Is the media coverage of President Biden's age over the top? Here's one expert's take.
BOSTON - Has the news media been too focused on President Joe Biden's age and health, as more Democrats urge him to leave the presidential race?
On Sunday, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin became the latest lawmaker to call on Biden to finish his term and pass the torch to a "new generation."
"I do think that the June 27 debate changed a lot," Northeastern University Journalism Prof. Dan Kennedy told WBZ-TV on Sunday's Keller @ Large.
Joe Biden age
"A lot of us who believed that the president's age was being overemphasized suddenly looked at this and said, 'Wait a minute, there are things going on here that we really hadn't been told about.' I have to say, I think the media's focus on Biden's age over the last few weeks, although it's completely warranted, [has] been so overwrought and over the top, that I still don't think that they've covered themselves with a lot of glory."
"Remember, when the New York Times and CNN were breathlessly reporting that this specialist in Parkinson's disease had visited the White House eight times? They had to back away from that. Let's not get ahead of the story but report what's happening, and at the same time, there ought to be a little bit more emphasis on Donald Trump's numerous deficits as well," Kennedy said.
Presidential campaign coverage
"I've seen some terrible coverage, and I've seen a lot of things that are right," Kennedy said of the media's reporting on the 2024 campaign so far.
One positive - CNN's handling of the first presidential debate back in June, which has since come under fire for a lack of real-time fact-checking of candidate statements.
"It was well known to both candidates ahead of time that CNN was not going to try to do real-time fact checking," says Kennedy. "Supposedly the Biden camp, asked for it. CNN said, no, we're not going to do it. And the Biden people wanted this debate so badly that they accepted that condition. So when that happens, it's up to the candidate to fact-check his opponent... and President Biden proved himself utterly unable to do that."
There was considerable focus on fact-checking in the days following the debate by CNN and other outlets, and Kennedy says that's as it should be.
"It's wickedly difficult to do it in real time. You're going to miss stuff. You're going to do fact checks that prove wrong later. I think you need to give yourself a little bit of time to get it right if you're going to do a fact check."
Watch the entire interview in the video above, and join me for "Keller At Large" every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WBZ-TV.
