Howard Kurtz on the Media Blowing New Hampshire

In a lengthy column at today's Washington Post, media reporter Howard Kurtz pulls no punches in criticizing the horse race coverage that has defined the primary races: "The series of blown calls amount to the shakiest campaign performance yet by a profession seemingly addicted to snap judgments and crystal-ball pronouncements. Not since the networks awarded Florida to Al Gore on Election Night 2000 has the collective media establishment so blatantly missed the boat."

Here's how Kurtz describes the factors contributing to the news media's overwhelming fascination with polls and hyped predictions:

The reasons are legion: News outlets are serving up more analysis and blogs to remain relevant in a wired world. Many cash-strapped organizations are spending less on field reporting, and television tries to winnow a crowded field for the sake of a better narrative. Cable shows and Web sites provide a gaping maw to be filled with fresh speculation. Tracking polls fuel a conventional wisdom that feeds on itself. The length of today's campaigns provides more twists and turns long before most voters tune in. And there is a natural journalistic tendency to try to peer around the next corner.

Perhaps the best quote is from Tom Brokaw, who himself was caught up in the predictions:

"The pirouettes are amazing," says Brokaw, who was analyzing the campaign on MSNBC. "The utter confidence with which everyone had been wrong 20 minutes earlier, they have the same utter confidence about what produced this surprise. It's intellectually dishonest."

More like this

When we look at a the data for a population+ often the first thing we do is look at the mean. But even if we know that the distribution
I love this question: Why is it warmer in the summer than in the winter (for the Northern hemisphere)? Go ahead and ask your friends. I suppose they will give one of the following likely answers:
Technorati Tags: ddftw, bozos, markcc-screwups
Last week we looked at the organ systems involved in regulation and control of body functions: the nervous, sensory, endocrine and circadian systems. This week, we will cover the organ systems that are regulated and controlled.

I agree...not only have they blown NH but the entire Presidential campaign and they are helping unhinge the nation and the election process with this bunk.

The sound bites of media coverage and pollster's inaccuracies are helping to misinform everyone...especially when science is debunking everything from god to the flying spaghetti monster...yet all is blissfully ignored by the candidates, media and the people...no one is dealing in reality anymore...what a fricken mess.

By Rick Schauer (not verified) on 11 Jan 2008 #permalink