Curious about the way MSNBC just started covering Sanders?

[kristopher]

After months of total blackout, suddenly they are making him the center of their coverage.

Odd.

But actually he isn't "the center of their coverage" now that I think about it; the thing that is occupying most of the airtime is the terror attack in Belgium.

Terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, terror, be afraid, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, aaaaaannnnnd, we'll be back in just a moment for more coverage of today's elections in Hawaii, Alaska and Washington. Stay tuned.

Still too early to call in Washington. Turnout looks good.

Terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, terror, be afraid, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, terror, terror, be afraid, terror, terrorist, aaaaaannnnnd, we'll be back in just a moment for more coverage of today's elections in Hawaii, Alaska and Washington. Stay tuned.

And so on and so on.

Given MSNBC's track record during this election, I'm jaded enough to guess the background burble is intended to make us think Hillary is going to keep is safe (can't count the number of times I've heard that expression there today), but the fact is the only thing related to Hillary I'm getting out of the coverage is how much worse the terrorism problem will become if her neocon Middle East agenda is allowed to become official policy of the Democratic party and the Presidency.

[dchill]

1. They had to cover him if they were going to have ANY news...

Out of today's caucuses.

[pdsimdars]

2. Because Bernie finally gave them the Bird

[anothergreenbus]

3. Hillary ain't going to keep us safe.

We will be bombing Iran in the blink of Bibi's eye and McCain will be riding the first bomb into Tehran.
Oh, and we, grateful little people, will get to pay for the service with our tax money and blood when the blow-back comes.

[monmouth4]

4. I'm thinking they took a hard look at their audience numbers and were no happy. Just speculating..n/

[Hoyt]

5. Funny I saw him being covered in early 2015. Then, there was Ed Shultz's bluster.

Of course, few watched Ed, so you might have missed some coverage. He's received plenty of coverage since declaring, probably more than Clinton.

[Gwhittey]

7. Low information is killer

Go and do some searches on google about media coverage and candidates. I am not going to post a link because you know the old saying about giving a man a fish ...

[Hoyt]

10. I watched MSNBC almost everyday. Sanders had lots of exposure. For a long

time, all Clinton got were questions about whether she'd run. Of course, she got exposure at House hearings, as Secretary of State, etc., because she was actually doing stuff that make her an excellent candidate.

[Dem2]

6. "After months of total blackout"

It worries me when people believe their own propaganda.

I watch MSNBC daily and you are not telling the truth.

[Gwhittey]

9. sigh number of media mentions each candidate receives

Donald Trump 371,270
Hillary Clinton 199,184
Jeb Bush 97,528
Bernie Sanders 89,419




http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/graphic-whos-the-most-popular-candidate-mentioned-on-television/402451/

[kristopher]

12. And that is quantity, not quality.

They probably consist mostly of things like "should Sanders get out of the race" or "why do AA voters reject Sanders".

[mhatrw]

17. and "socialist Sanders can't handle the math!"

[CorporatistNation]

20. Agreed... I Watch MSNBC/CNN With An Exceptionally Jaundiced Eye: The MOST Sophisticated Propaganda

Machine in the history of the planet... Using Bernie to PUMP Hillary and how safe we will be with the Hawk who cannot wait to dispatch a carrier task group... Launch air strikes... Sit at the desk in the oval office and address US with... "My fellow Americans.... " and we know the rest... Hillary is just chomping at the bit to sit there and light the fuse...!

[Dem2]

15. Many Hillary supporters have claimed that MSNBC is pro Bernie

I see nearly equal coverage so I really don't know what you're talking about

[vintx]

19. MATH appears not to be their strong suit, all claims to the contrary aside.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Maybe they finally figured out that he's not some fringe character

who can be ignored, but is spearheading a real movement. He might not get the nomination in the end, but he's sure making Hillary work for it.

[oberliner]

11. You don't think the terrorist attacks should have gotten so much coverage?

Personally, I find it strange that they are already basically off the news channels which are going back to the horse race and the Trump-Cruz nonsense.

[Cheese Sandwich]

13. They figure he's no longer a threat, so they will cover him so as not to seem biased.

They ignored him or outright slandered him during the months and weeks when he was posing a real threat.

After March 15 and especially after March 22 (Arizona) his path to the nomination is very narrow. There's a very low chance that he can actually win the nomination. So they are covering Bernie now because it's too late to make a difference. So they are covering their own asses so as not to seem biased. It's a fig leaf of objectivity.

[strategery blunder]

21. Hillary actually lost net delegates on the 22nd.

Hillary won by a sizable margin in Arizona, but Bernie won even bigger in Idaho and Utah, and the difference in margin proved to be enough to offset the smaller populations in the states that Bernie won.

Consider that in Utah, Bernie received more caucus votes than Trump did in the Republican caucus. I found that an interesting little tidbit (especially if the GOP is unable to bounce Trump from the nomination).

Now for the numbers...

Hillary: 44 from AZ+5 from ID+6 from UT=55 total delegates earned the 22nd
Bernie: 30 from AZ+17 from ID+26 from UT=73 total delegates earned the 22nd

So while Hillary won Arizona, and that win was widely covered in the media, Bernie walked away that day with a net gain of 18 delegates.

If the early returns coming in from the Left Coast hold up, Bernie's going to come away with margins not too far from what he achieved in ID and UT. And WA is not one of those "sparsely populated" states that Hillary supporters like to write off. We're the 13th most populous state in the Union, and while we don't have enough delegates to single-handedly flip the race, we can give Bernie significant momentum with a big margin that will make subsequent contests more manageable for him.

Bernie's path to the nomination still won't be easy, but today will show that it's still far too early to expect us to give up.

[Snarkoleptic]

14. Maybe it's damage control for this on-air interaction (watch it a couple of times, watch his eyes).

[oldandhappy]

16. shucks. I was hoping they had noticed that I stopped watching!

[Vinca]

18. They'll go right back to Trump once he returns from his hiatus.

[Trenzalore]

22. I've seen Sanders covered consistently since around October

Not as much as the sideshow that was happening with Trump vs. every other GOP candidate but he's received coverage.

Now that it is just Trump vs. Cruz I think there is more coverage on the democratic race.