It wasn’t a tough name.
At this level within the historical past of televised debates, a historical past that started with the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debates ( 64 years in the past!!) and has continued on with a seemingly countless stream of each Republican vs. Democrat nominee debates plus Republican vs. Republican and Democrat vs. Democrat nomination debates, one would suppose ABC would have realized a factor or two.
However, alas, no.
The results of the a lot ballyhooed ABC Trump vs. Harris debate was, effectively except for the decision on the candidates themselves, a bursting of the liberal media bubble.
Pattern headlines:
From The Hill:
Conservatives rail towards ABC moderators after Trump, Harris debate
From Newsweek:
MAGA Assaults ABC Moderators After Debate: ‘Three on One’
From Fox Information:
ABC debate moderators spark fury for aggressive fact-checking of Trump, straightforward therapy of Harris
David Muir, Linsey Davis repeatedly challenged Trump’s claims whereas letting Harris off the hook
The Wall Avenue Journal:
ABC’s Bias Disadvantaged Voters of a Honest Debate
They referred to as Trump out on each falsehood however let Harris get away with one lie after one other.
Headlines just like these went on- and on and on.
And oh sure. To not be forgotten was the response of former President Trump himself. Listed below are however two headlines:
From USA Right now:
Trump: ‘Take away’ ABC broadcast license for ‘unfair debate’ therapy
In simply the newest assault on the media by former President Donald Trump, he stated the fact-checking by ABC’s moderators was ‘unfair’ and the community ought to lose its license to broadcast.
From The Hill:
Trump rips ‘low-life’ ABC moderators in first postdebate speech
In brief, overlook the candidates. The talk was a strong black eye for sponsoring community ABC.
The actual query right here is: How might this occur?
In any case, for these within the historic report, the American Broadcasting Firm first got here to life as a radio community in….1943! That will be a full 81 years in the past. Because the expertise superior the community moved into tv. The place it grew to become well-known over the a long time for any variety of journalism stars with names like Peter Jennings, David Brinkley, Frank Reynolds, Sam Donaldson, Harry Reasoner, Barbara Walters, Ted Koppel, Cokie Roberts, Brit Hume, Diane Sawyer, Chris Wallace and Howard Ok. Smith to call just a few.
With that historical past behind them, how might this 2024 Trump-Harris presidential debate lead to such a blizzard of criticism? Criticism focused at each the community itself and the controversy moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis?
The reply is just not exhausting to determine if outdoors the bubble that’s the liberal media.
The reply is that as the 2 moderators, their employees and community executives prepped for the controversy, any signal of anti-Trump bias and pro-Harris bias was merely not acknowledged. Why? As a result of the moderators, employees and community executives themselves all function in a liberal media bubble the place anti-Trump bias is just not seen as bias. Any criticism of Harris is seen as out of bounds – racist, sexist yada yada yada.
With that being the case, Muir and Davis have been headed for a sure-thing media automotive wreck – as a result of the nation as an entire is just not residing and dealing 24/7 within the liberal media bubble. So when the 2 drilled in on Trump – however wouldn’t deal with Harris in the identical relentless essential trend – tens of millions of Individuals seen.
And now? Yet one more headline, this from Actual Clear Politics:
Mark Penn: ABC Information Ought to Do A Full Investigation Into Debate, “I Do not Know What They Advised The Harris Marketing campaign”
That gem of a narrative stories:
Pollster and former Clinton strategist Mark Penn referred to as on ABC Information to rent an out of doors legislation agency to look into inside communication between the community and the Harris marketing campaign and to “what extent” they deliberate on “rigging the end result of this debate.
Not good for ABC. Not good in any respect.
To not point out, outdoors the liberal media bubble, simply seen as a totally avoidable scenario.
Memo for networks within the 2028 presidential election?
Keep in mind 2024 and the ABC debate debacle. And get out of the liberal media bubble.