"The Momentum Behind a Misleading Narrative"

We speculated the other day as to why the "mainstream media" stays on its "horse race" and "Mittmentum" narratives ("Don't believe your lying eyes, Romney's peaking I tells ya!"). Brendan Nyhan offers an inside look at the phenomenon in the Columbia Journalism Review, and why it's a disservice to the public for the media to stay with its misleading narrative. Here's a brief snippet:

"The notion that Romney still had 'momentum' weeks after his early October gains in the polls has now been debunked by numerous commentators and academics. And while that pushback is increasingly reflected in campaign-trail accounts, it is worth taking a closer look at why coverage of Romney’s 'momentum' went wrong and what it tells us about the weaknesses of campaign journalism."

UPDATE: A perfect example, ripped from the pages of today's Kaplan Daily: "Most polls at this moment suggest GOP nominee Mitt Romney is in the lead nationally." Oh, really, Karen "Lying Eyes" Tumulty? Looks even to us, and if you discount the outlier Gallup and GOP-driven Rasmussen polls, Obama is ahead in 5 out of 8 nationally (not that it matters -- it's the electoral votes that count, and Obama has an easier route to 270). But reality would undermine your narrative, so NEVERMIND!