BiasAlerts

Nets Skip How Missile Made with Stolen Info; CNN: Hillary Has "Suffered" 1) A leak to the AP of the Cox Report generated a bit of coverage with CNN highlighting the spin that its findings are "inflated." On This Week Cox condemned the administration's leaks and spin. 2) "China is close to deploying a nuclear missile with a warhead whose design draws on stolen American secrets," the New York Times disclosed Friday. Today gave it 12 seconds, GMA just ten and all three broadcast networks ignored it Friday night. 3) CNN's Christine Amanpour to Hillary Clinton: "A lot of the... continue reading

Networks Ignore a 1997 Spy: Peter Lee; Jennings Derided Reagan 1) Dan Rather led Thursday night by delighting in "what a difference a day makes" as Republicans are "looking for a way out just 24 hours after rejecting a modest gun control measure." 2) Another spy suspect, Peter Lee, passed on submarine tracking secrets in 1997. The New York Times called his case "significant" because it showed China obtained secrets during Clinton's second term. But only FNC and Fox News Sunday have explored his case. 3) In his book, The Century, Peter Jennings attacked Ronald Reagan from the left: "To... continue reading

Rubin: Greatest SecTreas since 1790s; Liddy Earns Media Approval 1) The networks heaped praise upon Robert Rubin on behalf of a "country full of prosperity he helped create." He was "the best Treasury Secretary since Alexander Hamilton" oozed Peter Jennings. 2) Liddy goes left and earns media admiration. CBS highlighted her opposition to concealed weapons. ABC's John Cochran passed along the spin: "By taking on the gun lobby, she hopes men will decide maybe she is also tough enough to take on Slobodan Milosevic." 3) Only FNC cared that a top Democrat criticized Justice for turning down the FBI's warrant... continue reading

CBS & MSNBC Skipped Chung; Morning Chung Blackout; NBC Gets to Spying 1) ABC, CNN, FNC and NBC covered Johnny Chung's House testimony Tuesday night, but not CBS or MSNBC's News with Brian Williams. ABC highlighted how Chung blamed the campaign finance system. 2) Of the three cable news channels only FNC carried Chung live for more than 20 minutes. MSNBC avoided live coverage but provided live updates on a crowd awaiting singer Ricky Martin. 3) Nothing about Chung Wednesday morning on Today or GMA. Tuesday morning only CBS's This Morning uttered his name. 4) NBC Nightly News finally told... continue reading

Richardson Ignored; Russert Condemned Clinton But NBC News Disagrees 1) ABC, CBS and NBC all noted how the NRA was not invited to the White House summit and that "Hollywood's prime movers who've shown up at Clinton fundraisers" didn't accept their invitations. 2) No broadcast network, not even NBC, picked up Monday morning or night on Richardson's concession on Meet the Press that Clinton's denial of espionage during his term was false. But even the liberal Boston Globe put it above the fold. 3) FNC's Carl Cameron previewed Johnny Chung's testimony, relaying he will "testify that the Chinese claimed they... continue reading

CBS & NBC Refuse to Touch China; Russert Grilled Richardson 1) All the broadcast networks ignored the Senate Intelligence Committee report released Friday. Only CNN provided a story and only ABC informed viewers about how Wen Ho Lee claimed to be a long-time FBI informant. 2) No stories on any morning show but NBC's Katie Couric did pose one question about Wen Ho Lee to Attorney General Janet Reno. 3) On Meet the Press Tim Russert grilled Bill Richardson about a subject the rest of NBC News has ignored: "Did, in fact, espionage occur by the Chinese against the nuclear... continue reading

Spy Suspect Out on Saturday; Chung Revealed More; King Replaced Gore 1) The Thursday morning shows ignored the Senate hearing and the broadcast network evening shows skipped Reno's plans to probe delays in the spying case, but viewers heard about the Jenny Jones trial and saw Cindy Crawford's video diary of her pregnancy. 2) FNC exclusive: The FBI has several other spy suspects, including a former Los Alamos scientist set for release from a half-way house on Saturday. Did the Pentagon botch his case? 3) "Eased export controls aided Beijing's missile technology," announced the Friday Washington Times headline over a... continue reading

CBS & NBC Skip China Hearing; Brokaw: China a Bigger Risk Than Kosovo 1) A Senate committee heard Wednesday from nuclear lab directors and probed delays in warrants for Wen Ho Lee, but only ABC and FNC covered it on their evening shows. Zilch on CBS and NBC. FNC's Carl Cameron previewed findings from another Senate committee. 2) Tom Brokaw actually asked President Clinton if Chinese espionage isn't "a bigger risk really to the long term history of the United States than Kosovo?" But NBC ignored the topic Wednesday after refusing to report two major NY Times disclosures. 3) "I... continue reading

War Incompetence; "Great Women" Judged by ABC: Hill, Fonda & Clinton 1) Not a word Monday or Tuesday on the broadcast networks about Sunday's New York Times revelation about Chinese espionage . 2) A retiring NATO General denounced the incompetence of the war effort, but only ABC found his critical analysis newsworthy. 3) ABC's Diane Sawyer gave tribute to Jesse Jackson, describing him as a "maverick without portfolio" who is "pushing for the rights of the poor and working class." 4) Barbara Walters' special on "Great Women" focused on liberals, featuring Anita Hill and Jane Fonda. She praised Margaret Sanger... continue reading

Networks Ignored How Clinton Warned; Time's White: Ban All Guns 1) Tim Russert asked Jesse Jackson if in light of his success in freeing the POWs he would "reconsider" and run for President. 2) The CBS, CNN and NBC evening shows all ignored another New York Times bombshell, this time about how the Clinton team was warned about espionage last November but waited months to take action. ABC's World News Tonight gave the revelation 40 seconds. 3) On Meet the Press Tim Russert showed how the Times story contradicts Clinton. On This Week, George Will pressed Eric Holder about why... continue reading