Page 257 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

| Med a and Electoral Campa gns

billed as spontaneous, unscripted interactions, candidates are highly coached
by political consultants adept at shaping messages that have been carefully
tested. Candidates memorize many of the same sound bites that appear in
their campaign advertising, repeating single, unexplained phrases over and
over. In his first debate against George W. Bush, Al Gore repeated 10 times
that he would put social security in a “lock box.” After the debate, much of
what the public learns depends on how the news media report and interpret
it. News commentators and campaign strategists themselves provide political
“spin” after each debate. Their job is to assure viewers that their candidate won,
and that image and appearance should be taken as the legitimate measure of
a candidate’s worth: the color of their tie really does mean something. Critics
charge that there remain few dedicated political analysts in the media who are
willing to keep public officials accountable for what they say by checking the
facts or comparing their current statements with previous positions. Instead,
the media personalities and marketing consultants act as theater critics, evalu-
ating the candidates’ performance, image, and delivery. After half a century of
image politics on television, the image itself has become the topic of legitimate
news.

CyniCism anD saTirE
To those citizens who wish to be taken out of the confines of simple self-
interest and contemplate a better world on a bigger scale, the simple slogans
that pass the test of focus groups rarely challenge existing economic or social
disparities and other social problems that trouble American democracy. Seeking
solutions to serious problems and creating a better world is the stuff of political
vision, but such visions usually take more than sound bites to express. Marketed
messages are not a language that can question why so many young black men
are in jail, or why one out of five children in this country go to bed hungry. Poli-
ticians are left with vague generalities that do not offend swing voters, or nar-
rowly defined issues dictated by political consultants. Some media critics argue
that hour-long dramatic series such as Law and Order and West Wing present
more clearly articulated issue debates than most of what is on TV during elec-
tion campaigns.
As superficial language and marketing persuasions permeate campaigns,
the formats begin to look predigested and carefully crafted, and they have be-
come the brunt of jokes on late-night comedy satire. The popularity of those
programs has shot up, especially among the young. In 2000, a poll done by
the Pew Center for People and the Press showed almost half of people in their
twenties were getting their election news from late-night talk show hosts such
as Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien.
The popularity of TV’s political comedy is an indication to some that young
people are becoming more cynical, dropping out of politics and refusing to
vote. To others it indicates the sophistication of viewers who reject the way
politicians “stay on message” with prepackaged rhetoric. Recent concerts to
“rock the vote” have attempted to reinvigorate a youthful electorate and bring
them back into the election process.