Ron Paul Media Coverage

The mainstream media has largely ignored Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a Republican GOP candidate, during the 2012 campaign for presidency. Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) gathered data concerning media coverage of the 2012 presidential candidates. Posted on October 17, the data found Ron Paul ranked last concerning coverage of Republican candidates from May to October. He appeared “as a primary newsmaker in only two percent of all election stories.” Ron Paul has won 19 out of 51 straw polls. PEJ still found Ron Paul as last concerning media coverage. He was also behind Jon Huntsman, who rarely does better than three percent in the Republican straw polls. On August 13, 2011, a headline for MPRnews said
this, “Bachmann wins Straw Poll, Pawlenty gets third.” The headline completely disregarded Ron Paul who came in a close second, with less than 200 votes separating him and Bachmann. On September 22, 2011, another headline from the Daily Caller said this, “Poll: Romney leads New Hampshire, Huntsman in third, Perry in fourth.” Ron Paul placed second, but was again ignored. Headlines like these have been showing up all around the country.
Ron Paul has also received limited coverage in the Republican debates.
In November, after Ron Paul established himself as a top-tier candidate and had been consistently polling well in Iowa and New Hampshire, CBS allotted Ron Paul 89 seconds of speaking time during its debate. The debate focused on foreign policy and national security. His campaign issued a statement saying Ron Paul was treated unfairly. Not only is Ron Paul a veteran, but he also serves on the House Foreign Relations Committee. His campaign stated, “Congressman Paul was only allocated 90 seconds of speaking in one televised hour. If we are to have an authentic national conversation on issues such as security and defense, we can and must do better to ensure that all voices are heard.” CBS is not the only network that has skewed coverage of each candidate. Ron Paul consistently receives less time than the “establishment favorites” in almost every
debate.
Although many political analysts are ignoring Ron Paul, some have discussed the unacceptability of the issue. Jon Stewart, who in recent years has become the most trusted source of news in America, has addressed the media ignoring Ron Paul. He says almost every candidate was given his or her time in the spotlight until the media “declared the campaigns dead.” He says Cain, Gingrich, Bachmann and Perry have all had their time as media frontrunners. In spite of consistently polling well, Ron Paul has never been given that chance. Stewart shows most analysts declaring Ron Paul as not even having a chance to begin with.
The media’s lack of coverage of certain candidates is unethical, especially when that candidate has consistently polled well. Not only has Ron Paul polled well, but he did not enter the race with “baggage,” another reason why the media might be focusing on different candidates. The media wants to expose negativity and most coverage seems to focus on personal mistakes. Although the candidate’s character is very important, those candidates, like Ron Paul, who stand out for not having baggage, are mostly ignored. The media seems to push negativity, rather than focusing on the candidates who don’t carry baggage. Ron Paul was a doctor and has delivered over 4,000 babies. He has also been married to his wife for over 50 years. The media usually discusses Cain’s sex scandals, Newt’s many marriages or Romney’s family ties to polygamy before it mentions candidates, like Ron Paul, who have been married for half a century. The PEJ study also measured how much positive or negative coverage each candidate received. Ron Paul’s coverage was 21 percent positive, 62 percent neutral and 17 percent negative, which was the least amount of negative coverage any candidate received. The SPJ Code of Ethics from the Society of Professional Journalists emphasizes honesty and truthful reporting.
It says, “Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.” Media coverage of the 2012 Republican race to the White House does not represent fair and honest reporting. Journalists are clearly not fair in their coverage of Ron Paul. Many analysts and political show hosts are sometimes not even honest. It also says that journalists should “expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.” Some journalists and bloggers are attempting to expose the truth about the media’s biased and unbalanced coverage of Ron Paul and other GOP candidates, but still—an overwhelming amount of journalists continue to ignore Ron Paul. It is not the media’s job to sway Americans to vote a certain way. The SPJ Code of Ethics also states that journalists should “support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.” In a presidential campaign, candidates will express many different beliefs and views. The media should not discount or ignore certain views based on their popularity. The media’s job is to represent each side, as well as each candidate who represents those views. The public’s job is to decide when those views correlate with its own. The media should report the truth and represent each candidate fairly and
equally. Aristotle’s golden mean should be an ethical framework used to resolve this issue. The public would be best served if the media used the golden mean as its foundation in its coverage of presidential candidates. Coverage of Ron Paul is currently deficient, while coverage of other candidates is in excess. A balance of media coverage would best serve the candidates as well as the public. Ron Paul’s coverage should be balanced with the amount of coverage other candidates receive. Not only would this best serve the public, but it would represent the SPJ Code of Ethics. Journalists should follow the golden mean to be fair and balanced in their reporting. Coverage of each candidate, regardless of his popularity or scoring in the polls, may never be fair—but a candidate’s coverage should at least be balanced with his or her stance in the polls and the public. Ron Paul’s coverage is unbalanced in comparison to his strong polling, huge fan-base, well debating and big fundraising. Although he stands above other candidates, or leads the pack in these areas, he still receives the least amount of coverage.
The media’s job is to report on what is happening within the presidential race. The media should not decide who is or who is not a “worthy candidate.” The media should not tell us who does or does not have a chance. Americans should listen to the media’s honest and balanced reports and make their own decisions. The media should also not push its own agenda. The media exists to
Inform the public. Journalists should not have a total right to cover certain candidates and completely ignore others. Journalists should always use the golden mean when reporting about the presidential candidates, and a fair coverage policy should be stipulated. The amount of coverage a candidate receives should at least reflect his representation in the polls, fundraising and debates. Presidential debates should also use the golden mean to best represent the candidates and inform the public. The networks push their own agenda when focusing on establishment candidates and completely ignoring others. It devalues their credibility as well as their desire to serve and inform their viewers. Media coverage of candidates should be unbiased and fair. Journalists should strive to present a balanced picture that would allow America to choose their candidate without bias.

Bibliography

“About Ron Paul,” Ron Paul 2012 Restore America Now. Ronpaul2012.com.

Alvarex, Alex, “Jon Steward: Why Doesn’t Ron Paul get his shot as a Media Frontrunner?” 17 Nov 2011
Clabough, Raven, “Ron Paul Ignored in Saturday’s Debate; CBS Policy Questioned.” The New American. 14 Nov 2011. Thenewamerican.com.
SPJ Code of Ethics, Society of Professional Journalists. http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.
“The Media Primary,” Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. 17 Oct 2011. Journalism.org.