Jonathan Schwarz over at A Tiny Revolution (one of the most intelligent and fair-minded blogs in the known universe) pontificates on this rant from Media Matters :

At this point, you'd have to be blind to miss the pattern. Every prominent progressive leader who comes along is openly derided in the media as fake, dishonest, conniving, out-of-the-mainstream, and weak. We simply can't continue to chalk this up to shortcomings on the part of Democratic candidates or their staff and consultants. It's all too clear that this will happen regardless of who the candidate or leader is; regardless of who works for him or her. The smearing of Jack Murtha should prove that to anyone who still doubts it.

Meanwhile, any conservative who comes along is going to be praised for being strong and authentic and likable.

But disagrees with the very end:

...for years, the media has employed a double-standard in covering progressives and conservatives...it can't go on.

First of all, the corporate media has ALWAYS employed this double-standard, not simply "for years." And of course it can go on. What would stop it?

Of all the things that drive me crazy about my progressive compatriots, it's this belief that you can change the corporate media with accurate criticism of it. They believe at some point the people within the media will realize they're wrong, and their behavior will improve.

This is insane. The corporate media is the way it is because it exists to make as much money as possible.

I'm one of the first people to caution against the MSMs corporate loyalties. A publicly traded corporation, such as the MSM outlets, are not only driven to make as much money as possible, they are arguably LEGALLY OBLIGATED to do so! As far as I can tell, there is no evidence that this will change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, here are some things that can be done about it right now:

1)There has to be political pressure on the FCC to enforce traditional and existing checks and balances on market share thereby making media less prone to monopoly.

2)The MSM has to be shown that the profit motive lies in appealing to progressive voters. The way this happens is by changing the political dialogue in this country through the electoral process. When a solid majority votes Democrat in the Fall, the MSM will follow the money like good little puppies and start reporting fairly on progressives and progressive issues.

3)Progressives need to come up with a playbook that works to the benefit of corporate finance. This does NOT mean sleeping with the enemy. It does, however, involve demonstrating in solid empirical fashion how sustainable and ethical business practices work towards a stronger and more stable economy and therefore contribute greater net wealth to the long-term bottom line rather than rotting away the economiccore in exchange for short-term wealth (i.e. the Republican economic plan). These studies are already prominent among economists (even among the Christian right), they just need to be dumbed down and brought into the political spectrum.

4)Telling the MSM they got it wrong is like telling your parents they shouldn't ground you.  All told, your petilence amounts to just about zilch in their decision-making process.  Why?  Because you don't pay their salary, advertisers do.  If you have a problem with the MSM that they won't resolve, call their sponsors and complain to them!  These people are looking out for their bottom-line as well and if they feel threatened through their support, they are far more likely to do something about it. 

Of course, this is all assuming that progressives are able to gain in relative power. But if we continue to let people think that the hard-right is in charge, then that's exactly the kind of broadcasting we'll continue to get.