Overkill

Eric Boehlert has a great piece over at Media Matters about the media's unhealthy obsession with the 2008 Presidential election.

Citing the media's eruption over the recent "news" that Senators Obama and Clinton have formed presidential exploratory committees, Boehlert writes that the media has effectively extended the presidential election season, which was once a coveted, once-every-four-year period for journalists, into a feeding frenzy that started well over two years before the election is even set to occur and that has produced very little substantial news. Just seven years ago when George W. Bush announced that he was forming an exploratory committee, Boehlert writes, The New York Times published a tiny 900 word story on page 14. However, he notes that The Times "played the Obama exploratory announcement prominently above the fold on Page 1."

Pretty interesting stuff...

I think a lot of this early coverage, which often lacks substance or truth or a combination of the two, could have a few negative effects on the early candidates. They say all press is good press, but I'm not sure that's really the case in this situation. The media is so saturated with stories of Obama, Clinton, the election, etc. that the news watching public might hear or read a little more than they want to learn, whether it be true or even really newsworthy or not, about certain candidates that all of this coverage might negatively sway opinions. There's going to be so much press over the next 20-some months that journalists corroborating false reports or printing irrelevant reports might have a big impact come election time. Just some thoughts...