Media in Obama’s Plane

I earlier wrote the media “want to be seen as so biased in favor of Obama that they will be blamed for (actually credited with) Barack’s win.” This is proving to be more obviouly true than even I thought.

The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz, who covers the media, broke a story yesterday that television’s Big Three—Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric—will all travel with Obama on his upcoming swing through Europe and the Middle East, including Iraq. Kurtz writes that the trip “is now guaranteed to be a major media event.” No kidding.

Kurtz adds, “Obama has been quite adept at working the media. He is on the cover of this week's Newsweek, again, after star turns on Us Weekly, ‘Access Hollywood’ (with kids) and, not so happily, the New Yorker. And the contrast with the coverage of John McCain's campaign has been striking. . . McCain's trip to Colombia and Mexico two weeks ago was barely covered, although NBC and ABC sent correspondents.”

Worse, Kurtz’ Washington Post colleague Dan Balz, in a column titled, “Why is John McCain in Colombia?”, wrote the time McCain “spent in Colombia and Mexico matters less than the message it sends -- or perhaps more correctly, the absence of a message that it sends. What is McCain trying to tell voters by this visit?” McCain gets slammed for his uncovered trip, Obama gets total coverage of his. Media bias couldn’t be more transparent.