Tea Party Coverage, or lack thereof

On April 15, 2009, I awoke with a feeling of culmination. Here it is. Our time has come to make our voices heard. I get online to check the MSM news outlets. I'm searching and searching and then it hits me: They are honestly refusing coverage. But how can this be? I mean, newsworthy things come in positive and negative forms. Certainly the MSM doesn't "like" to have to cover stories about the deaths of children because that is depressing, but it's news, and so they do their job. Certainly there are some in the MSM who favor traditional marriage (while this is not true of most of them), yet they earnestly covered the recent state decisions on gay marriage. If Jessica Simpson takes a bad photo and seems to have gained weight, THAT is newsworthy to every news outlet around.
If you've been hiding under a rock, or if you happen to be one of the few people who don't watch FOX news, you may never have even heard of a Tea Party. I'll give you a quick refresher course. As a tea party co-organizer, I think I have a bit of expertise on the subject. Many Americans are sick and tired of out of control government spending, runaway powers being added to governmental agencies that were not bestowed in the Constitution, and taxation without deliberate representation. It's really that simple. It is not an attack on President Obama. It is an attack on an abuse of power that has been brewing for a very long time, and from both sides of the aisle. We're mad at Republicans and Democrats alike. If we're "haters" I guess the good thing about that is that we are equal opportunity haters. MSNBC had no tea party coverage on its home page. However, for those interested, one can read about the new report which labels those against abortion or illegal immigration as "right-wing extremists." One can read about exactly how "gays won a marriage victory in the Midwest." One can even read about Bo, the President's new dog. Over on CNN, you've got to search for it, but you'll find a report from Howard Kurtz, entitled, "Who's Promoting Tax Protests?"


In the video, Kurtz proclaims that CNN is not covering the Tea Party Protests. He notes that none of his cohorts are covering the protests, other than FOX News. He seems to think that by actually reporting on the news, FOX is a "co-sponsor." So are we to surmise from this that MSNBC was a co-sponsor for the gay marriage passage bills? Are they also co-sponsoring American Idol and the President's new dog? No, I think not. I think that they were either amused or intrigued by the aforementioned stories, and they thought that the public would be as well. I think back to the protests of other groups that I've seen on the news and I can't for the life of me understand why it could be that any reputable news source would PURPOSEFULLY and DELIBERATELY not cover the Tax Day Tea Party Protests. I watch the above video and I see Howard Kurtz smirking and laughing in a knowing way when he describes how MSNBC's coverage has consisted of Rachel Maddow "making fun of this thing." He has the audacity--I like that word, it caused so many people to think that Obama was a genius, so I'll use it here--to state that the FOX News analysts, "said little or nothing about the huge deficits run up by President Bush..." and his aim is clear. He honestly thinks that if he can falsely convince the public that FOX News analysts didn't speak up with dissent under President Bush, then the droves of American citizens who are mobilizing, should be dismissed. Kurtz sums up his rant by acknowledging that Hannity, Beck, et al on FOX are "commentators who are paid for their opinions." As such, they are not obligated to give anything other than their opinions. Seeing the MSM outright ignore the protests has enraged the FOX News commentators, I'm thinking it's because they have this strange notion that NEWS should be covered by those employed by news outlets. The MSM has not only taken a deliberate stand on the sidelines on this issue, but they have gone out of their way to discredit and belittle average American citizens. No one is funding this movement. We are choosing to use our money to make phone calls, pay for gas, and make photocopies. Sure, FOX News is a news outlet, and as such, is covering the movement. You might have missed that day in Journalism school. Newt Gingrich may be lending his name and he may be encouraging like-minded people to act, but he is being supportive, not giving financial support. We demand that our voices be heard, NOW. I've heard it said by some of the MSM who are mocking us, "if this outrage is real and not staged, where were all of these people before now?" Some of us weren't involved. Some of us didn't care about politics. I, myself, didn't have much interest in politics because I just thought it was a network of "good old boys" and that they didn't care what I thought. I will be the first to admit that myself and others like me were ignorant. But guess what MSM? We're standing up now. Regardless of when the problems started, regardless of who is in office, regardless of who you think is promoting our cause...WE THE PEOPLE have woken up. So in closing, I'd like to issue a public "thank you" to the likes of MSNBC and CNN for dismissing us. You've only managed to make us that more determined. I guess you could even say that by your inaction, YOU are the true force that is guiding us.