The Media and Sarah Palin

I am fascinated by just how overly negative and aggressive the media has been towards Governor Palin. At first I thought it was just because she was a Republican. Lately I think there is more to it.

First, I don't think they like being surprised. They like to be in the know and to plan accordingly. Picking Palin caught them off guard and now all the pre-packaged stories about Romney or whoever have to be thrown out and now they have to learn all about her. This does not sit well with people who think they have great sources and pride themselves for being "in the know". Much of their treatment is a way of taking out their anger for being hoodwinked by the McCain campaign.

Second, the media likes people inside the beltway. They feel more at home with the Washington DC crowd than with middle Americans and in this case a woman who is an entire continent away from them. First of all, they have no frame of reference for people who live different lifestyles than they do. Sure they think being hockey mom is cute but most reporters have no idea how to relate it other than passing it off as a small town quirk. The media like most of us are a little afraid and unsure of people that don't act and think like they do. Thus they are automatically suspicious of just about everything different about her. The problem is, that most of America has more in common with Palin than they do with the establishment media.

Finally, one quick example of just how outrageous the media's treatment of her has been. Compare the number of stories covering her daughter's pregnancy and the negative slant to those stories with the coverage of John Edwards affair and his illegitimate child. The news media couldn't stay far enough away from that story and only mentioned it in passing once it became so obvious that they could no longer ignore it. Unlike Palin's daughter who they couldn't wait to report even though her daughter is not running for any public office. This just highlights the media's double standards once again.