Ralph Nader is Not Newsworthy

Ralph Nader announced on Meet the Press this morning that he was launching his third long shot presidential run. Ralph Nader’s announcement has been covered by all the major news outlets. He is not newsworthy.

The man does have the backing of a minor party. He will likely fail to get on the ballot in most states and in 2004 Nader received only 0.38% of the popular vote. Nader barely beat the Libertarian candidate, Michael Badnarik, by only 68,385 votes. It is entirely possible that Ralph Nader will receive fewer votes than the Libertarian, Constitution, and/or Green party candidates. I doubt that the major news outlets will cover the announcement of these three parties’ presidential candidates. While one can argue the new worthiness of long shot presidential candidates; a consistent standard should be used. Given the current media standards, Ralph Nader’s quixotic campaign is not worthy of its coverage.