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Beto's second-quarter fundraising was near the TOP of the second tier of candidates—HIGHER than expected, given media reports of his campaign's demise. But no outlets will report it that way. So let's sit back and enjoy media coverage deciding the primary. politico.com/story/2019/07/…
Beto's second-quarter fundraising was near the TOP of the second tier of candidates—HIGHER than expected, given media reports of his campaign's demise. But no outlets will report it that way. So let's sit back and enjoy media coverage deciding the primary. washingtonpost.com/politics/the-l…
Beto's second-quarter fundraising was near the TOP of the second tier of candidates—HIGHER than expected, given media reports of his campaign's demise. But no outlets will report it that way. So let's sit back and enjoy media coverage deciding the primary. cnbc.com/2019/07/16/bet…
Beto's second-quarter fundraising was near the TOP of the second tier of candidates—HIGHER than expected, given media reports of his campaign's demise. But no outlets will report it that way. So let's sit back and enjoy media coverage deciding the primary. nytimes.com/2019/07/15/us/…
What I'm doing is showing how slanted media coverage of Beto's campaign hurt his fundraising and polling, and THEN, when he nevertheless stayed close to the TOP of the second tier of Democratic candidates, the very same media ran stories saying that that fundraising was pathetic.
Media can either start taking responsibility for how it a) deliberately sets narratives to influence events, while also b) giving Trump leeway to lie without being called a liar and be racist without being called a racist, OR it can keep earning the enmity of both left AND right.
Again, I *don't* support any particular Democratic candidate yet. But the fact is, it's *not* voters who are calling en masse for a winnowing of the Democratic field seven months before the first voting takes place—it's media. And media is doing the winnowing. And I'm sick of it.
My main thing is transparency: I think major media outlets should just identify the 5 candidates they want Democrats to choose from, then openly call for every other candidate to drop out and for their supporters to choose from the media's approved slate. It'd at least be honest.
That said, media can do right as well as wrong: e.g., right now @andersoncooper is giving an *excellent* and brave summary of how Trump's racist comments are not mere political rhetoric but exactly a summary of who and what he is—and that it's time for everyone to see and say it.
PS/ Speaking of CNN, I do think CNN did a far better job covering O'Rourke's fundraising in at least some of its coverage than did a number of other outlets, as a graphic like this is fair and doesn't overstate matters. O'Rourke indeed moved from one fundraising tier to another. 
