How the media fails to cover Bernie Sanders, in two headlines

[Commentary] On May 10, the weekend after he announced his presidential bid, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" to reemphasize some of his campaign themes. Among them was that anyone he would appoint to the Supreme Court would have to be on record against the "disastrous" 2010 Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United. CNN's Eric Bradner reported this under the headline, "Bernie Sanders has a Supreme Court litmus test." On Sept 28, Sen Sanders spoke at an event held by the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics in Washington. Much had changed since May; for example, in Real Clear Politics's national average of polls, Sen Sanders had jumped from 5.6 percent to 27.6 percent. The same reporter reported from the new speech, and delivered an article with this headline: "Bernie Sanders' Supreme Court litmus test: Overturn Citizens United."

It's unusual for candidates to get national coverage this consistent when they repeat their core messaging. Local coverage is one thing, but Sen Sanders, who has refused to go negative against his main Democratic opponent, has received relatively skimpy coverage, and he knows it.