More Election Post-Mortem: Spin Zone RIP

As observers have noted, one of the deserving casualties this election cycle has been the “spin zone.”

In a remarkable ceding of their authority as journalists who should report and analyze, media outlets have often allowed party hacks to “spin” the news and shape the message that went out from the media. This was especially egregious after presidential debates when whatever first messages came out often became accepted as conventional wisdom. I often found it appalling that news organizations would happily report these spins as fact. While the media often rather humorously noted the obvious biases of the spin zone, they nevertheless happily submitted to the system. It’s yet another example of how media has become part of the establishment rather than a critical check on government.

The rise of “snap polls” immediately following the debates have fortunately neutralized the ability of pundits and party hacks to shape the message to their liking. While the talking heads, of course, are free to make pronouncements on their thoughts, they nevertheless risk losing all credibility and being seen as seriously out of touch should their comments be completely at odds with what the instant polls of ordinary citizens are saying.

Right wing conservatives have always been notoriously adept at “truthiness”—stating outright lies knowing that if it’s said enough times it becomes accepted truth. But, again, snap poll technology has served to counteract such tactics because of the danger of making the pundit look seriously delusional.