Coverage of "tea party" protests in various cities around the country (this March 4 Pajamas Media press release, HT to FreeRepublic, cited 22 locations on February 27 and seven this weekend) has been sparse to non-existent, especially at major establishment media outlets.
Most notably, based on a seach on "tea party" (not in quotes) at its ap.org home page at about 10:00 a.m., there has been no coverage of this weekend's or last weekend's protests by the Associated Press, the self-described "essential global news network":
What's more, even though over 20 of the protests had already taken place, the AP's David Bauder, in his coverage of a dispute over the prominent use of CNBC's Rick ("Rant Hear 'Round the world") Santelli's name at a protest web site (the March 2, 8:06 p.m. item above), either did not know that the protests had occurred, or didn't care to inform his readers that they had.
Looking at this weekend's coverage thus far, a 10:15 a.m. Google News search on "tea party" for March 7-8 (in quotes, sorted by date with duplicates included), returned only 47 items (the over 1,500 results claim at the top of the first page of the results is wrong; scroll to the bottom to see that there are only 5 pages of results). Roughly a quarter of them are unrelated to the protests; most of the rest are from local publications and TV stations results. One exception is Michelle Malkin's column ("The Wealth Battlefield") in the Washington Times.
As if you didn't know already: With the exception of a one-paragraph blog post at the New York Times, searches at the Washington Post and the Times on "tea party" (not in quotes) indicate that there was no coverage of the protest events.
Maybe the tea partiers should have told the press that they were holding Iraq War protests.
UPDATE: Patrik Jonsson at the Christian Science Monitor did an even-handed report on the tea party movement on February 27 ("Budget debate launches new tea party"). I appreciate his e-mail calling his work to my attention.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
The press
March 8, 2009 - 10:17 ET by jessieHJessie R. Hamby It doesn't matter what the press say's. We all know how to get to the truth- listen to Rush- listen to hannity- listen to O'reilly- listen to anyone but the press- and you will know the truth!
Check the numbers too
March 8, 2009 - 10:50 ET by slickwillie2001You will also see in the few reports that the numbers at the Tea Parties are underestimated, which follows a pattern. Estimates of those attending Obammy's coronation for example were outrageous, like 2 million, when it was more like 800,000. (They wanted to make it the biggest, when in reality it was nowhere near LBJ's attendance.)
You can look at personal reports of Tea Parties on blogs and compare them to the few news reports, and see the opposite. Yet if Cindy Sheehan and a dozen of her Pink Hags protest somewhere, it always is a news item. If the numbers aren't impressive, they simply don't report them.
Tea Parties will grow. Right now they are over the bailout of slacker homeowners. Wait until it becomes clear that illegal aliens are also going to benefit from the bailout, and that the biggest benefactors of Obammy's medicare-a-palooza will be illegal aliens.
nothing at CNN either
March 8, 2009 - 10:59 ET by timotheI exhaustively searched CNN.com last week and could not find one story about the "tea parties". (Mind you, this is the same organization that offered multiple reports of Cindy Sheehan's protest at the Masters, which drew a total of 9 protestors and 60 media)
Once again, I wrote to their Ombudsman and once again, I didn't receive a response.
Good one, timothe
March 8, 2009 - 11:01 ET by BlondeI was going to compare and contrast the "Tea Party Coverage" to the great "Global Warming" protest in the blizzard on the mall last week. You know, the one Nanny Pelosi missed because her big fat government plane was snowed in.
I hope he fails, too.
The MSM is a willing
March 8, 2009 - 11:05 ET by R D HelmThe MSM is a willing accomplice in the socialist takeover currently underway in America.
This is just a way of hiding the growing dissent among the few of us left who love freedom from the celebtiry-worshiping dumbMasses until things have deteriorated to the point where the Obamanistas can take a much more proactive approach in stifling dissent, without fear of reprisals on the part of the American Idol-viewing sheeple.
-Dave
This coup has gone on long enough. The time to put it down is NOW.
Good morning RD
March 8, 2009 - 11:11 ET by cocodrieWith the old media losing readership so fast, they insure their survival by becoming government agencies under a socialist regime.
Jesus Loves You
Willing accomplice? No, respectfully, they're . . .
March 8, 2009 - 19:13 ET by CKA in Red State USA. . . the Fifth Column, America's version of the Quislings, Norwegian traitors and collaborators who helped overthrow their country in World War II so Nazi Germany could oppress them.
What the advocacy/adversary and Obama and his other bots do not understand is that they have initiated the Second American Revolution.
It is something they cannot suppress.
Remember: Only about one in three of the colonialists supported breakaway from the British oppression.
There's at least that percentage in America today who are fast reaching the point where they will no longer tolerate the modern, yet just-as-insane King George III and his despicable Parliament in D.C.
Just as that king lost America, Obama will cause America to turn against him and he and his Marxists will lose America.
