Equal Opportunity Employment?
As of late, watching the spectacle that is our political process has made me believe that fair employment practices do not apply anymore to our candidates. While some of them are constantly showered by the media’s glaring attention, others seem to be underappreciated or even ignored. Journalism.org is the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s website. Beyond the sordid punditry, this website is effective in keeping the record straight when it comes to journalism. According to Jurkowitz (2007), here are some very disgusting statistics:
Media Exposure by Candidate
|
|
Main Newsmaker |
Significant Presence |
Total Percent of Campaign Stories |
|
John McCain |
25.0% |
12.4% |
37.4% |
|
Barack Obama (D) |
26.6 |
7.4 |
34.0 |
|
Hillary Clinton (D) |
22.1 |
9.9 |
32.0 |
|
Mitt Romney (R) |
11.1 |
10.2 |
21.3 |
|
Rudy Giulaini (R) |
7.9 |
6.2 |
14.1 |
|
John Edwards (D) |
5.5 |
1.7 |
7.2 |
|
Bill Clinton |
2.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
|
Mike Huckabee (R) |
1.0 |
1.0 |
2.0 |
|
Bill Richardson (D) |
0 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
|
Ron Paul (R) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total Number of Campaign Stories = 597 |
|||
Top Overall Stories of the Week
|
Rank |
Story |
Percent of Newshole |
|
1 |
2008 Campaign |
51% |
|
2 |
U.S. Economy |
7 |
|
3 |
State of the Union |
6 |
|
4 |
Kenya Elections and Violence |
2 |
|
5 |
Afghanistan |
2 |
|
6 |
Events in Iraq |
2 |
|
7 |
Super Bowl |
2 |
|
8 |
China |
1 |
|
9 |
War on Terror |
1 |
|
10 |
Pakistan |
1 |
Media Exposure by Party
|
|
% of Campaign Stories |
Number of Campaign Stories |
|
Mostly Democrats |
46.1% |
275 |
|
Mostly Republicans |
41.9 |
250 |
|
Mix Democrats and Republicans |
10.4 |
62 |
|
Other |
1.7 |
10 |
|
Total |
100.1% |
597 |
For anyone alleging that there is no bias in the media, the aforementioned tables conclusively show the contrary. With this being said, how can we even remotely ensure that we are an equal opportunity employer? After all, aren’t “We the People” seeking to employ a well qualified candidate for the job position of President of the United States? We are not conducting fair interviews and we are not making decisions with all the information that we would truly require to select the best candidate. My perspective on this matter is that if such an interview process would take place in any given corporation, as a manager, we would have found ourselves unemployed and with a lawsuit for discrimination. “We the People” are the employers, but those conducting the interview process are controlling who gets employed.
Our process seems to be at such a low point that we are not even looking at the candidate’s resumes. We are only judging candidates by how “presidential” they look or what they said about a specific issue in a very specific moment. What are their credentials? What can they say about the issues facing this nation? Do they have a plan or are they waiting to get elected to then be told what to do? As a nation, “We the People” have forgotten the value of outrage. It certainly applies to this matter and wherever unfair situations like these occur. Think about it. Your vote is sacred, and it should only be given to support an ideal, not a personality. How do you feel when you go to a job interview? That is exactly how a political candidate should feel. No arrogance and no pretentions. While “We the People” don’t seem to be an equal opportunity employer, the hope must still remain that the nation will wake up and promptly move away from the destruction that disinformation brings.
Reference:
Jurkowitz Mark, (2007). McCain Wins the Coverage Battle as Media Move to Anoint Him. Project for Excellence in Journalism. Retrieved February 6, 2008, from http://www.journalism.org/node/9610
