An excellent observation

Do Journalists Now Represent The Left On Meet The Press Panel?

Generally speaking, Sunday morning talk shows like NBC’s Meet the Press take great care to have panelists representing both sides. It’s become a staple of these shows to air rigorous debate among the big thinkers from both sides of the aisle.

Today’s panel offering was particularly interesting: former Republican CongressmanNewt Gingrich, former Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, New York Timescolumnist Thomas L. Friedman, NBC analystTom Brokaw, and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

The roundtable discussion was not only interesting for its subject matter, but because it begs the question: was the show effectively putting up two journalists (Friedman and Brokaw) as representatives of the left?

You’ve got two people who are clearly on the right in Gingrich and Fiorina, a historian with left leanings in Goodwin, and then two journalists who are supposed to be straight-shooters but clearly meant to balance out the conservative panelists here.

Conservatives have long accused Brokaw and (to a lesser degree) Friedman of being liberals, but is this panel placement a tacit confession that these journalists represent the left? Neither of them would agree that they represent the liberal viewpoint, but if you take seriously the notion that the show always tries to represent both sides, then this does look curious.

Regardless, when we are this close to an election, you would think journalists would be extra-sensitive about this sort of thing.