“Palinoia.” The media’s contempt for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is as strong as its love for Obama. Their animosity for Palin spawned a new term in political discourse — “Palinoia” — and journalists had bouts of the disease off and on all year.
One episode occurred in the summer, when Palin made a figurative reference to “death panels” being part of the Democratic health-care plan. Journalists interpreted her comment literally so they could call Palin a liar. Just last week, the supposedly objective fact-checking organization PolitiFact and its sheep-like audience declared “death panels” the “Lie of the Year.”
In the fall, attention turned to Palin’s best-selling book, “Going Rogue.” Associated Press was so determined to embarrass her that it assigned 11 fact-checkers to review the book, and Newsweek ran hit pieces illustrated by sexist photos. MSNBC, meanwhile, had to apologize for using fake photos of Palin in one of its stories.
The media’s penchant for attacking Palin also led to two unprofessional encounters at one book signing in Grand Rapids, Mich. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell had to be restrained (starting at the 1:40 mark of the video) while trying to question Palin, and MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell staged a “gotcha” moment with a teenage Palin fan.
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