Media Control

"That way madness lies. Let me shun that." -- Shakespeare

   Public figures criticize media coverage at their own risk, especially those who depend on media coverage to carry their message to the general public.
   Item: When a political candidate demands that TV cameras scan the crowd, in order to show his popularity, news directors can and do cut away from the speechifying and move to other news, as the anchor promises to monitor the speech and report later what is said.
   Result: The candidate is no longer in control.
   Item: When a major poll shows the candidate losing ground and moving to second place, and the candidate complains that one poll sponsor, Bloomberg News, "hates me," and the other poll sponsor, the Des Moines Register, "is a crummy, second rate newspaper," he may score points with his avid supporters, but he runs the risk of antagonizing editors.
   Yet this was precisely the tactic used by Donald J. Trump over the weekend when news media did not show things that he liked, or showed things that he did not like. In Florida, he demanded that the TV cameras show the size of the audience. And he attacked a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper as being "crummy, second rate."
   Result: The target newspaper will continue to cover the story, but instead of getting 20 inches of copy on Page One, it may be relegated to six inches on Page 17.
That way madness lies.
   Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

   Polls are often sponsored and paid for by news media, but the surveys are conducted by independent, professional agencies, experienced at poll-taking. To imply that the results are deliberately rewritten and skewed against a particular candidate shows many things. Try pettiness, insecurity, arrogance, and an attempt to control a constitutionally guaranteed Freedom of the Press.
   When polls are conducted by partisan organizations, they inevitably show results beneficial to the favored candidate. If the poll results do not show the desired result, the surveys are buried, and not released to the public and the news media.
   Reporters and editors cherish their independence, and strive to be neutral in their coverage. Granted, some who claim the mantle of journalist are not neutral in their coverage, but they are more properly described as columnists and commentators. They too are guaranteed freedom of expression under the First Amendment.
   Note to candidates: Complaining about news coverage and antagonizing reporters is dangerous. And even more dangerous to a democracy is an attempt to silence critics by controlling the news media. It is a foolish path to take.