20061214 News Media coverage of Senator Johnson is repugnant

News Media coverage of Senator Johnson is repugnant

An utter abject disgrace.

NewsBusters has an excellent post about it here. Don’t read it with a full stomach; it is sure to just make you dyspeptic as all get-out.

I could not agree more with the sentences:

“Let’s get a grip for a second here, folks. A man is fighting for his life right now, and that should be much more important than how this impacts who will control the Senate.”

[…]

“How disgraceful. Our thoughts and prayers should be going out to this man and his family without any discussion about the balance of power…unless we really have lost all sense of decency, morality, and humanity in this country.”

Disgraceful Media Coverage of Sen. Tim Johnson’s Medical Condition

Posted by Noel Sheppard on December 14, 2006 - 10:28.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s drop the partisanship for a second and recognize that the media coverage of Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) sudden illness has been nothing but disgraceful.

The first reports I heard on this issue came early yesterday on CNBC, and immediately the discussion was about how this could change the balance of power in the Senate. I was disgusted. (Update follows with how the network evening broadcasts covered the story.)

As my daughter and I left the gym in the early evening, she questioned me about the Senator, and how this would impact politics. I was a bit shocked, and asked her where she had heard about his malady. She said that it was on the television in the ladies’ locker room, and the announcers were discussing how this might hurt the Democrats.

Let’s get a grip for a second here, folks. A man is fighting for his life right now, and that should be much more important than how this impacts who will control the Senate. Yet, just moments ago, this was the headline of an Associated Press article: “GOP governor has the power to appoint Senate replacement.” These were the first two paragraphs:

Take a big swig of Maalox and read the rest.

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