In their yearly wrap-up of what they deem “The Best and Worst Journalism of 2015,” the venerable and widely respected Columbia Journalism Review lays bare the sort of bias the Republicans can expect in the 2016 election cycle, as they claim the media “coddled” Donald Trump.
That’s right. The Columbia Journalism Review claims that the media was too easy on Donald Trump.
They declare “the year of Trump” one of 2015’s “Worsts,” saying:
First, political media underestimated the reality TV star. Then, they coddled him for traffic and ratings. The spectacle of his candidacy has sucked media attention away from more legitimate candidates who might challenge him. Now, Trump’s support appears so well established—and so removed from mainstream analysis of his antics—that even strong coverage won’t make a dent.
The elites at the Columbia Journalism Review obviously know better than actual voters what constitutes a legitimate candidate. His popularity obviously stymies them, since their write-up shows that they are frustrated by their inability to “make a dent.”
CJR then proceeds to stamp their feet over the Huffington Post’s recent decision to rescind their earlier and bizarre decision to only cover Donald Trump under their entertainment vertical and not under politics. The Review writes:
Arianna Huffington, whose eponymous site classified Trump coverage under its “Entertainment” tab, this week walked back that decision. “We are no longer entertained,” she explained.
In an unbiased world, that decision by HuffPo to marginalize Donald Trump should have made their list of 2015’s worsts in journalism, but a quick look at the Huffington Post initial coverage of Trump’s announcement shows that he was not coddled, as Columbia Journalism Review says he was.
The headline of the Huffington Post ran when Trump made his announcement: “Donald Trump Is Actually Running For President. God Help Us All.”
The Columbia Journalism Review is the house organ of Columbia University’s prestigious graduate school of journalism and, as such, carries influence with journalists working in newsrooms across the nation. It’s also been funded by George Soros’s Open Society Foundation and the chairman of the magazine is the former editor and publisher of The Nation.
Their mission statement reads “Columbia Journalism Review’s mission is to encourage excellence in journalism in the service of a free society.”
If you’re making a list of the biggest lies in journalism in 2015, make sure to add that one.
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