted to recognizing conflict. From this hyper-developed brain center come stories about the certain demise of some politicians (John McCain), the inevitable success of others (Hillary Rodham Clinton) and the extreme probability that hostilities, once started, will never end.

The discordulum (as it's known in my entirely imagined research on discord) can function beautifully, sussing out the combat that really does charge our presidential politics. But it has limits -- often firing on the same overheated synapses, even when conflict is waning....

History instructs that many losing primary candidates, and especially their followers, harbor hard feelings. They vent their frustrations, carp at the winner and then, almost inevitably, close ranks behind their party's standard-bearer. The exceptions -- such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's 1980 fight against President Carter for the Democratic nomination -- only serve to highlight the rule.

So where does coverage of campaign '08 go from here? Time magazine political reporter Karen Tumulty predicted at least one change. "It's been a great horse-race story. And the difference on the issues between the Democrats was not that great," Tumulty said. "Where I think we have fallen short is in not having as much of a discussion about the issues. . . . Now we move into a general election, and we are going to have a sharper distinction on policy between the candidates. There will be a lot of discussion of the issues."...

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For discord-centric members of the media, it's not so easy to give up the last story line. So expect another moment of cognitive dissonance on the near horizon: It will come when Clinton concedes, embraces Obama and begins working furiously for her onetime rival. It's what Clinton has promised all along. It just didn't register in the media discordula.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-onthemedia3-2008jun03,0,2771141.story