This President is No Cable Guy

[babylonsister]

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/05/01/this-president-is-no-cable-guy/

This President is No Cable Guy
Walter Shapiro
Posted: 05/1/09



snip//

The Axelrod-Obama critique of cable news is subtle, stalwart and, yes, self-interested. The underlying argument is that the hyperactive rhythms of cable shout-a-thons foster a corrosive sense of politics that works against the ability of any president – Democrat or Republican – to govern. It certainly goes against the grain for a president to attack a news medium that 40 percent of voters say they watch regularly. (The statistic, which lumps all the cable news networks together, is drawn from the in-depth 2008 media usage survey by the Pew Research Center). But Obama is a different-drummer politician – and his version of bring-us-together leadership requires cool climes rather than the white heat of cable controversy.

Pollster Andy Kohut, the president of the Pew Research Center, relates this skepticism about cable news to the fledgling president's penchant for prime time news conferences. "They give Obama the opportunity to get to the voters who are the most responsible for his election – independents and moderates," Kohut said. "These are the people who are not watching Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow. They are less engaged in politics and are put off by the contentiousness of cable TV."

There is also a strong generational component to Obama's seeming contempt for cable. Veteran Democratic strategist Morley Winograd, the co-author of "Millennial Makeover" that shrewdly anticipated Obama's appeal to young voters, points out, "Division and confrontation are not what the millennial generation believes in. They believe in social networks, not cable news. You don't shout on social networks."

While it may be difficult for younger voters to believe, television news did not always resemble a rumble minus the knives and zip guns. Little more than a quarter century ago, "The McLaughlin Group" helped pioneer the notion that normally mild-mannered reporters could further their careers and goose ratings by bellowing and interrupting each other on camera. Of course, compared to many current cable shows (Bill O'Reilly, please pick up the white courtesy phone), "The McLaughlin Group" now represents the good old days when Walter Cronkite personified TV news.

Obama may prove no more able to reform the ratings-grabbing rituals of cable news than he can change the culture of Washington. But of all the crusades mounted by the new president, this is one that could theoretically unite both liberals and conservatives in a high-minded battle to bring civility back to the public arena.

[Cha]

1. If pointing out the tragic state

of cable n00ze is "attacking" then so be it. Needs Change and Team Obama are the ones to do it.