Americans Get Testy With Media After It Disrupts a Presser on Poverty to Ask About ISIS.

[Fawke Em]

56. My issue is how the media covered it.

Instead of focusing on what they were there to discuss, the media asks one question about ISIS, Bernie said (he didn't yell or pitch a fit) that those pastors and community leaders weren't there to talk about ISIS and we should focus on what they were there to talk about.

That should have been the extent of the reporting.

The narrative should have been about police corruption, the black community there and the poverty they face. Sure, the media could have inserted a paragraph stating that he didn't want to answer that question, but that should NOT have been the main story. It's a completely stupid narrative.

I've seen the video. He wasn't testy or petulant. He's always kind of gruff. That's just who he is. The local reporters covering the event did an excellent job, FWIW, but the national press - who DO know that he's kind of gruff like a billy goat - are the ones who acted like imbeciles.

Here's a good story from the Baltimore Sun:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-sanders-baltimore-20151207-story.html

Notice how they covered it:

But the message was partly overshadowed by a press conference in which reporters tried to press Sanders on the Islamic State. A campaign aide tried to waive reporters off asking about ISIS before Sanders appeared, arguing it was off topic. When a reporter ignored the request, Sanders appeared agitated and ended the press conference.
Bernie Sanders visits Baltimore

"What about ISIS, guys? How often do these people talking about the issues that we talked about today? Of course I'll talk about ISIS," Sanders said. "But today what we're talking about is a community in which half of the people don't have jobs," Sanders said. "We're talking about a community in which there are hundreds of buildings that are uninhabitable."

A paragraph and a quote out of a 21 paragraph story. That's the way it should have been done and more accurately reflects the entire events of the day.