NBC-TV: Another Week but More of the Same

Samantha Pompeo
sp306305@ohio.edu


It has been a week since the Wall Street crash of 2008 but the news programs on NBC are not letting you forget. Every mention of the candidates has to do with their economic plans, especially during the nightly programming. This makes it extremely difficult to get any other policy information from the station. While I understand that it’s a hard time financially for some people, there is more to the candidate’s plans than just how to solve this crisis.

One thing I really appreciated was that “Nightly News with Brian Williams” is doing its best to keep the public informed. On Monday night there was a segment titled “Where They Stand” which detailed a certain part of the candidates’ platforms. With all the discussion about “lipstick on a pig” it’s nice to finally get back to what the election should be about: the issues. The policy discussed was taxes but what else to expect with the way the station is talking about the economic crisis 24/7.



On two instances of “Nightly News” the reporter boasted about his “exclusive” interviews with both John McCain and Barack Obama. But, when time came for his package, the sit-down with Obama was the only video shown. When showing John McCain, the typical video of him standing on a stage, talking to a crowd was used. The one time this same type of video of Obama was shown, the crowd was heard clapping at the end. But this was not the case with McCain. It could have been how the speech was prepared but it also could have been deliberate.

Whenever the network uses graphics of the candidates, there’s always a subtle reminder of which side the candidate is on. Profile pictures of McCain and Obama were shown “staring” each other down with nice colorful borders. McCain was surround with red and Obama with blue. This was yet another stab at reminding voters that there are red states and blue states and we have to choose.



It’s difficult to say whether NBC is doing its best to remain unbiased on its coverage of the candidates. It seems that both McCain and Obama receive equal face time but are they presented the same? I’m sure it’s difficult to present a story without some of your personal feelings creeping in, regardless of how much you claim otherwise. I wouldn’t want the “liberal media” to continue to torture the voices of the right. No, that would be wrong. :)