Tuesday, June 10, 2008

What media bias?


Maybe I'm being conspiratorial here, but I just got my Newsweek with the cover story: "A new kind of recession" with "recession" spelled out in large letters over a gas pump. The rest of the cover is a melange of negative connotations including "war", "death", "nerd", and - coincidence, I'm sure - "McCain." Compare this to the fawning covers for Saint Obama, where a halo of light never fails to hover around his glorious head.

Extra - Found this after my post: "When does Newsweek officially change it's name to Obamaweek?"

More - From Betsy here and here.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's just you. A halo of light never fails to hover around Obama's glorious head on those 16 covers, as long as we don't count the 14 where it doesn't.

Here are some other fawning Time Magazine covers in which the subject gets an effusive subliminal halo of liberal adoration:

*John McCain (February 4, 2008);
*Vladimir Putin (December 31, 2007);
*Ann Coulter (April 25, 2005);
*Jack Abramoff (January 16, 2006);
*Don Imus (April 23, 2007);
*Warring Sunnis and Shiites (March 5, 2007);
*George W. Bush (November 15, 2004);
*Mao Tse-Tung (June 27, 2005);
*Rupert Murdoch (July 9, 2007).

Eric said...

I count at least four instances of strategic back-lighting along with hard-hitting titles like "The Contender!" and "When Barry cured cancer"

Then there's this classic from the ex-music magazine Rolling Stone:

http://www.foliomag.com/2008/cover-critique-rolling-stones-barack-obama-endorsement

"The use of an Obama illustration portraying him as a glowing savior peering off into an unknown future? It seems a bit melodramatic."

Anonymous said...

Ann Coulter was not depicted in the rediculously messianic manner Obama was, you pathetic, blunder-fuck, shit-for-brains. She was phtographed like the original "ice queen", photoshopped to eleongate her body.

Yeah, look at the Abramoff cover. Not exactly messianic, is it? More like a man on death row.

And the George Bush halo? Must be your crank-induced hallucinations. The caption makes Time's position pretty clear: *ugh* "four more years".

Mao Tze-Tung & Vlad portrayed as 'messiahs' on the cover of Time? Say it ain't so!

Get out of the basement, jackass. You could use some sun.

Anonymous said...

You're projecting in a major way, VP. Obama as "The Contender" (no exclamation point) is a problem? As opposed to the 2008 covers depicting Hillary Clinton {"The Fighter") or John McCain ("The Phoenix")?

The troll is, of course, dead on about everything. He's really got a great eye for design concerns. Not one word of his post can be disputed.

Anonymous said...

The troll is a retard, lost-boy, as are all trolls.

Anonymous said...

Give it up. Here are some more messianic figures, each gazing majestically into the distance:

Saddam Hussein:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20020513,00.html

Ronald Reagan:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20030929,00.html

Mitt Romney:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20070521,00.html

George W. Bush:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20000228,00.html

Kim Jong-Il:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20030113,00.html

Bode Miller:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20060123,00.html

Yoda:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20020429,00.html

Eric said...

Give it up?

Um, no. Your impressive list of "far-looking figures" notwithstanding, I see it took you six years to gather images easily gathered over only six months for Obama. I couldn't find the image online, but look for Obama's last appearance on Newsweek ("Obama, race and us") with his halo of political perfection.

If I could just touch the hem of his garment!

Anonymous said...

"Give it up" was just a sensible suggestion, not a command. You're free to keep wallowing in blogospheric paranoia that one Newsweek cover you don't like, or 15, is going to unfairly swing the election.

Even buying into your terms, that gallery of 16 "fawning covers for Saint Obama" contains just 2 "glorious halos," and 2 "messianic" poses, on all of two covers (#1 Time, #2 Rolling Stone). The other 14 images show Obama looking directly into the camera 11 times, as part of a montage once, looking down and to the side once, and the back of his head once. On those 16 covers, Obama's head is surrounded by shadows more often than it is by sneaky Jesus light.

If Obama is a comparatively frequent magazine cover subject, maybe it's because he's new, maybe it's because he's winning, and maybe it's because his face sells magazines... which wouldn't bode well for the opposition's chances.

You're right to be panicked, but magazine cover design is the least of your concerns.