EPA Bush-Basher Extolled; Cronkite Helps Liberal Group; New Book Details How Media Distort Polls; Burleigh Now Worried for "Unborn" 1) An EPA official who resigned by denouncing Bush environmental policy was rewarded with a boomlet of laudatory media coverage with stories in major newspapers and on ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as an interview on This Week. MSNBC's News with Brian Williams featured the NBC Nightly News story, but three nights earlier, when Nightly News aired a piece about how "Enron did surprisingly well during the Clinton years," MSNBC's prime time newscast not re-air that story. 2) Walter Cronkite... continue reading
"Bellicose Language" Blamed; Terror Suspect a Victim to ABC; NYT Euphemisms for Plagiarism; Bush's "Brown-Shirted Thugs"; CNN v FNC 1) ABC News rationalized how few in Muslim nations think Arabs committed the 9-11 terrorist acts and don't think the U.S. response is morally justified. Without retort, Terry Moran allowed a Muslim activist to denounce U.S. support for Israel and, after playing a clip of Bush referring to the "axis of evil," Moran stressed: "Other analysts say Mr. Bush's bellicose language may be exacerbating the problem." 2) ABC also ran a story about how the FBI has mistreated a Pakistani couple... continue reading
NBC: Clinton Helped Enron; Clinton Ties Buried By Papers; Thomas Raises Iran-Contra; NYT: "McCarthy Years...Similar to the Present" 1) "Enron did surprisingly well during the Clinton years," NBC's Lisa Myers declared Monday night in giving broadcast network air time to a subject largely avoided by the networks. She explained: "Lay played golf with the President, and Enron received $1.2 billion in government-backed loans for projects around the world." Neither ABC or CBS have uttered a word about the revelation of how the Clinton administration pushed loans to Enron. 2) "Clinton helped Enron finance projects abroad," announced the headline over a... continue reading
Pickering's Enemies Not Liberal; Clift: Gore "Should Have" Become President; CNN: Ted Kennedy "Roaring on Behalf of the Voiceless" 1) ABC's Carole Simpson made sure viewers realized Bush judicial nominee Charles Pickering is "conservative" and a man in a soundbite tagged him as a "right wing Republican," but she refused to apply an ideological label on his opponents. Instead, she euphemistically cited "a coalition of fifty civil rights, human rights and women's groups." 2) When Newsweek's Eleanor Clift mistakenly referred to how Al Gore assumed office after Bill Clinton, she confirmed on the McLaughlin Group that she thinks "it should... continue reading
Ashamed of American Patriotism; Rather's Pep Talk; Who Didn't Take Off Lens Cap?; Movie Agenda Admired; Goldberg Trashed by Neuharth 1) Ashamed of American patriotism. Bryant Gumbel agreed on Thursday morning with the sentiment that "they shouldn't be keeping a medal count" by nation since "this is not about nationalistic efforts." 2) Calling it the "first controversy of these games," on Monday night MSNBC anchor Lester Holt focused on how at the opening ceremony, "the President added the words 'on behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation' to the Olympic oath." Holt stressed how critics "say it's an example... continue reading
Bush "Too Militaristic"; South Korean Support Skipped; Moore: Bush Should Resign; Banfield Boasts She's Not American; CNN: Lost Time 1) The networks put the burden on Bush and not North Korea for the lack of peace on the peninsula. NBC's Campbell Brown concluded from Seoul that "many" fear "that Bush has damaged progress and renewed old animosity." ABC's Terry Moran stressed that "former Clinton administration officials...say Mr. Bush's approach is far too militaristic." Only CBS's John Roberts acknowledged: "Bush is getting full support from opposition lawmakers who argue the North needs to be seen for what it is." 2) Without... continue reading
Bush's Unwise "Saber Rattling"; Racial Counting Mandated by ABC; Time: "Noble" Campaign Finance Reform; Expose of Bill Moyers 1) ABC and CBS depicted President Bush's "axis of evil" term as dangerous, describing it as "saber rattling" and "harsh," as CBS even tossed in a mention of how protesters denounced Bush as a "death merchant." But the networks conflicted on Bush's tone in Tokyo. ABC's Charles Gibson insisted Bush "sounded very different" while on CBS Dan Rather held that "Bush has no intention of changing his language or his policies." 2) Diversity of skin color, but not ideology, mandated by ABC... continue reading
Bias Book Spiked by ABC, CBS & NBC; Goldberg Recounted Angry Reaction from His Colleagues to Him and the Idea of Liberal Bias 1) Despite having a New York Times best-seller, Bernard Goldberg has been blacked out by ABC, CBS and NBC, he told Howard Kurtz on CNN's Reliable Sources. He reported that "many people" at the three broadcast networks "agree with what I've said," but "none of them either are stupid enough or courageous enough...to come forward and say anything." 2) An excerpt from the chapter of Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, in... continue reading
Only Gore's Take Relevant; McCain As CBS's Expert; Hsia's Light Penalty; Powell Hit by MTV with Anti-U.S. Views; Lay Worse 1) Liberals and conservatives are opposed to President Bush's plan to combat global warming through tax credits and the trading of emission allotments, but ABC News only conveyed the liberal arguments, making special note of Al Gore's concerns. 2) CBS's Bob Schieffer turned to Senator John McCain to answer the question of what awful things will occur if the campaign finance reform effort "fails." McCain promised "there'll be more scandals because there's too much money washing around making good people... continue reading
Finance Reform "Finally"; CNN's Dobbs Provided Contrarian View; Anti-U.S. March in Iran Heralded as Anti-Bush; NYT's Rubin Tribute 1) CBS and NBC on Wednesday night heralded how the House was expected to "finally" pass campaign finance "reform." But as for who would benefit, CBS portrayed the President as the beneficiary because he had so many individual donors while NBC asserted that both parties would find a way around the new rules. 2) To the dismay of a Frankfurt-based columnist, on Tuesday night CNN Moneyline anchor Lou Dobbs ensured that the conservative view on the motivations of campaign finance reform backers... continue reading