Trump And How The Media's Birther Blind Spot Keeps Getting Bigger

[spanone]

The Republican birther brigade really is one of the most astonishing political stories in recent years. What's truly bewildering and newsworthy is that the birther ranks are apparently expanding and likely number in the millions nationwide. The fact that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump personally vouched for the baseless, anti-Obama conspiracy theory has only elevated its significance.

So why does the press continue to largely turn a blind eye to the telling spectacle?

Amidst the avalanche of news coverage and commentary about Trump's campaign, the birther strain that runs through important parts of the Republican Party (the claim that Obama's secretly a Kenya-born Muslim) has not been a focal point for Beltway reporters and pundits. The media's birther blind spot is part of the larger press failure to grasp, and accurately detail, the truly radical nature of the Republican Party under President Obama.

For instance, since June 1, the New York Times has published approximately 180 articles or columns that included the word "Trump" five or more times, according to Nexis. But just a handful of those have made any mention of Trump's previous birth certificate folly. The same goes for USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, for example: Nearly 180 detailed Trump articles and columns published since June between them, but just a few that have addressed the birther nonsense.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/09/09/trump-and-how-the-medias-birther-blind-spot-kee/205446

[Gothmog]

1. Trump being a birther helps him with the GOP base

[Fred Sanders]

2. It is not a "Birther blind spot" the mass media has, you could drive a truck, or a faux candidate-President, through that hole!

[malaise]

3. I think a CNN poll this weekend showed that over 50% of Trumps fans

believe that Obama is a Muslim 'furner'.

[hay rick]

4. Let's not confuse our media with objective reporters.

Focusing on the stupidity and dishonesty of birther and Benghazi claims is a ticket to unemployment at most media outlets.