President Obama Is Sexy; The News Shouldn't Be (Blog)

I think we spend way too much time in this country talking about politics.

I KNOW that it is weird that an activist like me would make that statement.

But doesn't it seem like politics infects every single discussion? We divide up along traditional party lines when talking about everything these days and we produce a legislative solution for every problem under the sun. We also seek the opinion of politicians on everything from "American Idol" to March Madness.

I was always a big fan of legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey, who rarely led his newscasts with politics -- or mentioned the activities of politicians at all. He often led with a scientific discovery and followed up with news that he felt had a real impact on everyday life.

These thoughts are prompted by an article that detailed how the Obama Administration is exercising amazing control over what information is disseminated by the media. I was especially struck by this sentence:

...It's getting harder for cash-strapped news outlets to resist using photos, video and other content supplied by the White House.

My theory as to WHY the national news is overladen with political stories is that the budgets of news organizations have steadily been declining over the past few decades parallel to a continuous drop in advertising revenues.

It's cheaper to send a reporter to Washington to cover pre-packaged news events than to hire a cadre of writers to go out into the world and present stories that have real impact on our lives.

The problem with this approach is that we, as news consumers, are getting a steady diet of spin, not fact. Political communication is about controlling public perception. Many national stories now simply parrot the talking points being presented by individuals and organizations that directly benefit from shading public perception.

National reporters should be standing outside this process and reporting political communication with a wary eye. Even better, they should be largely ignoring a great deal of the white noise emanating from prepackaged news events and gathering details independently.

Meanwhile, the Obamas have learned that granting access to the celebrity press is a great way to influence public perception of the administration. I don't say this as a negative -- it's a lesson all candidates should take to heart. But when the objective press begins asking the same type of questions as the celebrity press, the accountability sought by our predecessors in crafting the First Amendment simply disappears.