Notes From Netroots: Media Make Up

Is it odd that two publications, four days apart, would feature such similar shots with different MSNBC personalities (even featuring the same make-up artist)?

(The first pic ran in a NY Mag feature on Joe Scarborough.  The second appeared in a NYT piece speculating on whether Rachel Maddow — fellow “lefty” and recent fill-in for vacationing Keith Olbermann — might soon have her own show on the network.)

As context, I first offer a thumbnail of yesterday’s Netroots Nation media panel:

Digby’s overall point was that the relationship between the media and the Democrats will always be antagonistic.  The right might be incompetent at governing, but they are experts at, and intensely dedicated to taking out anything to the left.  Perlstein, too, quashed the idea that the media might grow more sympathetic to progressive ideas if or when Obama took office.  He noted that the country is in a progressive mind frame already, you just wouldn’t know it from the media narrative. Added Atrios, where do you find any expression in the media (excluding Olbermann) that 75% of this country disapproves of its President, and has disapproved of him for years now?  Echoed Krugman, give Obama three months in office and you’ll see the press turn on him (although I’m not so sure he’s getting such good press now).

Although he hadn’t seen this imagery, Atrios happened to bring up the article on Maddow.  Though MSNBC is generally perceived as more liberal (a proposition, by the way, that Atrios flatly rejects), he just didn’t see the GE-owned network actually giving two liberals that kind of a platform, especially back-to-back.

Looking at the two images with that in mind, it does seem to emphasize how Scarborough is their man to the right, and that Maddow, at least at this point, is no closer to becoming another Olbermann than this.  (This shot is also courtesy the NYT piece.)

Of course, I’m also interested in you thoughts, more specifically, on the visual content — especially Rachel in the compact.

(image 1: Brian Finke.  image 2: Bess Greenberg/The New York Times)