Michael Fletcher: Conservative Media Needs More Cowbell
Michael Fletcher has a great post over at Bearing Drift on recent calls for conservative media to stop trying to beat up the media and just do better than them:
The Internet is flooded with conservative news outlets and blogs. The ratings for conservative television and talk radio regularly leave competitors in the dust.
But, is it news? Or is it advocacy?
Erickson says news stories should include the basic 5Ws + H: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
The truth is we have the right message. We have the right facts. But we’ve been outmaneuvered by the left in the telling of our story. The fact that the right was devastated by the left in social media in 2012 is another story altogether.
There’s still room for good, solid, conservative opinion. There’s even room for an occasional snark. And cowbell. Don’t forget the cowbell.
But there’s more room for good, solid, conservative reporting of the news.
Mike is absolutely right. As Matthew Sheffield points out at NewsBusters:
[T]here was only one Ronald Reagan. And it is unwise and unrealistic for conservatives to continually expect someone of his unique gifts and knowledge to become their standard bearer year in and year out. Instead of hoping for the perfect candidate, conservatives need to do better at creating a positive climate for their ideas to flourish in. In a more hospitable climate, candidates of any ability will be able to win.
Republicans (and Conservatives and Right-of-Center advocates) need to do better at covering the news that matters and that highlights the very principles we fight and bleed for. But we also need the platforms where that news can be heard. This takes an investment, not just of money but brainpower and time. It also takes a commitment to dig deeper into a story with coverage that rivals that of the established media that dominates public thought.
You do not beat the media by criticizing its game – you beat them by being better than them at it.
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