Media Bias: 1932-1952

When did the media drift so far in one direction to the point of practically coordinating with the Obama campaign? There has always been a bias. However, it was not always right-left. Prior to the rise of the neo-left, it was establishment vs. anti-establishment. Then, came Johnson and Nixon. At that point, things changed.

First off, let’s separate the print media from the electronic media. The newspapers were pretty even and maybe even leaned Republican for a long time. When FDR ran for re-election in 1936, the newspapers overwhelmingly endorsed his opponent, Alf Landon. However, the electronic media was in love with FDR and his wife.

FDR posed a stark contrast to President Hoover. Hoover was an engineer, bureaucrat, and hero from World War I. His dour personality and seeming ineffectiveness made him an easy target. FDR promised a New Deal and had an outgoing, friendly personality. Most importantly for the press, Roosevelt was East Coast establishment while Hoover came from Iowa and went to Stanford. Roosevelt's pedigree and charm made the press believers. Then came some high school graduate and failed businessman from Missouri.

Once Truman assumed the presidency, it was open season. Truman was not an east coast elite. He was an interloper from Missouri. The press attacked him and campaigned for New York governor Thomas Dewey (whom they opposed in 1944). Truman beat Dewey and the press continued to hound Truman. The Republicans picked up on the anti-administration themes for the 1952 campaign.

FDR's Golden Sombrero

Franklin Roosevelt was elected to the presidency four times. None of the four elections were close because of FDR's personality and the nature of the times. In each election, Roosevelt ignored his opponent, concentrated on what he wanted to do, and attacked the Republican Party as a whole for the Great Depression. Ironically, FDR was a Democrat because Theodore Roosevelt had so many sons, that FDR believed he could not compete with them. They did not enter politics, but FDR did not know that. Had he known TR's sons were going to stay out of politics, he would have been a Republican.
1932: The country was in the middle of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was the incumbent. Hoover got the blame. His name became synonymous with poverty. Any chance he had of being re-elected came to an end when Douglas MacArthur unleashed tanks on a tent city full of World War I vets. FDR won big.
1936: The Depression had not ended. The GOP ran Governor Alf Landon from Kansas. He attacked the New Deal as wasteful and ineffective. The polls showed a Landon landslide, but pollsters only talked to people with phones, so a large swath of the electorate was ignored. FDR won a monster victory as people felt he was on their side.
1940: World War II had begun in Europe and the Depression still hampered America. The Republicans nominated Wendell Wilkie. Wilkie was a moderate and his nomination signaled the beginning of moderate domination of the GOP. Essentially, voters could choose New Deal or New Deal light. Wilkie ran a spirited campaign and the GOP attacked FDR for not ending the Depression, warmongering, and the third term. FDR won as people did not want to FDR to leave with World War II at their doorstep.
1944: FDR was dying. The Democrats knew it, but ran him again. They dumped incumbent vice president Henry Wallace from the ticket because he was too far to the left and was involved in weird mysticism. They replaced Wallace with Harry S. Truman of Missouri. Truman had gained national attention and acclaim rooting out wasteful wartime spending. The GOP nominated Thomas Dewey of New York. With World War II waging, Dewey could not hit Roosevelt without looking bad. As a result, Roosevelt won again. He died five months later.