An emailer over at Instapundit commented on just how much the mainstream media’s coverage of political affairs resemble a hometown sports page, to which another replied:
The comparison of partisan journalists to sports fans in a recent post led me to a partial solution to the problems of mainstream journalism.
When reading the sports section of a local paper, I expect to see a wish for the local team or some favored team to win. I can see this position openly stated, along with serious critiques of the favored team and honest evaluations of the strengths of opposing teams. Further, I can see detailed statistics on teams and individuals laid out in a reasonable form daily. I can see detailed statistics at a level to satisfy a knowledgeable enthusiast at least periodically.
I’ve just described a level of professionalism and competence that is the norm for sports sections of even small town newspapers. It is so far above and beyond the level of political journalism at any major paper that writing what such standards of excellence might look like in, for example, the NY Times would seem like a parody.
This suggests a simple and workable solution. Put sports writers in charge of political reporting. Make the political journalists write for the sports section. The sports writers turned loose in the political arena will carry with them the standards of honest and detailed reporting from sports. The political journalists will find themselves in an arena where much higher standards than they are used to will be expected.
One might argue that the sports writers might lack specific expertise in the political arena. However, given that the current political journalists have not demonstrated they possess expertise, this point is moot. The only serious downside is that sports coverage would suffer.
(emphasis mine)
I have one thing to say in rebuttal: Keith Olbermann. The man wouldn’t know “nonpartisan politics” if Hacksaw Jim Duggan hit him upside the head with a 2×4 labeled as such. Not that I wouldn’t pay to see it done.
