Halperin On “Clear, Unambiguous Double Standard”

In addition to Lara Logan‘s appearance on CNN’s Reliable Sources, another segment stood out: a focus on bias in the campaign.

Host Howard Kurtz asked Time Magazine (and frequent cable news/ABC News contributor) Mark Halperin, “If a Republican had not taken public financing and had raised all that money, and the Democrat was struggling financially, wouldn’t we see a lot of stories about one candidate essentially trying to buy the election?”

Halperin didn’t hold back:

We would. We’d also see a lot of stories about his going back on his word saying that he would accept the public money and would reach out to Senator McCain to try to work out a deal. So I think this is a case of a clear, unambiguous double standard, and any reporter who doesn’t ask themselves, ‘Why is that, why would it be different if it’s a Republican?’ I think is doing themselves and our profession and our democracy a disservice.

• Earlier: TVNewser interviewed Halperin at the CNN/TIME Politics ’08 conference, where he called the press “irresponsible” for their coverage during the campaign. Click continued to see that interview…

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.