Behold The Mainstream Media Eating Its Own Anti-Palin Bile

Behold The Mainstream Media Eating Its Own Anti-Palin Bile – A Running List of Headlines

Posted by William A. Jacobson Friday, June 10, 2011 at 04:48pm 40 Comments

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A collection of headlines from the mainstream media after a feeding frenzy to break stories regarding the 24,000+ e-mails released by the State of Alaska from Sarah Palin’s time as Governor.

The rushed headlines and analysis reveal the mainstream media desperately seeking ways to confirm its long-standing anti-Palin bile, without any time to consume the meaning or (lack of) importance of the e-mails.

Today shows the mainstream media at its worst, featuring insatiable publicity hounds seeking to confirm their preconceived narratives regarding a leading conservative political figure.

This list is a work in progress, as new headlines will be added (post suggestions in the comments, or e-mail me):

CBS News – Palin’s emails: Work, disdain for the press — and a haircut: “With reporters coast-to-coast now frantically searching through 24,000 of Sarah Palin’s emails from when she was Alaska governor, here’s what we’ve seen so far: A governor who doesn’t particularly like the press, who is engaged in energy issues facing her state and who is extremely hands-on in the day-to-day business of the office.”
The Guardian – Sarah Palin emails show life in Alaska, from tanning bed to Troopergate: “Tens of thousands of pages of Sarah Palin’s emails released on Friday offer an intimate portrait of a politician caught in an almost daily battle on issues ranging from oil exploration to an ethics investigation…. The emails are peppered with the folksy language that have become her trademark, such as “unflippinbelievable”, “holy….”, “ugh” and “thank the lord”.”
The Washington Post – Sarah Palin e-mails show constant concern: “Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s e-mails show constant discussion and concern about how she is portrayed in the media, on matters big and small.”
Politico – Sarah Palin camp: Bring it on: “It remains to be seen if any real news will come out of the email dump, and if the result is something short of a bombshell Palin may be able to call this one a PR win.”
Politico – Newt Gingrich advised Sarah Palin on PR: “In an email sent shortly after Palin was selected as John McCain’s running mate, Gingrich suggested a possible way for Palin to handle questions about the expenses Palin billed to the state…. Gingrich signed the e-mail: “Thanks, Newt”
CBS News – Sarah Palin emails: The highlights: “CBS News has searched for some interesting tidbits among the thousands of exchanges.”
HuffPo/AOL – Sarah Palin Shall Have Her Revenge On The Mainstream Media: “Like many other organizations that cover politics, we at The Huffington Post have made our arrangements to obtain the emails, have handed out assignments to reporters and are hopeful that a crowdsource army will help to pick up the slack. What are we expecting to find? Who knows? Maybe a lot of Comic Sans. Maybe some penetrating new story about Palin’s Alaska reign. Maybe it will be a hot pile of nothing! Yeah, that’s right: One possible outcome of this exercise is that it will be a complete bust.”
The Washington Post opens Twitter account @PalinEmails – “Headlines and details about Sarah Palin’s emails during her term as governor of Alaska. Follow @FixRachel for updates from Juneau” including this tweet: “#Palinemails show show Todd Palin’s key role as an adviser.”
The NY Times – Palin Urged Staff to Be Open With Press: “Ms. Palin’s antipathy toward the mainstream media is well known. She calls them the “lame-stream” media, and her recent One Nation bus tour was designed to make it particularly difficult for reporters to cover. But toward the beginning of her administration, in January 2007, Ms. Palin wrote a long e-mail to her senior staff members urging them to talk to the press about whatever they wanted.”
The New Yorker – Palin Emails Out: “It may take a few days to make sense of them, or it may just take a few minutes, given the scale of the crowd-analysis operation going on. Several media outlets are asking readers to read along; there are dedicated Twitter feeds, and lists of Twitter lists, some more specialized than others.”
Detroit News – Palin emails rarely mention Michigan, search shows: “Michigan, Detroit or its political figures rarely were the topic of discussion for former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, a search of the emails sent before she was tapped by Sen. John McCain to be his running mate reveals.”
Business Wire Press Release: Local Student James Pfeifer Received First Box of Palin Emails: “Crivella West Incorporated, an advanced analytics and investigational research company, announced that James Pfeifer, a 7th grade student at Jefferson Middle School in Mount Lebanon, received the first box of Sarah Palin emails released today by the State of Alaska in Juneau, Alaska. James, brother of Joseph and Lauren, is the son of Debra Pfeifer and Greg Pfeifer. James was accompanied by his mother, Debra Pfeifer, an attorney with Crivella West. She is part of the Crivella West team that is digitizing over 24,000 emails released as a result of freedom of information requests. ” (Note: Crivella West was hired by NYT, WaPo and others for the project.)
L.A. Times – Words of wisdom from supporters point to history, God: “Sarah Palin supporters across the country were quick to offer their own tips for the campaign in the weeks following her ascension to the John McCain presidential ticket. Among the words of wisdom offered: look to American history—and to God.”
ABC News/Daily Beast – Sarah Palin Had Her Eye On Vice Presidential Slot Months Before Receiving Nomination: “Sarah Palin kept a close watch on her constituent mail in the months before Sen. John McCain picked her as the vice presidential nominee, especially a series of flattering messages suggesting she join the Republican presidential ticket.”
NY Times – Palin Upset by Media Focus on Family in Summer 2008: “In the weeks leading up to her selection as Mr. McCain’s running mate, Ms. Palin seemed to be paying particular attention to mistakes she found in news media reports about her.