Republicans hit at 'coronation'
ft.com
By Andrew Ward in Washington
Published: July 19 2008 03:00
When Barack Obama departs this weekend for his much-heralded trip to Europe and the Middle East, he will be joined by the glitterati of US political journalism.
All three anchors of the main nightly news programmes on US television are expected to be on the trip, together with star reporters of leading newspapers and magazines.
The media frenzy contrasts with the subdued coverage of John McCain's three international trips since securing the Republican presidential nomination.
When Mr McCain visited Mexico and Colombia this month some leading US news organisations did not even send correspondents.
Conservatives have cited the disparity as evidence of a media love affair with Mr Obama that could give the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a crucial advantage in November's election.
"There has never been a greater imbalance in coverage of two presidential candidates," says Brent Bozell, head of the Media Research Center, which monitors alleged liberal bias in the US media. "For the media, this is not a campaign. It's a coronation."
A search of big US newspapers since the presidential campaign became a two-man race last month shows there have been nearly twice as many headlines about Mr Obama as Mr McCain.
The three main nightly network news programmes - which have a combined audience of 20m - spent about 114 minutes covering Mr Obama since June, compared with 48 minutes for Mr McCain, according to research by the Tyndall Report.
That imbalance is likely to grow next week, when Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric - the anchors for NBC, ABC and CBS, respectively - are each expected to interview Mr Obama and host their primetime shows from Europe.
Many analysts argue that the media's obsession with Mr Obama reflects traditional news values rather than bias. As the younger and less experienced of the two candidates, the Democrat is a fresher story than Mr McCain, a staple of US political coverage for nearly three decades. The fact that he would be America's first black president only deepens the media's fascination.
Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, a journalism school, says Mr McCain's lifetime of international experience means his overseas travel is less newsworthy than Mr Obama's first trip outside the US as a presidential candidate.
"McCain's internationalism is well known and is one of his strengths. For Obama, his lack of international experience is seen as a weakness. This trip is a chance to see if he has what it takes."
Republicans grumble that the media are helping promote a week-long photoopportunity for Mr Obama, during which he will audition for the commander-in-chief role during stops in Iraq and Afghanistan and play the statesman in Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the UK.
But while Mr Obama hopes the trip will help strengthen his foreign policy credentials, the media glare will ensure that any missteps are amplified.
There is also a risk that his presidential-style globe-trotting could make the 46-year-old first-term senator look presumptuous and hubristic - particularly when he makes a highprofile speech in Germany which is already being compared to President John F. Kennedy's 1963 address in Berlin.
Mr Obama is expected to receive an enthusiastic reception in Europe, where polls show public opinion overwhelmingly supportive of his campaign. This could appeal to the many Americans who have grown alarmed by their country's declining international popularity.
But it is likely to provoke a more negative reaction among many US conservatives, who could conclude that a candidate who is wildly popular in Europe must be too liberal for the US. |
