Did you know that the midterm elections are coming up in just a few weeks? And did you know that Republicans are seemingly on track to win control of the Senate? You wouldn't know any of this by watching the news. National media isn't interested in midterm elections because they're a collection of regional stories. Instead, CNN is interviewing an alleged Syrian member of ISIS, who is bragging that the US air strikes haven't affected ISIS at all, that they've "been ready for this for some time," and that United States intelligence agencies "don't know anything." The story, which CNN reports as an "exclusive," has absolutely no reporting on those statements; they just take their anonymous source at his word. For the sake of "balance," they interview a defector from ISIS. I'm all for taking a nuanced approach to coverage of US military action—I'm maybe one of the only people in America who appreciates President Obama's admission to 60 Minutes that the US "underestimated what had been taking place in Syria." This is a difficult situation, and it's best for all parties involved to admit what they don't know. But just taking the word of a soldier on the other side seems to cross over from questionable coverage of a morally gray situation into outright propaganda.

But maybe we should give CNN points for trying to cover a real news event, even if they did it ineptly? Domestic political coverage should be entirely focused on the midterms right now, as election day is just over a month away. But sites on the right and the left are obsessing over the birth of Chelsea Clinton's first child, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky. The first grandchild of Bill and Hillary Clinton is already a media star, and sites that should be focusing on close races around the country are instead treating this child's birth like it's a royal baby. How inane is the press being about this? Politico actually asked astrologers to predict baby Charlotte's future. The conservative New York Post published a photograph of Hillary and Bill Clinton cooing over their grandchild on the cover of the tabloid with the headline "PARTY POOPER: Another liberal crybaby for Dem Clintons."


The day after the midterm elections, the media is going to be bubbling over with headlines and thinkpieces and what-does-it-all-mean mincing about the results. Here's the truth of what it all means: Whatever happens, the real story should be that the media continually fails its country when it comes to elections.