Major Media Far More Interested in Jon Stewart's Rally Than Glenn Beck's
Journalists are practically giddy in anticipation of this weekend's Jon Stewart rally on the National Mall. The Rally's staff has recieved more than 1,000 requests for press credentials for the event. Only 400 were given out.
Those statistics underscore just how much the media loves Stewart's leftist message (and it is a leftist message). For some perspective, consider that the September 12, 2010 Tea Party on the Mall received roughly 150 requests for press credentials, according to FreedomWorks, which sponsored the event.
Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally granted 450 such credentials to journalists, but in the brief contact NewsBusters had with Beck's staff there was no indication that any reporter who had requested credentials had been turned down.
On Thursday, David Carr reported:
More than 1,000 individuals applied for press credentials to the “Rally To Restore Sanity” on Saturday in Washington, and various broadcast news networks applied for as many as 40 press passes.
In the end, the list was whittled down to 400 credentials.
There will be a riser for television crews and a media center for print and digital reporters filing on deadline. [Rally producer Craig] Minassian said that Comedy Central will be providing a live feed for both domestic and international outlets, and that the broadcast television network would be using the same pool approach to coverage that they use for other large events in Washington...
“I can’t think of a lot of events that have generated this kind of interest,” said Mr. Minassian, who has also produced events for HBO in Washington.
In short, media interest in the Stewart event absolutely dwarfs its interest in either the 9/12 Tea Party event or the "Restoring Honor" rally.
Coverage at the respective events will be a dramatic indicator of a double standard in media coverage of political rallies. But even the coverage leading up to the rallies has demonstrated that double standard.
According to a Nexis search ("jon stewart" "rally to restore sanity"), this weekend's rally has received 277 mentions in newspapers, and 37 mentions in radio or TV transcripts over the past month. In the month preceding the Glenn Beck rally, according to a Nexis search ("glenn beck" "restoring honor"), the event got 112 mentions in newspapers and 18 in transcripts (excluding Beck's own show).
In other words, there has been considerably more buzz around the Stewart event in the past month than there was around the Beck event the month before it took place. And that is before even considering whether those stories were positive or negative (do we really need a detailed analysis to confidently claim that coverage has been more friendly to Stewart than Beck?).
How to account for the discrepancy? Stewart and Beck get comparable ratings levels - roughly 1.9 million viewers for their live programs, on average (in fact, Beck reaches a much larger audience when his radio listenership is included). No honest and accurate assessment could confidently claim turnout this weekend will be any better than it was for Beck's rally (which drew an estimated 300,000 attendees).
Clearly the double standard is a product of the media's love for Stewart's brand of pop-culture leftism. Baltimore Sun media critic David Zurawik wrote Thursday in discussing Stewart's interview with the President:
Maybe I was deluding myself because I like the intelligence of Stewart's humor, but I really believed he had a more balanced and centrist take on American life. If the White House was looking for the court jester and mouthpiece of the folks senior White House officials described as the "professional left," they found him. He was sitting across from the president Wednesday night prodding him with all the White House had not done.
To the extent that Stewart is television's embodiment of the so-called "professional left," Beck can fairly be presented as cable TV's Tea Party anchor. So in that sense Stewart is the diametric opposite of Beck.
And indeed, that is how the "Rally to Restore Sanity" was billed: as a counter-punch to Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally (hence the emphasis on restoration). These are the two camps of political punditry. The mainstream media has clearly picked sides.
- Lachlan Markay's blog
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Comments
Major media like Jon Stewart...
Submitted by P. Aaron on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 5:06pm.
...serious Americans however...not so much.
Plus, Glenn Beck throws bigger & better parties.
Just the photos please...
Submitted by The_Barrel_Guy on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 9:38pm.
Just run photos of the mall AFTER the libtard rally... Run them from then until Tuesday morning...
A trashed mall is an exact metaphor for what happens when libtards are in charge... Tuesday cannot come soon enought!!
Let the media ignore and mock
Submitted by Van Halen on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 5:14pm.
Let the media ignore and mock us, Nov 2 is Tuesday. REVENGE.
Jon Stewart
Submitted by Phryj1 on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 5:35pm.
It looks like he's jumping the shark here. Real moderates and independents should see right through this. This may hurt him in the long run, as more and more people are getting sick of the celebrity elite left.