How will the American People Know?
March 8, 2009 - 11:13 ET by richb313It has been pointed out before that the regular readers/commenters here at NB are in the know. I submit that is not the problem. The problem is that the Average American does not know. If we want the country to continue down this seemingly endless path to destruction then we can continue as we have been and nothing will change. It does no good to continue to congratulate each other on how smart we are if in the process we are not actually helping the American People come to terms with how much they are being manipulated.
Brent Bozell has done a great job with MRC and NB. That is just the first step. These organizations have done a wonderful job of exposing MEDIA BIAS. Exposing it is not the same as getting the Average American to really understand how this BIAS lately has been an all out assault on our Freedoms.
The "Tea Parties" are a great idea because it bypasses the MSM. Local news outlets will cover these events because people in these localities will have seen them and want to know. Even as the MSM continues to ignore this people will have at least been exposed to the Protests.
I think that somehow we have to capture the National Stage in such a way that it will be impossible for the MSM to ignore. Perhaps a National Protest similar to the "Million Man March on Washington". It will take a tremendous amount of organization and advertising skills.
All I am really trying to say is that we who read and comment here are in the minority. Nothing will change until at least a larger minority or better a majority of Americans understand how they are being misinformed and worse manipulated.
OK, I got my 2 cents worth.
Thanks
Richb313
March 8, 2009 - 11:58 ET by flyingmonkeyYou are definitely on the right track, but it doesn't have to be a major undertaking. I'm doing what I call, "One Town At A Time."
I live in a small town with a liberal newspaper and am doing a running expose about the Affirmative Action Hero. I research his beliefs and associates and print the facts in one page stories which I print, buy copies, and hang on every store or business bulletin board I can find. It cost me about five bucks a week but I think people will read them due to the bold type and the state of the economy.
Most people want to know but are too busy or lazy to look this stuff up. I'm just trying to make it easy.
I believe even a massive demonstration would be ignored or misrepresernted by the media for what it is.
Yes, it would definitely be
March 8, 2009 - 12:15 ET by KevroyYes, it would definitely be portrayed by the media as a 'mob of angry white neo-con Rushbots who want the president to fail descended on this normally peaceful town today, frightening residents.'
WORDS MATTER...
March 8, 2009 - 12:33 ET by danybhoyOf course the MSM does'nt care about tea parties, but they would care about tea bagging parties. That would be more their style.
"The Fairness Doctrine = Jim Crow laws for Conservatives". Jim Quinn from "Quinn & Rose"
It's like the blind leading the deaf.
March 8, 2009 - 14:00 ET by CrashI'm no historian, but this "tea party" is a toothless bastard compared to the Boston Tea Party. Also, like today, the majority of the population was against those type of actions (at least publicly).
What baffles, troubles me the most is that more people aren't pissed off enough! Oh yeah, they're mad about not getting more hand outs, angry about CEO pay, and private jets, but, it has yet to occurr to them that the liberty they take for granted is in play. I had a bumper sticker that read, "We're Screwed in 08." Today, we're just plain screwed ... our children even more so. No thanks to leftists leeches and RINO rat bags.
Orlando
March 8, 2009 - 15:02 ET by iveseenitallA Tea Party in Orlando, Florida --- Saturday, Mar.21. Check Bud@540wfla.com.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
A Tea Party yesterday in
March 8, 2009 - 19:24 ET by TN MomA Tea Party yesterday in Fullerton, CA drew 15,000! I can't wait to attend the April 15th Tea Party in Nashville, TN!!
Weather or not it is covered by MSM, Atlas will shrug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have you heard?
March 8, 2009 - 21:13 ET by jackie3The media routinely censors it's stories that should be leading or close to leading. How many times do we hear about the big O's stimulus package and his gray hair? How many times do we hear that Iran has nuclear fuel? How many times do we hear about movie stars and their newest problem?
Now how many times have you seen coverage on the protesting? On the states declaring the 10th? On the tent cities in CA? On the 2nd amendment marches that are going on? On the possibility of a food shortage in 12 to 16 months? On ammo shortages? On the tainted vaccines by Baxter sent to 17 countries? When was the last time you hear a real report on what actually caused the recession and how this is going into a depression? How many people know the banks refused to take the TARP money that Paulson secured and are holding out for a bigger amount?
Has anyone heard that there is no stimulus for small business or farmers in the recent package? Have you heard about the rationed health care coming?
The main stream media is not news. It's pure propaganda that would make Lenin smile with glee.
Alexander Hamilton: "We are a Republican government. Real liberty is
never found in the despotism or in the extremes of a Democracy."
Hold the Tea Parties in front of the media headquarters
March 8, 2009 - 22:29 ET by pabargeWe're holding these parties in the wrong place.
We should be holding these in front of the newspaper and TV station corporate offices.
It is these people who are the problem.