Predict the Post Debate Media Narrative!

Filed in National by on October 2, 2012

As Robert Wright notes in his Atlantic article, The Coming Romney Comeback Narrative, the media doesn’t much like a static political narrative.  It is the unfortunate byproduct of the horse race reporting they are fond of and the need to capture eyeballs.  Wright posits multiple paths that the media narrative may go after tomorrow’s debate (although it is worth it to read his entire article), but jump in the comments to make your own prediction of the new drama the media will be working on  after tomorrow’s Presidential Debate.

The essential property of the new narrative is that it inject new drama into the race, which means it has to be in some sense pro-Romney. This can in turn mean finding previously unappreciated assets in Romney or his campaign, previously undetected vulnerabilities in the Obama campaign, etc. The big question is whether the new narrative then becomes self-fulfilling, altering the focus of coverage in a way that actually increases Romney’s chances of a victory. And that depends on the narrative’s exact ingredients. Here are some candidate memes (see below for a quick list, but the article has more explanation):

  1. Romney has a previously undiscovered sense of humor!
  2. Sudden and unexpected foreign policy switcheroo!
  3. Suddenly it’s Obama who seems off balance and gaffe-prone!
  4. Romney surprisingly good in presidential debates!

So what do you think?  What is going to be the narrative that your liberal media will be pushing once they leave the spin room?

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Comments (11)

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  1. puck says:

    I don’t know about the debate but I know the narrative they want to push AFTER the debate: “Romney closes gap, within reach of Presidency.”

  2. socialistic ben says:

    Fox news – Romney devastates Obama in the debates, gains the lead in all 9 swing states, makes PA and NY competitive

    MSNBC – Obama puts the nail in the coffin, makes Texas and Indiana close.

    CNN – let’s see what poopypants564 has said on Twitter

  3. jason330 says:

    This notion that MSNBC is the liberal version of Fox News is absurd.

  4. socialistic ben says:

    hows that? maybe during the no-viewership daytime news cycle…. or that awful morning show. But from Sharpton (seriously, are you kidding me with that crap?) to Tweetybird it is all progressive all the time. Ed Schultz making 3 months of his news show dedicated to throwing out a republican governor? c’mon. I dont mind it, mind you, but its true. It helps that reality has a liberal bias.

  5. jason330 says:

    Right. The liberal equivalent to Fox News provides the morning airtime to a Republican blow hard, because you know Fox News gives hours and hours every morning to Michael Moore.

    Give me a fucking break. There is no comparison.

  6. socialistic ben says:

    did you forget to notice how i made it only about the primetime air time (which is the only thing people watch)? or would that mess with your argument?
    It isnt the Fox news equivalent, it is the left VERSION of fox news. You’re right, there is no comparison. MSNBC is more honest, they dont deny science to advance their narrative, they give honest time to the opposition…. all those things brand them as liberal. (sad, but reality)
    You KNOW MSNBC, or at least every anchor from 4pm on, is voting for Obama and would prefer a democratic government to a republican one. as if Matthews, Sharpton (really, are you kidding me?), Maddow, Ed, et all are all opinion less stoic news anchors.

  7. Geezer says:

    What’s your problem with Sharpton, Ben? I think he’s 10 times better than that phony Ed Schultz.

    By the way, the numbers for the morning shows are about half those in prime time. That’s hardly the same thing as “nobody” watching.

  8. Michelle M says:

    Allen Ludell is on WDEL right now interviewing someone from Politico on an article about the “10 statements that haunt Barack Obama.” So, Ludell is starting early.

  9. Jason330 says:

    Ludell and his love for Politco, The Washington Times and Rassy. I like the guy, but Jesus, get a freaking clue about who you are using as sources.

  10. pandora says:

    I like the guy, too. I just don’t get his reliance on these sources. It’s sad, because I’ve stopped listening to his broadcast – mainly because I always know what’s coming. No sense in tuning in.

  11. cassandra_m says:

    Reliance on those sources is just a big investment in the horserace reporting that is all la rage everyplace, you know?