The progressive left is not moderate, no matter what they tell themselves and everyone around them. If progressivism is so great, then why do progressives have to lie and call themselves moderate? Food for thought.
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.
It's not a double standard
Submitted by TC Lynch on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 5:44pm.
It's how they always operate: if one of them is doing something, it's newsworthy; if it's the other, not so much.
They should get a lot of
Submitted by Van Halen on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 5:46pm.
They should get a lot of people there. Good weather forecast, JournOList media working overtime to make the people show - to save the sorry asses of the politicians of the Left. There's nothing moderate about this. Not one of them would vote for Palin or Bush or say something nice about Beck or Limbaugh or Ingraham or O'Donnell.
Want to upset them? Donate this last time to one or more Conservative candidates. Help them win. All the rallys the Left can muster are useless if they lose the House and Senate.
Over 1000 reporters?
Submitted by williamhenley on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 6:09pm.
I've looked at different gatherings at the mall in Washington, D.C. On Apr. 15th more than 2.5 million conservatives showed up and the lying LSM reported a few hundred thousand.
Glen's little gathering amassed just over 1.5 million according to a national park service ranger who spoke off of the record and the LSM reported a few hundred thousand.
Now, over a thousand reporters want to come!!! Bullcrap, more like 10's of reporters want to come.
I Believe It
Submitted by Secret Conservative on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 11:46am.
I believe that 1,000 reporters want to attend Jon Stewart's rally. It's going to be like a free Comedy Club show. Jon Stewart has the celebrity factor going for him, in a way that Glenn Beck did not. Of course, reading which "celebrities" will be appearing does not make ME want to attend, but considering Stewart's audience I won't be surprised if people turn out. Just keep in mind that if these people are in Washington this weekend, they will NOT be in their hometowns engaged in "get out the vote" efforts, which is a good thing.
So I hope they go and enjoy the free comedy show, with a bunch of "D" list celebrities. Knock yourselves out.
Wouldn't it be great if it
Submitted by rockyracoon on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 6:15pm.
Wouldn't it be great if it rained in D.C. tomorrow??!!
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
So, to recap...
Submitted by johnsonl on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 6:30pm.
there will be more jounolists than attendees?
The difference between
Submitted by MidAmerica on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 6:51pm.
The difference between Beck and Stewart is both fundemental and profound. It is a divide I have seen all my life. On the one hand are the serious and responsible and on the other side are the perpetually youthful and irresponsible. One side has serious adults like Beck, Rush, Palin, Hannity, etc. The other side has Stewart, Maher, Bahar, Griffin, and a whole host of foul mouth 'comedians' speaking for the Leftists.
The Truth Shall Be His Demise
Submitted by rammingspeed on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 7:29pm.
Stewart's marginalizing himself more than ever. This will do him no good, as many people are already off his bandwagon because of his blatant political rants, and more will be leaving once they see with their own eyes what he is all about. Thing number 1 about Jon Stewart: He is a phony.
This comes as no
Submitted by killa37 on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 8:35pm.
This comes as no surprise........the MSM and the libs play like Attention Deficit Disorder (which my mother says is a made-up 'disease'!!!) teenagers in the shallow end of the pool...........it might be entertaining, but there is nothing of substance to be learned there.
Plus..........I'm STILL trying to get a handle on this 'restoring sanity' thing.............who needs their sanity restored??? You know it's a lib event.............are they saying that THEY have a sanity problem???
What is it with Jon Lebowitz
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 9:10pm.
What is it with Jon Lebowitz and the other one that they have those weird eyebrows that move independently?
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Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
Major Media Far More Interested in Jon Stewart's Rally Than Glen
Submitted by Janey on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 9:18pm.
Gee, ya think?
I am ......
Submitted by saintknowitall on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 9:32pm.
..... personally looking forward to the giant puppets that are usually a big part of lefty rallies. Just goes to demonstrate the utter insanity of the left.
Expect the usual gang of idiots
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 10:02pm.
Don't be surprised if the crowd turns out to be a rent-a-mob, consisting of AFSCME and SEIU members, aging hippies, etc.: in other words, the usual gang of idiotic professional protesters. *Yawn* Don't these 1960's rejects have anything better to do?
What happens ?
Submitted by SnapTie on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 10:33pm.
Funny, Stewart wasn't issued his permit till Wednesday afternoon the same day Obama showed up. His permit has a maximum of 60,000. How do they stop it if more show up?
Who will report the largest
Submitted by d1carter on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 10:38pm.
