"Lecture" & "Tongue Lashing"; "Paying Price" for Standing with NRA?; Rather Slammed Condit Story But Spread Rumor in 2000 1) Dan Rather portrayed President Bush as being on the "receiving end today of a lecture from the Pope" and "an international tongue lashing over global warming." ABC's Peter Jennings saw only benefits to what the Pope opposes as he stressed how experimenting on human embryos "might lead to a cure for some very serious diseases." NBC's David Gregory rued how the Pope "only made it harder" for Bush to determine what is the "right thing to do on stem cell... continue reading
Global Warming Over Missile Deal; "Conservative" Catholics and "Conservative" Arlen Specter; Schieffer's McCain Campaign Part 2 1) Burying Bush's missile defense understanding with Russian President Putin, ABC anchor Carole Simpson on Sunday put a higher priority on the failure of G-8 summiteers "to resolve sharp differences over global warming." She declared "the summit may be remembered more for the violence in the city's streets" than for the missile defense breakthrough. 2) CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson referred to how "the conservative leadership of the Catholic Church" opposes embryonic stem cell research, but she failed to apply a tag to a... continue reading
Rather Willing to ID a Republican; Rather Conceded Contrast with Packwood, Called Self a "Dumbass"; "Funnel" Tax Money to Religious 1) Dan Rather refused to identify Gary Condit as a Democrat, but on Thursday night he made sure viewers realized the party affiliation of another Congressman, warning that "if Arizona Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe has his way" the penny "will become obsolete." 2) Dan Rather told Don Imus that his show did not report on drug use charges against candidate George W. Bush when, in fact, the CBS Evening News ran multiple stories; expressed regret for his 1992 coverage of... continue reading
CBS's Non-Levy Salaciousness; Crack Down on "Gas-Guzzling SUVs"; Condit and His Enemies Both "Conservative" to ABC; No ID in Time 1) CBS and NBC pushed President Bush to hike fuel standards for "gas-guzzling SUVs." Dan Rather rued how "it's been years since the U.S. government last set fuel efficiency standards" but, he hoped, "that could soon change." NBC's Brian Williams steered Bush: "With increasing numbers of Americans telling opinion pollsters the President needs to get tougher on environmental protection, tonight the White House may have its chance." 2) Peter Jennings picked up on how "Henry Waxman has asked the Justice... continue reading
Wednesday Night Dan Rather Discovered Chandra Levy, But Only to Clear Condit, Who Was Not Labeled a Democrat, And Impugn DC Police 1) Wednesday night the weekday version of the CBS Evening News finally discovered the Chandra Levy/Gary Condit story. But instead of filling in their ill-informed viewers about Condit's obfuscation regarding his relationship with Levy, CBS emphasized how "law enforcement sources" believe "that local police have put an 'inappropriate emphasis' on the role of Congressman Gary Condit," whom CBS did not identify as a Democrat. 2) Back in 1992 the weekday CBS Evening News immediately aired a full story... continue reading
No Energy "Crisis" for Bush; European Global Warming Upset; Today Showcased Sheehy's Hillary Tribute; Newsweek IDed Condit, Sort Of 1) "The White House had scrambled to put together a controversial emergency energy plan to meet what it intimated was a looming crisis," Dan Rather lectured in pointing out how prices are falling, so now "Bush is scrambling again to try to keep support for his plan from falling apart." ABC and NBC led with the same theme but ABC failed to acknowledge how in March it too had declared an "energy crisis" as Charles Gibson predicted gas prices will "get... continue reading
Bush Stole Election, Not Really; Bring GOP to Center; Schieffer Urged McCain Presidential Run; Nets Didn't Hesitate to ID Packwood 1) The CBS Evening News jumped on how the New York Times would report "that the questionable counting of overseas ballots in Florida may have gained some crucial votes for George W. Bush," a strategy Russ Mitchell rued, "that may have been the deciding factor in winning the White House." In fact, the paper found a less than one percent chance the outcome would have changed. 2) Time's Michael Duffy upset by why Dick Armey and Tom DeLay "steam ahead... continue reading
"Scoundrels" Blocked McCain; CBS's Rove "Impropriety"; Condit Suddenly Labeled; Alter Fooled & Called for Condit to Resign 1) In ruing its defeat in the House, NBC's Brian Williams insisted campaign finance reform was "one of the highest profile issues on the agenda in Congress and in the last election." John McCain, Williams passed along, "called the procedural block, quote, 'the last refuge of scoundrels.'" 2) CBS uncovered the "impropriety" of Bush's top policy adviser advising him. The CBS Evening News explored the "controversy" over how Karl Rove met with the Salvation Army. John Roberts divulged the agenda behind the attack:... continue reading
"Easier" to Discriminate; Worried McCain Will be Disappointed; Dreaming of Clinton; Sawyer Forgot "Endowed by Their Creator" 1) "Today the White House backed off a plan it was considering which would make it easier for charities to discriminate against gays and lesbians," Peter Jennings asserted in reflecting the media attitude which assumed it's bad to limit government interference with religious beliefs. Dan Rather complained about Bush's "latest bid to win support for funneling more federal tax dollars to what he calls 'faith-based charities.'" 2) NBC Nightly News jumped to highlight another liberal lobbying effort to expand government control of health... continue reading
CNN's New Chief Admires Hillary; Rather Upset Tax Cuts Hinder More Spending; 401(k) Losses "Could Cast a Cloud Over" Bush's SS Plan 1) Walter Isaacson, the new head of CNN, has denied there's any liberal bias, holding up Time as a model of balance. As Managing Editor of Time, Isaacson proclaimed how he "was fascinated and impressed by" Hillary Clinton. He insisted that with Bill Clinton, "historically, I don't think we'll worry about whether he was chaste or not when we were saying whether he has character." He praised Clinton for "conquering runaway deficits while still showing how government could... continue reading