I'll tell you, the right wing is really on to something when they talk about how "liberal" the media is. Or should I have said "on something" instead of "on TO something?" I mean, like all the Media General-owned papers doing their best Woodward and Bernstein imitations, going after all the Kilgore scandals and sleazy campaign donors? Not!Oh, that's right, I almost forgot: of Media Generals' 27 newspapers, NONE endorsed John Kerry in 2004. And, of course, Jerry Kilgore's pal, Congressman Eric Cantor, has a direct line to Media General to ensure positive coverage, given that Cantor's wife sits on the board of directors. So much for getting any critical Kilgore coverage from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Charlottesville Daily-Progress, Bristol Herald Courier, etc. Damn left-wing media bias again!
Now, the Washington Post weighs in with a hard-hitting piece of, well, something that comes out of cow's behind I guess. Is this a contest, or something, for how lame an article the Washington Post can come up with on the Virginia governor's race? I mean, they finally send a reporter down to Gate City and what do they come up with? Juicy revelations on the mayoral election scandal involving the Kilgore family? Informative, hard-hitting comments from people who like and dislike the Kilgores, and why exactly they do so? Some actual news from this heavyweight of the "so-called liberal media" (SCLM)? Uh, no.
How about, instead, yet another story regarding the Great Virginia Accent Flap of 2005, and specifically how "Kilgore Says Kaine Mocked His Accent?" Yes, gotta hand it to 'em, those Washington Posties are really on top of things here in Virginia. I mean, if not for the Post how would we ever have known that Jerry Kilgore's "twang" had entered the Virginia gubernatorial race?
I, of course, had no idea about this whole (non) issue until I opened this morning's Washington Post and read all about it. Well, not "all about it" exactly. For starters, there was no mention in the article about the dozens of analyses that have been pouring forth from the Virginia political blogosphere (and a few newspapers not owned by Media General) for weeks and weeks now. There was also no mention by the "liberal Post" of the REAL issues in this campaign, the slimy Kilgore donors, the Gate City election scandal, the Kilgore eavesdropping scandal (whatever happened with THAT), etc., etc. Finally, there was no mention of the fact that Tim Kaine is married to a prominent Southwest Virginia family (former Republican governor Linwood Holton's, to be exact), meaning that Kaine is "mocking" the accents of his own wife and father-in-law. Yeah, that's the ticket!
Not to suggest anything improper here, but could the wussy, lame, fawning, pathetic coverage by the Washington Post of Jerry Kilgore (and George Allen, and Jim Gilmore, and George W. Bush) have anything to do with the Post's corporate ownership of 3 TV stations in Florida (can we say "Jeb Bush?") and 2 in Texas (can we say "George W. Bush?")? Or the fact that the Washington Post Company owns Kaplan, Inc., the giant educational testing company which profits greatly from Bush's "No Child Left Behind" and SOLs? As David Podvin of Makethemaccountable.com points out, "It is the Bush program mandating the testing of schoolchildren across America ? tests for which Kaplan supplies materials - that makes the federal government a lucrative source of revenue for the Post?s cash cow."
But, fortunately, I'm not implying anything at all here. Nada. Zip. Because, like you, I know very well that the media in this country is ultra-liberal. And I also know that the media in this country is "fair and balanced." After I get done snorting coffee out my nose at these thoughts, I sometimes ponder why the Washington Post and Media General coverage of the Kilgore-Kaine race has been, and will likely continue to be, so utterly pitiful.
The bottom line here is this: if you want any serious analysis about the Virignia elections this year, forget the Washington Post and forget the Media General papers. Instead, read the blogs -- we may have biases, but at least we tell you what they are!