My name is John Kline, I’m a sophomore at UMBC and for as long as I can remember I have always followed Presidential elections very closely. I can remember back in sixth grade engaging in arguments with classmates over the pros and cons between George W. Bush and Al Gore and doing my best to list reasons that Bush would be a better choice then Gore and would return the dignity to the White House that the Clinton administration had taken from it. Well, turns out my eleven year old self was pretty wrong, but it has been a fascinating and unique experience growing up in the age of twenty four hour media.
The instant TV and internet reporting has in some ways over saturated what actually qualifies as “Breaking News”, but when a real story does actually take place the amount of real-time information at your fingertips can be amazing. When a story breaks about the campaign trail about the candidates’ vice presidential picks there will be embedded reporters there to uncover the latest information, thirty seven analysts standing by to break down that information and thirty seven million bloggers there to critique the reporting itself. It is like a never ending circle that allows the viewer or reader to be informed at all angles. Politically I lean to the right, however I find myself watching programs on all the major new channels even if they do offer a perspective that is blatantly biased in one direction or another. You have to get the Democratic spin coming from MSNBC and combine it with the Republican spin from Fox News, to get a nice full picture. I enjoy watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann, not because I agree with his politics but because I am an old fan of his from ESPN and have always enjoyed his sense of humor. Also I enjoy seeing him make a fool of himself when his particular, usually extreme liberal, take on a subject is completely out of touch with reality, yet he is convinced its gospel. It is like the never ending car crash of political media. You can’t help but watch.
My favorite media analyst is David Gergen with CNN. He has a good sense of what the job of president actually entails, based upon his prior experiences advising presidents of both parties. He is able to see through what the reality of a situation is and what the political spin is. He is only there to offer solid commentary and not be a party hack like Paul Begala or William Kristol.
My media consumption isn’t limited to the political realm however. I am a huge sports fan and find myself watching ESPN or reading www.deadspin.com more often then I watch Fox News or read other political blogs. The twenty four hour new cycle phenomena is as evident in sports, such as during the Bret Favre retirement saga as it is following McCain and Obama around. The political blog I plan on following is Ben Smith’s Politico blog. I enjoy Politico because it plays mostly down the middle politically and is always filled with interesting pieces of information that allow visitors to become a more well rounded political observer.
