The left-wing nuts at MoveOn.org have insisted that leading Democrats not appear on Fox News, and for months the Democrats have obeyed their base. But now the “boycott” appears to be over, and the liberal activists are angry.
The idea that the nation’s most popular cable news network is off-limits just because it doesn’t carry the same liberal bias as other networks is ridiculous. And what Obama and Clinton are discovering when they actually do show up on Fox News is that they will be treated fairly and with civility, in addition to reaching voters they need to reach.
Of course conservative candidates are accustomed to facing adversarial and contentious reporters and news anchors whose only goal is to make them look bad.
But I do take issue with the sense of entitlement often displayed by print and media reporters for major news organizations. Political candidates have to make a decision every day about how to spend their scarce time, keeping in mind that the goal is to persuade enough people to vote for them that they can win the election.
Sometimes doing media interviews is the best way to reach the most voters. Sometimes it is not, especially if the reporter is only interested in “gotcha” journalism or if the editorial board has already made up their mind to support someone else and is merely trying to gather ammunition.
As newspaper circulation continues to plummet, and television viewing becomes more and more fragmented, and as websites, blogs and email redefine political messaging, the ability of traditional news organizations to demand constant access to candidates will give way to the recognition that the “mainstream” media is just one option among many for reaching voters.
