1. Nets, Especially NBC, Obsess Over Bush Not Admitting Mistakes The networks remained obsessed Wednesday morning with how President Bush couldn't, at his news conference the night before, name a mistake he's made, thus making the news media's agenda, in pressing Bush repeatedly to name an error or apologize for September 11th, the news over what Bush said about other topics. NBC's Today raised the subject at least seven times while CBS and ABC also focused on the topic with George Stephanopoulos declaring that Bush's refusal to concede any mistakes "was the most striking thing, far and away, in the... continue reading
1. Network Reporters Fret About Bush Not Admitting Mistakes Following President Bush's news conference on Tuesday night, NBC News anchor Brian Williams pointed out to David Gregory how Bush refused to "admit" any mistakes and complained that "I didn't detect a straight-on answer there." Gregory agreed before he insisted: "This President could be accused in some places today of filibustering at times." Similarly, over on ABC, George Stephanopoulos bemoaned how "the President was quite defiant tonight, even at times defensive. No apologies, no acceptance of personal responsibility." ABC's Peter Jennings acknowledged the agenda of the White House press corps in... continue reading
1. CBS Cites Clinton Official to Say Bush Missed PDB's "Alarm" CBS's John Roberts on Monday night, citing a Clinton official as authoritative, scolded President Bush for failing to connect the dots and take action based on the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief (PDB), but ABC's Terry Moran related how a former FBI expert on al-Qaeda "says Mr. Bush was poorly served by the sketchy briefing." In contrast, Roberts insisted: "While there was nothing specific as to time and place, counter-terrorism experts say it should have raised a deafening alarm at the White House." Roberts lectured: "And there were... continue reading
1. Some Outlets Distort and Exaggerate Meaning of August 2001 Memo Some outlets over the weekend hyped the meaning of the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB), suggesting it contained a warning specific enough for President George W. Bush to act on. ABC anchor Claire Shipman breathlessly announced that "a classified anti-terrorism report told President Bush, before September 11th, that al-Qaeda wanted to carry out attacks inside the U.S." On CNN's Capital Gang, Al Hunt declared: "It shatters what was a very forceful appearance by Dr. Rice." Later, CNN news anchor Carol Lin insisted "it reads like a laundry... continue reading
1. Peter Jennings, Voice of al-Jazeera? Relays Anti-U.S. Complaints Peter Jennings, the voice of al-Jazeera? On a day of continued anti-U.S. fighting by extremist elements in Iraq, Jennings opened Wednesday's World News Tonight on ABC by stressing how "the U.S. is being hammered editorially all over the Arab media. On one of the Arab television channels today people are heard to ask, 'is this the freedom which the U.S. promised?'" After recounting a battle in which insurgents used mosques, David Wright relayed, over al-Jazeera video, how "the casualties appear to include many civilians." As viewers saw video of an injured... continue reading
1. Nets Pounced on Rice Inattention to al-Qaeda, Skip Clinton's Last week when a front page Washington Post story reported that a speech on threats in the world that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to deliver on September 11, 2001, focused "largely on missile defense, not terrorism from Islamic radicals," the networks jumped on it, considering it to be big news. But on Tuesday, when a front page Washington Times story highlighted how "the final policy paper on national security that President Clinton submitted to Congress -- 45,000 words long -- makes no mention of al Qaeda and... continue reading
1. Iraq "Spinning Out of Control," An Up Side to Saddam's Rule Dan Rather and Katie Couric on Monday employed nearly the same hyperbolic language to describe the status in Iraq, claiming it's "spinning" or "spiraling" into an "out of control" situation. Couric also found an upside to Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule, contending that "no matter how deplorable Saddam Hussein was considered he was the ultimate referee who kept the Sunnis and the Shiites apart from killing each other." 2. Olbermann Embraces John Dean's 'Worse Than Watergate' Book John Dean appeared Monday on CBS's Early Show and MSNBC's Countdown with... continue reading
1. CBS Trumpets Case of Returning Soldier Who Now Supports Kerry CBS on Friday night trumpeted the cause of a disillusioned soldier returning from Iraq who now supports John Kerry over George Bush for President. After anchor Dan Rather highlighted how a poll found that most in military households "said the Iraq war is not worth the loss of life and other costs," Byron Pitts focused on Captain Tom McGowan who declared: "If the election was today, I would vote for Senator Kerry." Pitts conceded that "one vote by one soldier home from war may not mean much," but then... continue reading
1. CBS: Job Slump Driving People to Accept Dangerous Jobs in Iraq "The long job slump," in George Bush's America, "has left many Americans desperate enough to risk everything for a decent paycheck," CBS's Dan Rather suggested Wednesday night, so some end up paying "the ultimate price." Rather asked: "What drives American civilians to risk death in Iraq? In this economy, it may be, for some, the only job they can find." In Delaware, with 3.4 percent unemployment? 2. Jennings Admits TV Focus on Violence "Overshadows" Gains in Iraq ABC's Peter Jennings conceded on Thursday night that the media's "focus... continue reading
1. Clarke's Conflicts Skipped But Rice's "Contradictions" Stressed Condoleezza Rice's "contradictions" over Richard Clarke's. A Tuesday New York Times story revealed how "a senior national security official who worked alongside Richard A. Clarke on Sept. 11, 2001, is disputing central elements of Mr. Clarke's account of events in the White House Situation Room that day." On Tuesday night, however, ABC and CBS ignored the Times piece yet found time to highlight how, as ABC's Linda Douglass put it: "There are contradictions between what Rice and others have said." CBS's John Roberts promised that Rice will "face tough questions on significant... continue reading