Spectrum

Some observers characterize politics as a game…a sport where there are game plans, strategies, and winners and losers on almost a daily basis. And, often the news media cover politics as if it were a sporting competition with play-by-play descriptions and color analysis. Such was the case during the most recent three-day federal shutdown over the spending resolution– a battle between Democrats and Republicans and a battle between the White House and the Senate. Terminology mimicked sports coverage. Was it the “Schumer Shutdown” or the “Trump Shutdown?” When it was resolved, did the Democrats “cave” or “choke” or did they “win” concessions from the GOP? While the news media concentrate on covering the “game” of politics, stories about how the shutdown impacted average Americans in the heartland went untold, according to Andrew Alexander, former Washington Post ombudsman and former Washington bureau chief for Cox Newspapers. Often the media report from a limited perspective or from a Washington D.C. point of