Judd Legum NAILS IT. And yes, if you’re a political journalist who’s doing your job as described below, then honestly, you shouldn’t have a job in political journalism.
- “Political media is broken…This kind of [poll-based, “horserace”] coverage is not just pointless, it’s harmful”
- “But even if media predictions were correct, they represent a style of political reporting that is dysfunctional.”
- “Prediction-based coverage comes at a high cost because it crowds out the coverage that voters actually need. To make an informed decision, voters need to know the practical impact of voting for each candidate.”
- “While outlets ran story after story about the red wave, the Republican pledge to use the threat of a global economic collapse to try to force benefit cuts to Social Security and Medicare went virtually ignored”
- ” The political media has substituted polling analysis, which is something only people managing campaigns really need, for substantive analysis of the positions of the candidates, something that voters need.”
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