Clinton "Treated Like a Rock Star"; Vignali Reported; Couric Challenged Lockhart on GOP "Attack Machine"; Bush a "Moron" 1) CBS and NBC led Tuesday night with Bill Clinton's "triumphant" visit to Harlem while congressional investigators pressed the Rich pardon probe. "He was treated like a rock star," ABC anchor Peter Jennings gushed. CBS's Byron Pitts exclaimed: "Today hard-pressed Harlem came alive, and Bill Clinton was in his element." 2) CBS and NBC informed their viewers of the controversy over the Clinton clemency for cocaine trafficker Carlos Vignali, though CBS only gave it two seconds and didn't mention his name. NBC... continue reading
Clinton Cocaine Clemency Clipped; Hillary Furniture Excuse Skipped; Morning Hawks; Reagan "a Failure" on the Economy 1) CBS and NBC led Monday night and ABC aired a story on developments on the Rich probe front as well as Bill Clinton's decision, as Tom Brokaw put it, to move "up town. Way up town. To the heart of Harlem." Only NBC mentioned Hillary's comments on how government furniture ended up in her house. 2) Clinton's decision to commute the sentence of a cocaine trafficker "has sparked disbelief and outrage from nearly everyone involved in his case," the Los Angeles Times reported... continue reading
The Homeless Are Back; Angry at Clinton for Giving Conservatives a Reason to "Pontificate"; Early Clinton Furniture Shipping Ignored 1) The homeless are back! On Sunday night ABC News won the race to be the first network to re-discover homelessness after eight years of avoiding them. ABC's Bob Jamieson: "In New York City the number of homeless in the shelter system has risen above 25,000 a night for the first time since the late 1980s." 2) Best Quotes of the Weekend: Brit Hume asked Joe Biden: "If you had the Clintons over to dinner would you use your best silver?"... continue reading
CBS's Anti-Tax Cut Crusade; Conservative = "Controversial"; CBS Rationalized Clinton's Pardon: Other Presidents Have Done the Same 1) Thursday night CBS's John Roberts furthered the anti-tax cut spin by using raw cash amounts to show how Bush's cut benefits the rich, but ABC's Terry Moran offered a balanced recitation of both dollar figures and percentage cuts to illustrate how the middle class will get a far bigger cut than the wealthy. 2) Dan Rather castigated Bush for how he "again talked down the U.S. economy" in order to justify his tax cut, but minutes later Rather reported how declining retail... continue reading
Furniture Removal Barely Noted; Bush Rebuked for Hyping Bad News; Reagan's Legacy: Crack; Maher "Proud" of Harris Murder Joke 1) CBS gave 19 seconds Wednesday night to how the Clintons have decided to return furniture donated to the White House, not them personally. NBC aired a full story earlier this week, but ABC's World News Tonight and CBS's The Early Show have yet to touch it. 2) ABC, NBC and the cable networks, but not CBS, picked up on questions about Clinton's pardon of Glenn Braswell, a man presently being investigated for fresh crimes. 3) ABC's Betsy Stark rebuked President... continue reading
"Still Paying Bill" for '81 Cut; AM Shows Pounded at Size and Skew of Bush's "Controversial" Plan; Clinton Furniture Removal Skipped 1) CBS's John Roberts distorted history as he maintained "America is still paying the bill" for Reagan's 1981 tax cut. NBC's Tom Brokaw obsessed on the size of Bush's plan, referring to it as "big" and "massive." David Gregory ominously concluded with how critics claim: "What helps individual families today...may actually hurt the country down the road." 2) Dan Rather promised a "Real Deal" look "beyond the photo-ops and spin" at how the tax cut plan "could effect you."... continue reading
"Huge" Tax Cut for Rich Denounced; Gumbel: Clinton a Victim; CBS Stressed Bush's Attack on "Women's Reproductive Health Rights" 1) Previewing media reaction this week to Bush's tax cut proposal, on CNN's Capital Gang Al Hunt declared: "The worst thing we can do now is give huge tax cuts to people who least need it." Margaret Carlson complained "the huge preponderance of this goes to wealthy people" and urged it be skewed toward "the working class." 2) NBC's David Gregory claimed that President Bush described his own tax cut plan as "massive." Gregory relayed how "some Democrats wonder who is... continue reading
"Rights Groups" vs. Ashcroft; Misuse of Tax-Exempt Funds by Jesse Jackson Skipped by All But FNC; SNL Bush Imitator Voted for Gore 1) All three evening shows labeled Ashcroft as "conservative," but CBS and NBC refused to apply an ideological tag to his opponents. CBS's Bob Schieffer referred to how "dozens of rights groups were still fighting him." Only ABC described his attackers as "liberal" and Peter Jennings contrasted Bush inviting the Kennedys over for a movie with how the Democrats "savaged" Ashcroft. 2) Catching up with ABC and NBC, on Thursday night the CBS Evening News finally arrived at... continue reading
CBS Shocked by Bush Comments; Simpson Denounced Vouchers & Abortion Order; Clinton Costs Just Like Reagan's; Chavez Distorted 1) CBS jumped on "frank" remarks President Bush made about school vouchers which were picked up by an open microphone. Though the comments were hardly beyond conventional wisdom, John Roberts referred to Bush's "unusually direct language" and highlighted how they "brought a sharp rebuke from members of the Congressional Black Caucus." 2) ABC's Carole Simpson denounced "parental choice" as "bogus." She also tossed in a shot at Bush's executive order on abortion, declaring: "I don't like at all" because it will mean... continue reading
Drilling Instead of Spending; Churches Don't Follow Civil Rights Laws; Bush Showed "Far Right" He's One of Them 1) Bush not using enough federal power to satisfy CBS News. Dan Rather opened Monday's CBS Evening News by complaining that "no new specific help is being offer to California" by Bush as he advocates drilling in "environmentally sensitive areas." 2) ABC, CBS and NBC delivered remarkably balanced stories on President Bush's "charitable choice" initiative. Only ABC's, however, raised a concern from the right about how receiving federal money could dilute the religious message of the groups and thus undermine their effectiveness... continue reading