"Lock Box" & "Trust Fund" Mantra; Helms "Wonderfully Odious"; Jack White Admitted Listening to Limbaugh; Condit Defended by Maher 1) In three questions ABC's George Stephanopoulos on This Week referred to the non-existent "Social Security lock box." He demanded: "Are you prepared...to come forward and say we have to repeal or delay parts of the tax cut to make sure we don't tap the Social Security lock box?" NBC's Campbell Brown and Tim Russert cited the "Social Security Trust Fund," but on Fox News Sunday Brit Hume pointed out there is no "lock box." 2) Newsweek's Evan Thomas called Jesse... continue reading
Chung: Condit "Conservative"; Weekday CBS Evening News Aired Second Mention of Condit/Levy 1) Connie Chung identified Gary Condit as a "conservative Democrat." But his congressional voting record puts him in the middle of the spectrum. 2) The weekday edition of the CBS Evening News on Thursday aired its second mention ever of the Chandra Levy/Gary Condit case. >>> MRC on MSNBC: Rich Noyes, the MRC's Director of Media Analysis, is scheduled to appear repeatedly during the daytime today, between 11am and 3pm EDT, on MSNBC as part of rotating panels which will assess ABC's interview with Gary Condit. 1 With... continue reading
"Social Security Money at Risk?"; Surplus "Erased" by Tax Cut; Reporters "Reviled" Helms; Wishing Helms Would Die from AIDS 1) ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas used irrational scare-mongering to entice viewers: "Gambling with the federal budget surplus. Billions of dollars evaporate into thin air. Is your Social Security money at risk?" CBS anchor John Roberts referred to "the incredible shrinking federal budget surplus." Bill Plante added, "It's official: the government surplus has been virtually erased by the President's tax cut and the economic slowdown." 2) While Newsweek's Howard Fineman called Jesse Helms an "inconvenient presence for George W. Bush who wants... continue reading
"Race-Baiting" Helms; And He Fought "Help for AIDS Patients"; Gumbel: Helms Quitting Good News for All But "Hard Right" 1) Bryant Gumbel on the expected announcement from Senator Jesse Helms that he will not run for re-election: "Helms is, let me pick my words here, an unapologetic right-wing conservative....Is his departure good news for all but hard-right Republicans?" 2) Broadcast network viewers heard negative caricatures on Tuesday night of Jesse Helms. CBS's Bob Orr stressed how he "has opposed abortion rights, AIDS funding, and even the Martin Luther King holiday" and "opponents have accused him of using race to win... continue reading
Roll Back the Tax Cut?; Dangerous Home Schooling; Pollution Kills More Than Cars; Connie "Just Between You and Me" Chung 1) ABC's Charles Gibson advanced the Democratic spin blaming the tax cut for supposedly "squandering the federal budget surplus" as he demanded of Bush economic adviser Larry Lindsey: "Would you advocate rolling back some of the tax cut?" Gibson worried about not being able to spend more: "We can't afford a prescription benefit on Medicare." 2) A busy morning for Gibson as he also tried to undermine home schooling. As the public schools fail, he worried "about the qualifications of... continue reading
Corrected on SS "Trust Fund"; French Admired for Rejecting Bush; Reagan-Like Bush "Cheap"; Jesse Jackson: "Symbol of Human Rights" 1) Robert Novak corrected Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert for repeatedly referring to the "Social Security Trust Fund," pointing out "there is no trust fund." But Russert insisted on furthering the bi-partisan illusion as did ABC's John Cochran. 2) "Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong," Time magazine's Jack White blurted out in response to a poll which found that 59 percent of French citizens disapprove approve of Bush's international policy while 85 percent disagree with his decision to not support... continue reading
Tax Cut Blamed for Shortfall; CNN: Bill "Elvis" Clinton "The First Rock Star President"; "Conservatives Use Floggings..." 1) The Bush White House re-allocating money from Social Security to general revenue? ABC anchor Charles Gibson immediately blamed the tax cut: "They need it...because they're strapped because of the tax cut." CBS's John Roberts referred to how Democrats will blame the "huge tax cut" for "jeopardizing the surplus." 2) The "mid-August convergence" of Bill Clinton's birthday and the anniversary of when Elvis died prompted CNN's Bill Schneider to gush: "Elvis, the first rock star. Clinton, the first rock star President. It's no... continue reading
Bush Trip Skipped; Gumbel and Couric Advocated on Behalf of Texas Murderers; Did Bush "Let Down" Majority on Stem Cell Research? 1) NBC, which made a big deal last week about how Bush has spent 42 percent of his presidency on vacation, on Tuesday night ignored his trip to Colorado. CBS gave it a sentence. ABC anchor Charles Gibson showed video of "another photo-op out in nature" as he added that Bush would speak at a certain hotel "despite an NAACP boycott of the hotel chain alleging discrimination." 2) Bryant Gumbel on Monday morning insulted the prosecutor in a Texas... continue reading
Scientists Disappointed; Bush's Speech Was "Clintonian"; An Authority on Stem Cells: An 11-Year-Old Actor; PBS's Liberal Chief 1) Scientists fear "the strict limits on funding may forever damage the research," argued CBS's John Roberts as CBS and NBC portrayed a near-uniformly disappointed scientific community. NBC's Robert Bazell relayed how "many worry that Bush's restriction will make the effort" to find cures for diseases "much more difficult." 2) Bob Schieffer again transformed his personal opinion into what "some" think. A week after he concluded Face the Nation with a commentary denouncing those in the embryonic stem cell debate as like those... continue reading
"Very Limited Research" Rued; Dan Rather: Replace CBS With a Newspaper; Limbaugh Naysayers; "Dying" vs. "Abortion Opponents" 1) Post-Bush speech analysis. ABC's Charles Gibson and CNN's Aaron Brown both characterized Bush's decision as allowing just "very limited research." Conservatives are "really going to be upset" and outraged, ABC's John Yang insisted. But FNC's Jim Angle contended: "Anti-abortion forces should be somewhat heartened by the President's words." Forrest Sawyer, on MSNBC, heard from Bush "a thoughtfully posed analysis." 2) Dan Rather's advice: "If you're really interested in this you'll want to read in detail one of the better newspapers tomorrow," because... continue reading