Peter's Pro-Palestinian Spin; And His Palestinian Friend; Gumbel Prodded Arabs to Attack Israel; Moyers Rant; FNC's Liberal Bias? 1) ABC News on Thursday night adopted the spin preferred by Palestinian terrorists as Peter Jennings portrayed Israel's anti-terrorist military operation as an "assault against the Palestinians," as if all Palestinians were targeted, and moments later Dean Reynolds relayed the hope that Colin Powell's visit will allow the "liberation" of Yasser Arafat. 2) Media Reality Check. "Deploring Terror-Fighters, Not Terrorists: Criticism for Bush Administration and Israeli Anti-Terror Effort, Sympathy for Palestinians & Arafat." Bryant Gumbel pushed for a wider war to punish... continue reading
Bye-Bye Bryant: Gumbel Announced His Departure from The Early Show; Highlights of Gumbel's History of Liberal Bias -- Back to today's CyberAlert 1) CBS has announced that Early Show co-host Bryant Gumbel will be leaving the show still mired in third place two-and-a-half years after he was brought in to revive it. No date has been set for his final broadcast. 2) Gumbel's record of liberal advocacy and of denigrating conservatives, with links to the best examples from the MRC's archives. 1 In an announcement posted at noon EST today on the Early Show Web page, CBS stated: "Bryant Gumbel... continue reading
Piling On Israel Bashing; Treat Palestinians Like the Taliban?; Give Osama a Platform; Comedian Tougher on Brock Than CNN & NBC -- Extra Edition 1) With the Vatican critical of Israel, ABC and CBS suddenly considered it a fount of wise counsel. ABC's Peter Jennings noted how the Vatican complained "about 'unjust conditions and humiliations' imposed on the Palestinians." 2) On CBS's 60 Minutes II on Wednesday night Scott Pelley posed a contrarian question to Colin Powell: "Why doesn't the United States move against Arafat and the terrorists in the Palestinian territories in the way that we moved against Mullah... continue reading
Jennings' Anti-Israel Skew; Thomas's Pro-Palestinian Push; Bush Illegitimate to CNN's New Host; West Wing's Latest Liberal Rants 1) Peter Jennings opened World News Tonight by lamenting how "at least a dozen people died...all Palestinians," as "the Israeli campaign in the occupied territories became more aggressive." But in conflict with Jennings' intended implication, they weren't all caused by the Israeli army. As CBS's Dan Rather noted, one was a Palestinian bomber who blew himself up. 2) Peter Jennings stressed how out of the step the U.S. has become, asserting: "It is more or less alone in its support of Israel." He... continue reading
ABC Scolded Pro-Israel Policy; Terrorists as "Freedom Fighters"; Today Promoted Slavery Reparations; MSNBC Pursuing Phil Donahue? 1) From Friday through Monday ABC railed against Bush's Middle East policy. On Friday night Peter Jennings warned that the French were upset that the Bush administration did not do enough to restrain Israel. On Sunday Terry Moran worried that by leaning in favor of Israel Bush had put in jeopardy the "honest broker" role for the U.S. which reached its "apex" under Bill Clinton and on Monday morning Charles Gibson casually relayed how a Palestinian he talked to labeled Bush's policy "criminal." 2)... continue reading
Jennings: Hezbollah Not Terrorist; CBS & CNN Wrong on Energy Claims; Tax Cuts Hurt Elderly; Leno: Clinton Had "Good Record" 1) If the leader of Hezbollah denies he's a terrorist that's good enough for Peter Jennings. While "the Bush administration says Hezbollah is a terrorist organization," Jennings relayed how Hezbollah's leader assured him that "we are not terrorists." Jennings cast no doubt on the claim as he proceeded to recount, without mentioning the role of Hezbollah, how "a man" blew up the U.S. embassy in Beirut and how 241 U.S. Marines had died in another bombing. 2) Contradicting the theme... continue reading
Bush "Influence Peddling?"; CBS Promoted as "Landmark" a Slavery Reparations Lawsuit; On JAG a Reporter Conveyed "Sincere Regret" 1) The Washington Post, CBS and CNN all hyped how the release of documents prove the administration consulted industry and not "consumer groups" in formulating energy policy. When Jane Clayson dared suggest "there's not much in them," Bryant Gumbel corrected her. Wyatt Andrews prompted an environmentalist about how some documents were whited-out: "Do you think the amount of blackout breaks the law?" On CNN's NewsNight, Connie Chung asked: "Do these documents confirm the worse suspicions of influence peddling?" 2) The CBS Evening... continue reading
U.S. "Imperialism"; Oscar Smear Campaign Analogized to Helms; Bye-Bye Bryant?; WashPost Reporter Sees Bias; Chung's CNN Try-Out 1) The U.S. is guilty of "imperialism." The expanding anti-terrorist operations in the Philippines raises the question of U.S. "imperialism," Fortune magazine's Jeffrey Birnbaum charged on the Fox News Channel on Monday night. 2) Fairness measured by result. Ed Bradley on Monday's CBS Evening News: "Finally tonight, how the Hollywood dream machine finally delivered on a promise of fairness and racial equality not once but twice at the Academy Awards." 3) In an online e-mail exchange on Slate.com, Washington Post reporter Lloyd Grove... continue reading
A Brit's "God Bless America"; Clintonite Candidates Celebrated; Global Warming Blamed; On JAG a Reporter Ruins a Secret Mission 1) The Oscar Awards lasted four hours and twenty-three minutes, but just one participant proclaimed "Good Bless America." And he's not even an American. Julian Fellowes: "I think you must be the most generous nation on Earth. So thank you very much and God Bless America." He worked on Gosford Park with Robert Altman, who recently went on an anti-U.S. rant. 2) MSNBC showcased Stuyvesant High School students who are angered by "hate speech" as epitomized by T-shirts proclaiming "bomb them,"... continue reading
Finance Reform "At Long Last"; Lauer's Switch on Tax Cuts; Terrorism Pay-Off for Arafat; Editor Takes Liberal Bias Seriously 1) "At Long Last, Campaign Finance Reform," trumpeted the headline over a Time magazine online story which didn't hide its enthusiasm for the regulatory scheme. 2) ABC's Diane Sawyer celebrated the passage of campaign finance reform as a "big moment in Washington," but George Stephanopoulos dampened her enthusiasm by explaining that it's only "going to shift the influence from these fat cats who can write $200,000 checks to networkers who have big Rolodexes and then get 100 people to write $2,000... continue reading