Reporters Interested in Jones, When Clinton Hurt; Rather in Cuba 1. With Clinton's credibility being damaged, NPR's Mara Liasson displayed a sudden concern that all the facts get out in the Jones case, but where was she in 1994? Tim Russert repeatedly questioned Jones' motives, but let Carville off. 2. In Cuba Dan Rather discovered that the US embargo means no tubing to fix a '58 Olds and most don't care about the Pope. Two observations about Sunday morning talk show coverage of the Paula Jones case: a NPR reporter suddenly concerned with getting all the evidence out, and NBC's... continue reading
ABC's Multi-Media Pro-Abortion Drive: Net Plus Web 1) ABC's World News Tonight devoted half of Friday's show to abortion 25 years after Roe v. Wade -- as seen by pro-choice activists. 2) For its Web site look at abortion ABC made even less effort at balance with a series of reports on the issue highlighting abortion advocates' hope for easier abortions and a Republican woman battling to keep partial birth abortions legal. With the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade approaching this week, on Friday ABC's World News Tonight devoted about half the newscast to abortion. But ABC News producers... continue reading
Espy Erased; Cisneros Mistress Missed; Donaldson to the Rescue? 1. Alexis Herman got a few seconds Thursday night on CBS and NBC, but ABC provided a story with a key fact missed by CNN. And NBC finds millions of "victims" in New England, but they aren't human. 2. Not one network bothered with the latest indictment in the Mike Espy case, but that's nothing new for this scorned scandal. 3. Letterman's "Top Ten Questions Clinton Will Be Asked at His Sexual Harassment Deposition." 4. A USA Today reporter acknowledged the White House press corps' bias in favor of Clinton's programs... continue reading
Hillary & Starr Avoided; Nets Skipped Judge's Sanction; CD Giveaway 1) ABC and FNC aired full stories on the probe of Herman while CBS and NBC gave it just a few seconds. All the networks allocated only a few seconds to Starr questioning Hillary Clinton. 2) A federal judge's sanction on the White House for lying about the make-up of Mrs. Clinton's health care task force has yet to get a single network story. 3) Peter Jennings gushed over the Georgia Governor's idea to give classical music CDs to every baby. But who will buy the players? Clarification: A couple... continue reading
CNN's Kaplan: Clinton Buddy Mixes His Politics & News 1) Just one item today, but a long one well worth reading: Very illuminating excerpts from a Vanity Fair profile of CNN President Rick Kaplan, a man Ted Turner called "the biggest goddamned Jew I've ever seen." The piece details how Kaplan killed negative stories at ABC about Clinton, hired Hillary and himself once worked for a Democratic candidate. Plus, he thinks those who see liberal bias are "liars." Correction: The January 12 CyberAlert quoted CBS News reporter Eric Engberg as saying "El Nino also played a roll..." The analyst transcribing... continue reading
Warm Air or Network Hot Air? ; MRC Web a Prop for Nightline 1) The networks declared as fact that human-caused greenhouse gasses made 1997 the warmest year ever, but more accurate satellite data show otherwise. 2) CBS and NBC gave the court appearance by Henry Cisneros a few seconds, but that's more than ABC provided. 3) ABC's Nightline used MRC Web pages to illustrate the "down side to this vast place called cyberspace." >>> CNN's new schedule begins today. Of interest to political junkies: Inside Politics moves an hour later to 5pm ET. Capital Gang/Sunday and Crossfire Sunday aired... continue reading
Tagging Bono; Caring Clinton Helps Kids; Iranian Excess 1) You can't escape labeling by dying -- if you are conservative. The networks immediately tagged Bono, but not Kennedy. 2) Clinton's Medicare and day care spending proposals bring more victims to TV. Tom Brokaw relayed the White House spin about Clinton's "plan to provide more and better care for America's children." 3) CNN's Christiane Amanpour suggests to Iran's Khatami that the hostage-taking was just a revolutionary "excess" -- like what happened during the the U.S. Revolution. 1 Bias even in death. Hours after Sonny Bono's death was announced the morning shows... continue reading
Hubbell's in an ABC Reporter's Home; December 29 Notable Quotables 1) Not enough judges or too many laws to judge? Rehnquist said both, but two newspapers picked one over the other. 2) Mickey Kantor admitted he inappropriately helped Hubbell, but the networks yawned. Meanwhile, an ABC News reporter's husband paid off a contract that Hubbell failed to fulfill. 3) The December 29, 1997 edition of Notable Quotables. On naming an airport after Ronald Reagan, Gloria Borger incongruently declared: "So what's next? The Richard M. Nixon Jewish Community Center?" 1 The annual report on the judiciary from Chief Justice William Rehnquist... continue reading
MRC Alert: Best Notable Quotables of 1997: Second & Third Runners-Up 1) Just one item today, but a lengthy one: The second and third runners-up in the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 1997: The Tenth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." >>>> The latest Media Reality Check fax report is now on the MRC Web page. Put out just before Christmas, the one-page report is titled "18 Felony Charges Against Ex-HUD Secretary Cisneros Pales Next to Story of Cosby Paternity Squabble: Indicting the Clinton Cabinet? Yawn." To read the report on how the networks barely touched the indictment, click... continue reading
Newsweek Skips Lawrence; AIDS Reality; Best of NQ Runners-Up 1. Newsweek, which showcased how Admiral Boorda supposedly misused medals, has yet to write a word about Lawrence's deception. 2. The Washington Post called the public "unusually well- informed" for believing AIDS is one of top two health problems. But seven other major disease categories kill many more. 3. The first runners-up in the Best Notable Quotables of 1997: The Tenth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting. 1) One national media outlet has been conspicuously absent on the strange tale of Larry Lawrence, the $10 million Democratic donor who lied... continue reading