Letters to the Editor
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The problem with election coverage...
is that they spend their time hanging out with the campaigns.
I've worked elections, been with the core group of campaign workers on election night. It's hard to imagine a more cynical, desperate environment. Everything is about numbers, not the message, posing people for cameras, etc., etc. Spinning endless theories in an attempt to anticipate the outcome, drive back the raw terror of the unknown. Then, that key precinct comes in, and your key people know that you've lost. Or won. Usually an hour or more before the press calls it, because they thrive on the drama. So you have to walk around in front of cameras pretending that it ain't over.
Some people thrive on this, love it. It makes me want to take a shower, the part of it that isn't just heartbreaking (even if you've backed the winner). But my point is that this is the world that the press immerse themselves in. Not the world of policy and what matters to their readers, but the world of "are they turning out in precinct x"? It's a compelling, albeit tawdry, story. It's an important part of our process. But it isn't what the press should be doing with their time.