"Dangerous" Summer; Coelho's Ethics Skipped; Fruit or Prescription; Judd Rose's Rants 1) "The summer could be especially dangerous," Dan Rather warned in opening Thursday's CBS Evening News by conveying dire warnings about rising temperatures, price gouging oil companies, brownouts, "hell fires" and an "ultra-drought" spreading across the nation. 2) ABC, MSNBC and NBC Thursday night noted Tony Coelho's departure from the Gore campaign but didn't bother to mention his ethical problems, including a criminal probe. CBS made a vague allusion. 3) PBS's Jim Lehrer talked to Al Gore for 18 minutes but didn't ask about missing subpoenaed e-mail or Gore's... continue reading
Gore Conceded He's No Computer Expert; FNC: Baptists Blast Clinton; NYPD Can't Win; "Prosperity Tour" 1) Al Gore, who last year boasted how he "took the initiative in creating the Internet," denied any knowledge of how many of his subpoenaed e-mails were lost, conceding, during a Fox News Channel interview, "I'm not an expert on computers." 2) Al Gore's tenants complained the repairs haven't been made and that he reneged on the promise of other housing, FNC's Brit Hume relayed. Time, Newsweek and U.S. News all refused to inform their readers about the condition of Gore's rental property. 3) CBS... continue reading
Oxygen Breathed Liberal for Gore; Death Penalty Errors Tied to Bush; Willey's Letters 1) Ex-Clinton operative Cheryl Mills hosted Oxygen's forum with Al Gore. She promised that the women questioning Gore represented "a cross-section of...political ideology." In fact, 14 questions came from the left, two from the right. Also in the audience: Million Mom March's Donna Dees-Thomases. 2) The networks all jumped on a study which claimed the death penalty system is fraught with error. ABC and CBS tied it directly to George Bush, with CBS insisting Bush's run "has put the Texas death penalty system under a microscope." 3)... continue reading
Slumlord Slant Slammed; GOP "Fairy Tales" About Death Tax; Celebrating Partners 1) Tony Blankley, Michael Barone and Brit Hume all commented on the lack of network interest in the Gore as "slumlord" story. Hume: "Can you imagine the same kind of media treatment if this were happening on the ranch that George W. Bush owns in Texas?" 2) The networks ignored Dan Burton, his hearing and the LaBella memos during the week, but on Sunday Burton appeared on two shows and Labella and Lee Radek were also quizzed. 3) CBS's Diana Olick discredited those favoring elimination of he inheritance tax,... continue reading
Gore's Broken Pledge Excused; Aunt Jemina Thomas; Actress a "Huge" Hillary Fan 1) On the Microsoft breakup ruling, ABC noted how much investors have lost, CBS focused on how Silicon Valley competitors are "glad to see...a big bully cut down to size" and NBC claimed "analysts say past anti-trust actions have been good for consumers." 2) ABC and CBS ran stories pegged to how Al Gore broke his pledge on soft money ads, but both rationalized and excused Gore. "People who are fighting for campaign finance reform say neither Bush nor Gore has a monopoly on hypocrisy," declared ABC's John... continue reading
More on Freeh/Reno Ignored; No Interest in Nashville; Shirtless Gumbel & Drag Queens 1) Dan Burton released long-suppressed Justice documents and the key officials in the controversy, over whether Reno was pressured to drop fundraising, appeared before Burton's committee. NBC gave it 35 seconds, FNC a full story. Zilch on ABC, CBS and CNN. 2) George W. Bush was clueless about the identity of DNC Chairman Joe Andrew, FNC's Carl Cameron pointed out. Bush: "I don't know who Joe Andrew is." Cameron added: "With Democrats questioning Bush's overall smarts, Andrew could not resist a jab." 3) NBC actually slipped in... continue reading
FNC Aired Full Story on Gore's Rental House; Letterman's "Top Ten Al Gore Tenant Pet Peeves" Two quick items in this special mid-day CyberAlert to update you on coverage of the Gore tenant story: Monday night, June 5, FNC's Special Report with Brit Hume and Fox Report both carried full stories by David Shuster on the condition of the Al Gore-owned rental home occupied by a family and Gore's promise to resolve the situation without evicting them from the Tennessee house. MRC Webmaster Andy Szul has now posted Shuster's story. To view it via RealPlayer, go to: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2000/cyb20000605.asp#1 Monday's CNN... continue reading
"Slumlord" Al Able to Slide; Craig Pressed on Elian's Freedom; Vintage CNN Bias 1) "If this had been a Republican, people would have been crying 'slumlord'," observed Juan Williams on Fox News Sunday in discussing a story the networks skipped over the weekend about Al Gore's tenant complaining about never-fixed backed up toilets. 2) On CNN's Capital Gang Mark Shields castigated the press for labeling Robert Casey "conservative" just because he was pro-life: "The litmus test to be a liberal by contemporary press standards is simply to be an unqualified supporter of legal abortion." 3) Al Hunt ridiculed conservatives over... continue reading
INS "Acted Properly"; "Star Wars" Bashed; Rosie O'Donnell Pressed on Gun Hypocrisy 1) ABC's Peter Jennings and CBS's Bob Schieffer insisted that the judges decided the INS "acted properly" in the Elian case, but NBC's Pete Williams pointed out how "they personally might have given Elian an asylum hearing." CBS featured a woman in Cuba proclaiming how the ruling means Elian has gotten "his freedom." 2) Bash "Star Wars" night on CBS and NBC. Thursday evening CBS ran a piece which highlighted attacks on the viability of the newly planned system, while NBC piled on about its dangers, including how... continue reading
Nun Goes Left, CBS Jumps; Parting Shot at Casey; Broaddrick Audit; Pleasant Cuban Work Camps 1) NBC turned a comment on the death penalty by George Bush on one of its cable shows into the day's top news. ABC ignored Elian's move last week to DC, but Wednesday night ran a story on his cost. Peter Jennings whined about "billions of dollars some politicians still want to spend on an anti-missile defense system." 2) A few protesters at a shareholder meeting was all it took for CBS to jump, with Dan Rather announcing how they "are accusing ExxonMobil of a... continue reading