Media Access to Governor Palin's Speech Backfires

A lot of hubbub has surrounded Governor Palin's speech at a fundraiser for California State University-Stanilaus on Friday night. From dumpster diving college students looking for Governor Palin's contract to Governor Palin's "diva-like demands" for bendy straws (oh the horrors) to partisan calls for investigations into the speech by gubernatorial candidates, even before Governor Palin spoke, her appearance caused a great deal of nontroversy, including a request that media have access to the speech. This request was granted, and likely the media was looking for some soundbite or event to make the Governor look bad or unintelligent. The speech was covered by Fox40 out of Sacremento, California. The video and audio from this station was not high quality, but it is available nonetheless. Governor Palin highlighted moral relativism and the importance of the Founders while also drawing out ideas from Reagan, Kennedy, de Tocqueville and others:




Courtesy of the Right Scoop

However, the story that came of this event came not from Governor Palin's speech, but from the ineptness and lack of professionalism of some "journalists" who apparently didn't know or care that they were miked ( you may need to turn up your volume):



Courtesy the Right Scoop

The media opinions, whether or not they belong to the Fox40 people (Fox40 is claiming that the voice heard doesn't belong to their photographer, but doesn't categorically deny that one of their employees is heard) should not have been heard at all. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of a public figure, but to voice your opinion ( i.e. comparing one's speech to a roller coaster or criticizing the number of quotes) while one is at work is unprofessional and is a sad, but truthful commentary on the media today. They are not about objective truth and reporting, but about subjective truth and biased reporting, whether or not it is blatant and well though out, or if it's off-the-cuff. And people wonder why Governor Palin refers to them as the "lamestream media"?! While the media waited with bated breath, longing to hear a dumb statement escape Governor Palin's lips, what we find instead is that the media again reveals its bias. But, hey, if the media in California doesn't like Governor Palin's speech, I think that spells success!

Cross posted here and here.