Tomorrow’s Vote is a Referendum on the Press

Walter Shorenstein, founder of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University and Hillary Clinton supporter, has penned a memo about the unprofessional and biased coverage of the Democratic party primary race between Clinton and Obama. I can already hear the Kossacks howling with rage because he is a friend of Hillary’s, as if that negates all of the outrageous behavior of the press. But it’s hard to argue with the facts and Shorenstein’s got’em. And when SNL starts to point it out, then it has reached a threshold of absurdity that merits some serious discussion of what we should do about it. One thing we *can* do about it is urge Ohio and Texas voters to send a message to the press that we will pick our own presidents without all the emotional frenzy they have generated.

They tormented Bill Clinton, they snickered at Gore, giving us Bush, they destroyed Kerry’s career giving us even MORE Bush and now they are on the verge of doing something much more serious- allowing the first viable female candidate for president to get slimed by overtly negative and in some cases, misogynistic press. This time, not only are they helping to nominate the weaker candidate but they are setting back women’s accomplishments by 40 years. Don’t let them do it, Texas and Ohio. We need you to fight back and tell the media to cover the primaries professionally. Your vote is more than just a vote for Hillary or Obama. It’s a referendum on the press. Help us take our country back. Vote for the best candidate, not the one with the media halo.

Here is Shorenstein’s memo with supporting document