Dismal Iowa caucus coverage was just the tip of the iceberg [View All]

[reprehensor]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2001841931_kay23.html

"You could almost hear the sighs of relief from newsrooms earlier this week.

The nation's analysts and anchors may have sounded as if they were praising the campaign run by Iowa caucus winner Sen. John Kerry.

"In politics, this is what overnight success looks like!" trilled MSNBC's Kelly O'Donnell, in chorus with all the networks that insisted on feigning surprise, despite reporting Kerry's surge a week ago.

But they mainly were congratulating themselves, which is what it's come to in TV journalism.

Kerry's victory wasn't just occasion for trotting out comeback clichés. It also vindicated the media's obsession with electability as chief plank in the Democratic platform. "