Newt's as Immoral as Bill; Liberal Bias is "Absurd;" Real Scandals Skipped 1) Al Hunt asserted that Newt Gingrich has "been accused of some of the same sort of moral turpitude" as Clinton. 2) ABC discovered Clinton's sex habits give "high school students a new appreciation for their President." At CPAC, NBC saw "T-shirts calling for the President's impeachment even though no wrongdoing has been proven." 3) Steve Roberts declared that scandal focus proves "absurd" the idea that "the liberal media elite is coddling Bill Clinton." 4) "Now They Decide To Cover a Scandal," the MRC's op-ed piece on how... continue reading
Tripping Tripp; Starr's Rush to Judgment; Media Self-Flagellation 1) ABC cast doubt on Tripp's story and says a Democratic activist's complaints illustrated the White House point about Starr; NBC wondered if Starr "made a rush to judgment?" 2) Bryant Gumbel gloated over questions about Lewinsky's credibility while presenting her as either part of or a victim of the "vast right-wing conspiracy." 3) The January 30 MRC fax report: CNN and PBS self-flagellation about over coverage, but nothing reflecting conservative concerns. 4) Letterman's Top Ten "Signs You're in Love with the President. " Friday night ABC and NBC marveled over Clinton's... continue reading
Clinton's "Comeback;" Clinton Perjury or Not; Producer Condemns Starr 1) The Web page has more on the scandal: daily Media Reality Check fax reports and a press release identifying the leader of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. 2) ABC and NBC referred to White House stonewalling while Dan Rather marveled at Clinton's "comeback." CBS and NBC offered opposite assessments on the implications for Clinton of a judge's ruling and NBC found more people who think the media have gone too far. CBS and NBC picked up Trie. Only NBC mentioned Babbitt. 3) A CBS News producer told his local newspaper that... continue reading
Complaints About Over-Coverage; Hillary's GMA Slide; Rather Nutty 1) Wednesday night CBS and NBC aired pieces contending that the public believes the media are overplaying the scandal; only ABC reported Charlie Trie's indictment. 2) On Good Morning America Lisa McRee mostly tossed softballs to Hillary Clinton, sympathized with how the scandal has distracted from "things that really do matter." 3) Tom Brokaw hit Republican and Democratic Senators from the left; Dan Rather declared the State of the Union "the biggest" story "this reporter has ever seen." Bumped but bouncing back. MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell was bumped at the last... continue reading
Nets Conspire to Court Conspiracy; One Journalist Crushed 1) CNN, ABC and CBS gave credibility to Hillary Clinton's claim of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Only NBC's Lisa Myers suggested the theory clashes with reality . 2) NBC Nightly News ran a hit piece on Lucianne Goldberg with Kitty Kelley as an expert on her ethics. 3) Probably speaking for much of the media, a New York Times columnist is disappointed that Clinton's great policies my fall victim to his personal problems. MRC Chairman on NBC's Today today. Attention early-risers (or late-nighters in Australia where I understand from a recent reader... continue reading
CBS Suggests Tripp Out for $; More Clift; Letterman's Top Ten 1) CBS finds public opinion matches their reporting: people blame Clinton's enemies and consider Starr partisan. The CBS Evening News maligns the motives of Linda Tripp, and Dan Rather hits Lucianne Goldberg as a "Nixon campaign dirty trickster." 2) "Dismissing Monica's Predecessors. In 1992 Time magazine dismissed Flowers, telling readers to "grow up about sex." Jones initially got 16 seconds on ABC, zilch on CBS and NBC. 3) Eleanor Clift disparages Ken Starr's tactics. 4) Bernard Shaw warns that Clinton might be a victim like Richard Jewell. 5) Letterman's... continue reading
Pope Split; Years of Ignoring Clinton Sex Scandals; Clift Again 1) Newspapers all over the place in Pope headlines: Did he condemn Castro or the U.S.? 2) Howard Kurtz contended that on Clinton "the prevailing view from the Fourth Estate is that this is one slippery character," but he showed how they dismissed Flowers and Jones. 3) Now they cover a scandal. From the MRC archives: a) How reporters united behind Clinton before the '92 NH primary; b) How all the morning shows ignored Flowers but brought on guests in '92 to discuss Bush's supposed extramarital life; and c) How... continue reading
Nixon Link; Too Much Coverage; Deposition Wouldn't Hurt? 1) CBS tied New York book agent Lucianne Goldberg to Nixon's "dirty tricks," but the network ignored her work for Kennedy and a prominent media outlet. 2) ABC painted Starr as a "Republican prosecutor;" Peter Jennings worried about "too much" coverage; and another piece looked at how "many voters are questioning just how big this story really is," saying "the media have already taken it way too far." 3) Just a week ago, hours after Clinton's deposition, Al Hunt denounced "right-wing activists" who think "this sleaze issue will be the magic wand... continue reading
Putting the Burden on Starr; More Sex = Better President 1) ABC's Tim O'Brien demanded that Starr defend going beyond Whitewater; CNN's Bernard Shaw blamed Starr for the media mob. 2) Eleanor Clift attacked Linda Tripp and asserted that "libido and leadership is often linked." Bryant Gumbel asks if Starr is "trying to do with innuendo that which he has been unable to do with evidence?" 3) Dan Rather can't say "Ken Starr" without calling him "the long time Republican activist." After months of ignoring or barely covering numerous fundraising scandal developments and lies by Clinton or members of his... continue reading
Reporter Denounced for Investigating Clinton Team; Latest NQ 1.Jack Nelson of the Los Angeles Times denounced ABC's Brian Ross for his investigative story on Alexis Herman. 2.The January 12 edition of Notable Quotables: Tax twinkies; downside of losing the Berlin Wall; Bill & Hillary Care More Best of NQ in Human Events. The January 23 edition of Human Events features a two-page spread of quotes from the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 1997: The Tenth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." Stop us before we investigate Clinton! That seems to be the concern of Jack Nelson, the long-time Washington... continue reading