SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) gestures during the first round of the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by CNN at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on July 30, 2019. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
'Bernie Blackout' Strikes Again? Despite Iowa Poll Average Showing Sanders in Solid 2nd, CNN Uses Old Poll to Show Him in 4th
"Looking forward to winning this thing without the assist."
Dec 22, 2019
After CNN on Monday reportedly twice displayed a six-week-old poll from Iowa showing Bernie Sanders in fourth-place among hopefuls for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination to viewers, ignoring more recent polling showing the Vermont senator climbing to a strong second behind South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, progressives struck back.
CNN, which brands itself as "the most trusted name in news," used a CNN/Des Moines Register survey from mid-November showing Sanders in fourth place with 15% of Iowans backing his bid. Real Clear Politics shows the senator with support of 22% and 21%, second to South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in more recent polling.
Sanders rival Julian Castro was among those who took to Twitter to decry the choice, saying that just because it was CNN's poll, that didn't justify presenting the old information to viewers in late December.
"Publish a timely poll instead," Castro added. "Journalistic integrity shouldn't be sacrificed for corporate interests."
Sanders press secretary Briahna Joy Gray pointed to recent troubles for other top-line campaigns as a possible motivation for the use of the poll and said that Sanders would happily soldier on without the help of the corporate media.
"Honestly, this is just embarrassing for the campaigns that need this kind of boost to appear competitive after having a bad week," said Gray. "Looking forward to winning this thing without the assist."
The CNN poll wasn't the only instance of perceived bias against the Sanders campaign from the mainstream media, dubbed the "Bernie Blackout" by the senator's supporters.
As Common Dreams reported over the weekend, Sanders held a 14,000-person-strong rally in Los Angeles Saturday with supporters including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), professor and activist Cornel West, actor Tim Robbins, and others.
But the Los Angeles Times did not do much in the eyes of observers to cover the event, despite the size and Sanders' top-place polling in California.
"This is irresponsible, and will help Trump get re-elected," tweeted Sanders supporter Eric Erdman. "Bernie is the best candidate to take on Trump."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After CNN on Monday reportedly twice displayed a six-week-old poll from Iowa showing Bernie Sanders in fourth-place among hopefuls for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination to viewers, ignoring more recent polling showing the Vermont senator climbing to a strong second behind South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, progressives struck back.
CNN, which brands itself as "the most trusted name in news," used a CNN/Des Moines Register survey from mid-November showing Sanders in fourth place with 15% of Iowans backing his bid. Real Clear Politics shows the senator with support of 22% and 21%, second to South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in more recent polling.
Sanders rival Julian Castro was among those who took to Twitter to decry the choice, saying that just because it was CNN's poll, that didn't justify presenting the old information to viewers in late December.
"Publish a timely poll instead," Castro added. "Journalistic integrity shouldn't be sacrificed for corporate interests."
Sanders press secretary Briahna Joy Gray pointed to recent troubles for other top-line campaigns as a possible motivation for the use of the poll and said that Sanders would happily soldier on without the help of the corporate media.
"Honestly, this is just embarrassing for the campaigns that need this kind of boost to appear competitive after having a bad week," said Gray. "Looking forward to winning this thing without the assist."
The CNN poll wasn't the only instance of perceived bias against the Sanders campaign from the mainstream media, dubbed the "Bernie Blackout" by the senator's supporters.
As Common Dreams reported over the weekend, Sanders held a 14,000-person-strong rally in Los Angeles Saturday with supporters including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), professor and activist Cornel West, actor Tim Robbins, and others.
But the Los Angeles Times did not do much in the eyes of observers to cover the event, despite the size and Sanders' top-place polling in California.
"This is irresponsible, and will help Trump get re-elected," tweeted Sanders supporter Eric Erdman. "Bernie is the best candidate to take on Trump."
After CNN on Monday reportedly twice displayed a six-week-old poll from Iowa showing Bernie Sanders in fourth-place among hopefuls for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination to viewers, ignoring more recent polling showing the Vermont senator climbing to a strong second behind South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, progressives struck back.
CNN, which brands itself as "the most trusted name in news," used a CNN/Des Moines Register survey from mid-November showing Sanders in fourth place with 15% of Iowans backing his bid. Real Clear Politics shows the senator with support of 22% and 21%, second to South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in more recent polling.
Sanders rival Julian Castro was among those who took to Twitter to decry the choice, saying that just because it was CNN's poll, that didn't justify presenting the old information to viewers in late December.
"Publish a timely poll instead," Castro added. "Journalistic integrity shouldn't be sacrificed for corporate interests."
Sanders press secretary Briahna Joy Gray pointed to recent troubles for other top-line campaigns as a possible motivation for the use of the poll and said that Sanders would happily soldier on without the help of the corporate media.
"Honestly, this is just embarrassing for the campaigns that need this kind of boost to appear competitive after having a bad week," said Gray. "Looking forward to winning this thing without the assist."
The CNN poll wasn't the only instance of perceived bias against the Sanders campaign from the mainstream media, dubbed the "Bernie Blackout" by the senator's supporters.
As Common Dreams reported over the weekend, Sanders held a 14,000-person-strong rally in Los Angeles Saturday with supporters including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), professor and activist Cornel West, actor Tim Robbins, and others.
But the Los Angeles Times did not do much in the eyes of observers to cover the event, despite the size and Sanders' top-place polling in California.
"This is irresponsible, and will help Trump get re-elected," tweeted Sanders supporter Eric Erdman. "Bernie is the best candidate to take on Trump."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.