Peter Jennings' Resumes Campaign Against Bush's Iraq Policy; ABC's Liberal Labor Day Agenda; Russert Presses Anti-Tax Cut Mantra; NY Times: Osama Dead, No He's Alive; CNN: Osama Dead AND Alive 1) After the holiday weekend, on Tuesday night Peter Jennings resumed his campaign against going to war with Iraq. He opened the show with a poll showing that "public support for attacking Iraq has dropped sharply in recent weeks," featured a soundbite from Iraq's Tariq Aziz, highlighting how Aziz "accused the Bush administration of what he called 'warmongering,'" and even blamed Bush's Iraq policy for the stock market's dive: "The... continue reading
The Best of CyberAlert and Media Reality Check from Over the Summer; Booing of Hillary Transformed into Applause; Letterman's "Top Ten" About Greenspan 1) "The Best of CyberAlert." With people going on vacations throughout the summer, I thought that for the Labor Day weekend I'd provide a list of CyberAlert items some may have missed (hard to believe, but I know it's true) -- the ones documenting the most egregious and/or most interesting instances of liberal bias. 2) "The Best of Media Reality Checks." In case you missed any, links to the most informative ones of the summer. 3) A... continue reading
ABC: U.S. Leading Earth to Catastrophe; NY Times : Top Brit Against Iraq War, Oops, Never Mind; Estrich Concedes She Defended Clinton's "Indefensible" Behavior; Donahue's Ratings Hit Cellar 1) Previewing the UN Earth summit in South Africa, ABC asserted on Monday night that the U.S. is blocking what needs to be done to avoid catastrophe. The World News Tonight story quoted the South African president and a British activist who condemned American policy, but completely omitted the American point of view, before reporter Richard Gizbert concluded with what he had just promulgated: "What is on the agenda is bashing the... continue reading
How Court Cited Clinton-Era Abuses Suppressed by Networks; Washington Post Scolded Ashcroft, Ignored Clinton; NBC's Brown Perturbed Bush Gave Interview to Runner's World 1) Clinton-era abuses led a federal court to reject John Ashcroft's request for broader power in pursuing terrorism suspects, but the networks portrayed it as a scolding of the Bush administration. ABC's Peter Jennings: "A federal court tells the Bush administration it is abusing its power in the campaign against terrorism." CBS anchor John Roberts highlighted the "big setback for the Justice Department." At the very second NBC's Fred Francis was about to say "Clinton," the screen... continue reading
McKinney's Opponent Got Money from "Supporters of Israel"; CBS vs. Katherine Harris; "Very Sensible" Left-Wing Group; CBS's Rose Demands Clinton Get Credit; Gibson's Clinton Tie; CNN's Lewinsky-Lay "Separation" Game 1) ABC's Peter Jennings pointed out that Cynthia McKinney "was beaten by another Democrat who got large donations from out-of-state supporters of Israel," but he failed to acknowledge that most of McKinney's donations came from Muslims or Arabs outside of the district, some of whom support terrorism or have ties to groups which fund it. One declared: "Let us damn America, let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until... continue reading
ABC: O' Canada, Let's Follow Thee on Iraq; "Mounting Opposition" on Iraq; Time Warns of "Secret" War Council That's "Conservative"; "Arch-Neoconservative"; Blame "Ancient Traditions" for Chinese Killing Girl Babies 1) O' Canada, let us follow thee. ABC's Peter Jennings seemed to speak for himself as he announced as a fact: "Some people are asking today whether or not the White House is losing control of the debate about war with Iraq." Terry Moran then trumpeted how Canada has given a "sharp rebuke" to U.S. policy before treating Scott Ritter, who has been defending Saddam Hussein for years, as fresh news:... continue reading
Jennings Questions Bush Commitment to Beating al-Qaeda, Suggests Could be "Embarrassed" by Taliban Deaths; NY Times's Embarrassing Correction on Cheney; McGovernite at CNBC; NBC: Tribute to American Taliban Over U.S. Soldiers 1) ABC's Peter Jennings on Monday night conveyed the kind of snide haughtiness toward Bush which has earned him the enmity of conservative viewers. He stressed how "President Bush has refused to approve a covert operation to go after a chemical weapons facility" run by al Qaeda, sneeringly noting: "The administration has said it will go after al Qaeda wherever and whenever. What's the story on this?" Next, after... continue reading
Stephanopoulos Rued "Cost" of Tax Cuts; NBC Followed NY Times ' Anti-Iraq War Spin; Global Warming Doubter Ridiculed; More $ for Amtrak; Koppel's CNN Baby: "Thud"; Williams' Offspring Goes Right? 1) On Sunday's This Week, ABC's George Stephanopoulos contrasted the "cost" of suggested tax cuts with that of the "emergency spending proposal" that President Bush vetoed. But Stephanopoulos listed only the most beneficial-sounding spending items ("firefighting grants, nuclear plant security, cargo inspection and the emergency funds for New York City") and didn't show how they only constituted one-tenth of the bill. 2) "Top Republicans Break With Bush on Iraq Strategy,"... continue reading
"Self-Delusional Right-Wingers" in Waco; Bloomberg Chief Donated to Gore; From Clinton to the NYTimes ; Cable Viewers Avoiding Donahue; Moyers Partied with Lear and Leahy 1) CNN's Paul Begala: "Tonight, a group of self-delusional right-wingers in a heavily armed compound in Waco, Texas, surrounded by federal agents. Branch Davidians? No, the Brush economic summit." 2) The Washington City Paper discovered that "Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler contributed a total of $750 to the Democratic National Committee and the Gore campaign in the 2000 election cycle." The preference impacted coverage as a Bloomberg White House reporter maintained that in 2000 "some... continue reading
ABC's Snooty Summit Story; CNN's John King Raised "Accelerating" Tax Cuts; Reporter Dreamed of Bush Copying Clinton; Sawyer: Spend More, Just Not on Summit; "CEO President...Aligned with Corporate Greed"; Kurtz Rebuked Colleague on Labeling 1) Stories on Bush's economic forum all relayed criticisms of it as a publicity stunt, but ABC's Terry Moran delivered the snottiest story. To emphasize Bush's lack of involvement, he showed a series of three clips of Bush walking out of panel sessions and he gratuitously asserted: "Mr. Bush was hob knobbing at the forum with, among others, Charles Schwab, who made $353 million cashing in... continue reading