Blog #9: Press Coverage

 

After conducting a Google news search on Martin O'Malley, I noticed a few reoccurring themes between the types of stories that were being written about him. First, several of the stories are discussing O'Malley and Hillary Clinton. The first story that pops up is a TIME article titled "Martin O’Malley Hits Hillary Clinton for Saying ‘Illegal Immigrants’". Secondly, the majority of the articles are discussing immigration. At least they are not talking about him being tough on crime right now, WOO HOO! Way to go Martin, thanks for giving them something else to talk about, I was starting to get really bored.

Most of the media outlets covering O'Malley are big, well known news sites like TIME, and The New York Times. Local news sites are also writing stories about him. I think that it is probably good for O'Malley that he is not just being talked about on sites that strictly cover politics. Not everyone visits Politifact on a daily basis, but they might read an article on TIME pretty frequently.

From what I can tell, O'Malley is not the one generating the news. Most of the articles I have read discuss Martin O'Malley from an outside perspective, mostly opinion based. They are writing on things that happened in debates or speeches, not actually interviewing Martin O'Malley. In several of the articles, O'Malley is not even the center of attention. The articles are almost always disusing one of the leading democrats (like Hillary) and then discussing O'Malley in relation to that candidate. However, I think the media is starting to do a better job at writing about O'Malley in a way that will set him up well for the 2016 presidential campaign. Martin O'Malley is starting to distinguish himself from other candidates, and the media has noticed. This will be especially important for O'Malley to do since he is often in Hillary's shadow. I think O'Malley should continue seeking coverage from big media outlets that do not just cover politics, however coverage from those sites are important too. Having a variety seems to be the most beneficial for candidates. I also think that if O'Malley were to get talked about on more entertainment media outlets, that could also do him good. Not many people know or really care about who O'Malley is. If he can get his name out there and get himself talked about, he has a better shot at votes. What I'm really suggesting here is that O'Malley should go on Ellen. Who doesn't love Ellen? I know I would for sure tune into that episode!