Rich Noyes is the research director for the Media Research Center, the Alexandria, Va., organization that analyzes media content for potential bias. Noyes spoke to the Trib about the media’s reaction to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney selecting U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate.

Q: How do you think the mainstream media handled the Ryan announcement?

A: I think there’s been some positive press of Ryan’s background, his being youthful and energetic and smart, that’s all to the good. The line of attack that you see both with Democrats and with journalists is his budget proposal. You know, (MSNBC’s) Chris Matthews replays the ad where the Ryan look-alike throws Granny off the cliff. That’s becoming sort of a liberal mantra about Ryan, and there’s been very little correction or detail.

Q: What did you think of (CNN’s) Candy Crowley’s now-infamous “death wish” remark?

A: She was saying there’s some Republicans who fear that this could be a death-wish ticket, which is pretty strong language. You know, you could have had people four years ago going through (Joe) Biden’s record of gaffes and misstatements and really portrayed (his selection as President Obama’s running mate) as a dangerous or reckless pick. Instead, he was seen as a voice of experience and a foreign policy expert; it was basically positive press.

Q: Do you believe there has been media bias historically toward Republican tickets?

A: It’s one of the unfortunate truths of the modern media age. They found ways to attack Dan Quayle ­— his National Guard (service) started it and then moved on from there. When Jack Kemp was named, the line you got from CNN was that although he’s nice, that just shows you the rest of the Republican Party is a bunch of mean haters. Dick Cheney was immediately marginalized as a radical hard-right conservative. Sarah Palin, we all know what happened to her. She was attacked for her conservative views, and her family was dragged into it.

Q: In your view, is any major media outlet treating the Romney-Ryan ticket fairly?

A: Well, to (ABC senior White House correspondent) Jake Tapper’s credit, he did make the point that all Ryan wants to do is just stem the rate of growth in these federal programs. But another ABC anchor, Bianna Golodryga, who just happens to be the wife of Obama’s former budget director, called Ryan a budget slasher. So you know, the outlets all have people who sort of carry the Democratic line on this.

Q: Do you believe then that it’s possible for Romney and Ryan to get a fair shake in the mainstream media during the campaign?

A: Conservatives have been successful in the past, but they have to work harder than liberals. You (have to) craft your message in ways so it reaches people regardless of the framing the liberal media puts around it.

The economy is the number-one story; fiscal problems are probably what scare people the most about America’s long-term future.

If (Romney and Ryan) can address that in a serious way and their messages are sharp enough, they should be all right. If they let the media and the Obama campaign monopolize the conversation, well then they probably aren’t going to win.

Eric Heyl is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7857 or eheyl@tribweb.com.

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