The nation's TV networks are shunning coverage of the midterm elections, says Tim Graham, executive editor of the media watchdog website NewsBusters.
"We've been noticing this for weeks. Every night we have people here who watch the Nightly News in real time and they send us an email saying, 'No midterms again,'" Graham said Wednesday on the "Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"ABC, in particular, really stands out … Although, they did have a story last night about how [President Barack] Obama had a cutesy exchange at the polls with a voter and her boyfriend saying, 'Don't touch my girlfriend.'"
"That really defines what the news is these days for a lot of people. Politics has nothing to do with it. It is stories about alligators, cats, haunted house, and all kinds of stuff that has nothing to do with government."
Graham, who is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center, said this year's non-coverage stands in stark contrast to 2006 when the networks' midterm coverage was "enthusiastic."
"What's the difference? One of the difference is the Republicans were in serious trouble of losing in 2006. President George W. Bush was highly unpopular and the Democrats would end up taking both the House and the Senate," he said.
"Somehow, that was a really fascinating story for these networks. This year, whenever things are in reverse, whenever the Republicans look like they'll take the Senate, where President Obama is remarkably unpopular, we're just not going to discuss the polls or the candidates. We're just going to pretend that nothing is going on."
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