Who will report the largest attendance figure?
A Halloween Party on the Mall
Submitted by Avitar on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 11:45pm.
For college leftist Halloween was a national holiday. If the attendance figures blows out the roof on estimates do not be surprised and do not jump to the conclusion that the number is false. If I was trying to gather a bunch of aging ex-hippies I would go for either summer solstice, like a burning man festival or throw a Halloween party
They are just coming to a party. They never thought through what they were doing when they did it the first time.
Duh!!!
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Fri, 10/29/2010 - 11:57pm.
Who didn't see this happening???
Of course the media is all over J Stew's jock. He's one of them, though a bit funnier.
Really expected a FREE show from the guys
Submitted by Ole_Sarge on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 12:40am.
Really, the few people I know going, (and they were at the Aug 28th and the Sept 12 rallies) are expecting to see a bunch of people that are there for a mid-afternoon comic show, like what the guys do every weeknight.
My husband and I were going to go, but when I heard about some of the other groups that planned to be there decided to do yard work instead. I think a sizable number might be conservatives that are out to see what the other side is trying to do. It's going to be nice, and cool, the foliage around D.C. is at it's peak, and it's free.
It's a show, not real all hogwash.
Uh,,Just a couple of things…
Submitted by Grumpy in Arizona on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 12:57am.
“The Rally's staff has recieved more than 1,000 requests for press credentials for the event. Only 400 were given out.”
Where does it say in the Constitution that Freedom of the Press applies only to "accredited reporters?"
And –
"Journalists are practically giddy in anticipation of this weekend's Jon Stewart rally on the National Mall.“
I am giddy at the prospect of Stewart having to explain why he didn’t get as big a crowed as Beck.
The pictures of the WWII
Submitted by big.league.slider on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 3:34am.
The pictures of the WWII memorial covered in trash after the leftist rally was both heartbreaking and ironic. The left-wing rally participants apparently failed to appreciate the fact that the memorial was dedicated to selfless Americans that lost their lives fighting against the type of government the rally participants were demanding for our country.
Jon Stewart lives in a world where he is never questioned, and his every utterance is enthusiastically applauded. So why have a rally in Washington, DC? Wouldn't Pyongyang be a more appropriate venue?
Leftwing Media interested in a Socialist Leftist message!
Submitted by Amerikan Patriot on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 4:46am.
Gee, big surprise there! The major media outlets with the exception of Fox, are not really unbiased or balanced journalists or news sources but have become propagandists for the lunatic fringe Liberal Left! This "swooning" over another Socialist/Communist Leftist like Clark is to be expected. Anyone thinking the Leftist controlled media would offer unbiased coverage of their own idols is like expecting Goebbel's to offer an unbiased piece on Hitler! The Elitist Liberals use the media in a coordinated attempt to influence public opinion which is the very definition of propaganda! This alleged "rally" reminds me of the rally's, the ones which have been allowed to be filmed, which are held in North Korea, where all is perfectly happy and nothing negative will grace the coverage from the major Leftist media outlets, except of course when it comes to discussion of Conservatives or those Tea Party people who the Elitist Libs like to categorize as akin to domestic terrorists which is just more Leftist propaganda to further their own extremist program which is to turn this country into a Socialist/Communist country, but they call it Liberalism so as to somehow disguise the true aim of their insane Socialist/Communist ideology! I think Norman Thomas said it bestThe American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened. Norman Thomas
Stewart
Submitted by hatfield on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 6:59am.
is nothing more than a shill for the left. Let's see his numbers compared to Becks rally.
Because the LameStreamMedia
Submitted by WarEagle66 on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 9:02am.
Because the LameStreamMedia thinks like Stewart. It's the same as Obama. The media saw what they thought they themselves were, smart, well traveled, well spoken, etc etc...
This is nothing more than themselves covering themselves.
At the Beck event they would have been confronted by $15,000,000 per year Katie Couric's "unwashed masses".
And who wants confrontation when you can cover people with whom you agree 100%.
As for me, I'm goingt to a football game!
rally
Submitted by freods on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 10:05am.
People will reveal themselves at this rally. The more coverage the better. Let the nation see these people and the mess they leave behind. Liberalism only succeeds in the darkness and with deceit.
Sanity?
Submitted by Andrew1431 on Sat, 10/30/2010 - 7:07pm.
And what makes these people think they're sane?