I am going to try very hard to write as little as possible about US politics. Let this be a rare outburst!
Like many others, I too have followed the presidential debates and found Kerry's responses (largely) more substantive and more consistent . More importantly, Kerry's assertions in the debate, even when they were wrong, were largely in the exeggerations category. Bush's or Cheney's assertions, when they were wrong, were often in the 'lies' category and they were more frequent.
Media's narrative often failed to make this qualitative difference in the responses by the candidates or by the respective campaigns. This is not because the media is evil, but simply because mainstream media is not equipped to deal with outright distortions or disengeneuousnesses in a way that common men with their incredibly crowded lives can process quickly or easily (ie except for the political news junky population).
Television spcially, has killed nuances from public discourse. Initially, when TV popped up as a significant player in the media landscape, it tripped politicians (e.g. Nixon's disastrous TV appearances). But spinmeisters learnt fast and in the intervening decades have mostly succeeded in coopting the broadcast media.
The other sociological change has probably happened in the psychographics of mediamen. From what I read, the earlier generation of pressmen were not very well-paid (except for Time-Life and a few notable exceptions) and people could still bootstrap themselves into the newsroom through a route that often included the mail room and night schools. Today, increasing media consolidation and attractive pay in national media (specially in TV) has ensured that you need a good college education and certain degree of sophistication upfront. It has become an atractive career option (and as it should be). This has ensured that there is now a certain degree of similarity in the psychographics of the spinner and the spinned. A socially adversarial relationship doesnt exist anymore (And let me be clear that I am not mourning that at all. But it just happens to be another check that doesn't exist anymore.)
Thirdly, the straight media simply has not figured out how to deal with outlets like Fox. Mike Doogan, A letter writer in Romanesko's had it right:
"The problem is that Fox News and the Washington Times are not a balance for the New York Times and ABC News. The latter two are journalistic organizations; the former are propaganda outlets. It's confusing to a lot of people, because Fox looks like a news channel and the Washington Times looks like a newspaper.
But the truth is that journalism is a process, not a product. A journalist attempts to collect, as even handedly as possible, as many facts as possible, and to fashion them into a narrative that readers and viewers can understand. A propagandist uses facts selectively, in an attempt to convince readers and viewers of the truth of a pre-determined position."
The emergence of outlets like the Fox seems to have stupefied the press and have forced the advertisement dependent cable outlets like CNN and MSNBC to gradually move rightward over the last few years in a desperate attempt to hold on to their audience.
Lastly, a general media and campaign fascination with gotcha moments (and this really is the true gift of television - a penchant for theater) ensured that both candidates were afraid of even trying to give honest, complex answers. Most of the time, the candidates were more intent on getting their talking points across than actually debating each other. This message discipline' brought down the significance and the interestingness of the debate. I dont blame the candidates for this. Anyone who tries for an honest debate will get destroyed in the current environment.
It was left to John Stewart, the comic genius of America, to bring to the fore media's complicity in perpetuating spin in the US national discourse. In a widely downloaded and commented upon TV interview in Crossfire, Stewart savaged the crosstalk duo for their participation in a make-believe that "hurts America". It needs to be said that Stewart himself is no longer a subversive comedian on the margins of mainstream consciousness. His every utterence is now widely reported and dissected. As Slate noted he won't be able to get away with his 'I am only a comedian' act for very long.
But it is still highly amusing that it took the 'court jester' to announce on primetime television that the emperor has no clothes. I wonder wheather CNN will ever call Stewart back again.