July 3, 2014 11:55 AM
This and That
Recently WW engaged in a discussion with one of its readers:WW: Here are the latest performance numbers for Obama.
Reader: What happens when the main stream press stops covering up for Obama in its ongoing coverage?
WW: That part of the press that appears to cover his back won’t change, but their impact is less because there is an increasingly active more conservative press.
Reader: The difference is that the negative, right-wing press reinforces opinion, whereas the mainstream media helps form opinion. Right-wing media only serves those who are looking to reinforce their preconceptions. Mainstream also gets repeated in less ideologically driven periodicals and broadcast. No one repeats stories written in the New York Post, but a story from the Times (NY), “Washington Post,” network news, gets repeated hundreds of times. The impact of the left has much more influence, based on volume of viewers and readers. Combining the effect of the Times and W Post with the viewership of the nightly news plus their repeaters creates an audience millions more than that of the right. It won’t change unless the internet-provided information overcomes Jon Stewart.
Leadership comes in many forms, styles, strengths, weaknesses. The question is whether a leader with particular strengths and weaknesses works in a particular situation.
