Eric Levitz’s recent post about the Democrats’ challenges in getting their messages aired on Cable News highlights a serious problem: that there is no Liberal/Left equivalent to Fox News in the mainstream media. The rightwing News media company acts as a PR arm of the Republican Party. On the otherhand, MSNBC and CNN, while Left of center most of the time, prioritize Ratings over the Democratic Party’s agenda.
The Daily Beast recently reported that Democrats are frustrated with Cable News:
Eager to move a message that focuses on things like minimum wage hikes and health care premiums, [Democrats] have been overtaken by a steady stream of stories of Russian meddling, porn star payoffs, and shady Trump-world figures. Ultimately, many offices and aides have come to the conclusion that they should simply give up on trying to break through on cable news at all.
“It’s impossible,” said one Senate aide, “unless you want to talk about Russia.”
… [N]umerous other aides echoed this point, sharing stories of fruitless calls and emails to bookers and abrupt cancellations on pre-existing bookings. Jessica Post, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said she was bumped three times from a prime-time MSNBC show due to Trump scandals.
In the current News Media environment, Trump’s scandals, Tweets, and campaign rallies drive Ratings and Clicks more than Democratic Party messaging.
Despite this fact, Fox News stays focused on helping the RNC and Trump administration:
Fox News puts the GOP’s messaging needs ahead of maximizing eyeballs: When big breaking news about the Mueller investigation reflects poorly on the Republican president, Fox lets its competitors own the day’s top story.
This isn’t new. Clearly, there has long been coordination between Fox News and the Republican Party. And in many ways, it’s effective.
The Democrats currently rely on non-Traditional media to get their messaging out. They also are being encouraged to reach out to Local news outlets. But that still leaves them at a wide disadvantage. Especially with Twitler(Trump) controlling the White House Bully-pulpit for at least three more years.
So my question is, Do Democrats need their own Fox News?