Has the Media Killed Healthcare Reform?

By GRIT TV

July 31, 2009

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Recent polls have shown more and more Americans doubting Obama's stance on health care, though the majority is still generally supportive. With Republicans and conservative Democrats balking at reform while right wing pundits condemn his plans, will Obama go the way of Clinton when it comes to healthcare?

Most agree the issue of healthcare is getting sufficient coverage and exposure in the mainstream media, but is it getting the right kind of coverage? The topic has often been belittled to another means of partisan divide, and most citizens still lack basic knowledge of reform plans in favor of rhetoric from one side or the other.

Mainstream media reaction to Henry Louis Gates' arrest and its aftermath continued to fill the airwaves, with Glenn Beck commenting on Obama's "racism" and desire for "reparations," Rush Limbaugh accusing him of trying to ruin a white police officer and Michele Malkin calling him a "racial opportunist."

To discuss these topics and more we're joined by Hendrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor and Staff Writer for The New Yorker, along with Editor and Publisher of The Nation Katrina Vanden Heuvel, and Nancy Giles, contributor for CBS News Sunday Morning.

About GRIT TV

GRITtv with Laura Flanders is a new, news and arts discussion show, available daily, in multiple formats, with interactivity and a positive take on what's going on. The show launched May 12, 2008. more...
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