Breaking Promise Keepers; Hyping Anita Hill's Tale NBC focused on how women's groups say the "warm and fuzzy ideology" forwarded by the Promise Keepers "is a mask for something more sinister." Anita Hill showcased favorably by NBC's Dateline and Today which assumed her story was true. Katie Couric wondered: "What do you hope will be the enduring lesson of your experience?" 1) The big Promise Keepers rally will take place on Saturday in Washington, DC. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning NBC became the first broadcast network to look at the group's goals, though ABC and CBS are sure to pick... continue reading
Invoking Reagan; Katie Couric Outed; Either "Faithful" or "Far Right" ABC blamed nature not communism for starving people as Diane Sawyer invoked Ronald Reagan's name in arguing for U.S. aid to North Korea. Katie Couric "outed" by Whoopi Goldberg on Monday's Today -- outed as a closet "pro-choice" abortion marcher. News flash. Dan Rather declared: "I do believe in objectivity." Some are "faithful" while others belong to the "far right" asserted a Washington Post headline over a Promise Keepers story. 1) As the CBS Evening News did three weeks ago, Monday night ABC's World News Tonight blamed North Korea's famine... continue reading
McConnell No Hero to NBC; CBS's Schieffer Blames His Bias on GOP Friday night Peter Jennings was pleased that Senate "finally" got to reform, NBC looked at the "one man wrecking crew" blocking that "reform," and only CBS noted an eyewitness to Clinton's calls. CBS's Bob Schieffer admitted that he approached the IRS hearings with an anti-GOP bias because "the Republicans sent out some fairly odious, in my view, fundraising letters." Letterman's "Top Ten New Allegations Against Al Gore." 1) Friday's Los Angeles Times reported that Harold Ickes admitted he witnessed President Clinton make phone calls from the White House,... continue reading
Clinton on Race; Rather Attacks CBS?; "Republican" Starr The networks gave Clinton an unchallenged platform for his views on race while Dan Rather seemed to take a swipe at his own network for not covering the Marv Albert trial. Dan Rather again tagged Kenneth Starr as the "Republican special prosecutor." The September 22 edition of Notable Quotables. Jesse Helms: Dictator, Terrorist & Bigot in One Convenient Package. 1) Thursday night (September 25) ABC and NBC gave President Clinton an unfettered platform for his pronouncements on race while CBS anchor Dan Rather seemed to criticize the CBS brass for refusing to... continue reading
Union-DNC Funnel Muzzled; Partisan Push; ABC's Liberal Priest All the networks featured stories on IRS abuses, but only NBC Nightly News included an update on Marv Albert. Three union consultants plead guilty to funneling money to the DNC, but the broadcast network evening shows have yet to mention it. Whether it's the fundraising hearings or the look at the IRS, some reporters put partisan portrayals ahead of discoveries. The star of ABC's Thursday series on a liberal Catholic priest shows disdain for conservative critics, insisting that a church should not tell anyone what to think. 1) Wednesday night all three... continue reading
Recounting IRS Abuse; Cokie's Soft Dream; Peter, Marv & a Woman The networks showed no interest in Thompson's switch to campaign finance reform, but found compelling the hearings on the IRS. ABC hoped for passage of a reform bill while ignoring Clinton's scam. Tuesday's morning shows barely touched Reno or fundraising. Marv Albert's lawyer tied a very familiar name on Monday to the woman accusing the NBC sportscaster, but the networks didn't mention it. 1) Senator Fred Thompson's decision to change the focus of the Senate fundraising hearings from campaign wrongdoing to exploring campaign finance reform sent the hearings into... continue reading
Reno Leads, But Law Archaic; UPN's Murdering Businessmen All the networks led Monday with Reno's decision to investigate Clinton and Gore, but ABC and CBS described the apparently-violated law as arcane and archaic. ABC finally got to the DNC ad scheme. Reno's action the main topic on Monday's morning shows. Clinton partied with stars while on vacation; a prime time UPN drama portrayed businessmen killing people and the environment. 1) What Fred Thompson dreamed of for months Janet Reno did in a day: make all the networks lead their newscasts with stories about Clinton fundraising. Many a hearing went unnoticed... continue reading
NBC Skipped Meddoff; Pushing "Reform;" Turner's Logic Friday night NBC ignored that day's Senate testimony, ABC gave it 20 seconds and CBS offered a full story, but concluded that campaign finance reform is the only solution. Today and GMA ran the first full stories and interviews of the week on Friday; CNN ran some of Meddoff live, but not MSNBC. Ted Turner believes in global warming because the beach on an island owned by the billionaire got "washed away" by melting ice caps. 1) Reciting Warren Meddoff's story about how top Clinton aide Harold Ickes told him how to donate... continue reading
Campaigning for Campaign Reform; MSNBC Priorities All three broadcast networks ran full stories on Tamraz, but ABC and CBS promoted campaign finance "reform." CBS tagged Tamraz "a walking ad for campaign reform." Four weeks after the story broke, CBS got around to the donation for access charge against Hazel O'Leary, but that's sooner than ABC. The morning shows ignored the hearings, but CNN provided some live coverage of Tamraz. MSNBC stuck to discussing bi-sexuality. 1) For the first time since September 4 stories on testimony from nuns on the Buddhist temple event, Thursday night the three broadcast network evening shows... continue reading
ABC Has Anti-Paula Policy; Jennings Reverses on Mother Teresa Tom Brokaw called Wednesday's testimony "the most compelling evidence so far," but neither ABC or CBS carried a story. Bill Plante insisted that most of the revelations at the hearings were reported long ago, so are not news. But CBS ignored a Tuesday revelation they also ignored when first reported months ago. Kitty Kelley has now written books about the Royal family and about Nancy Reagan. Guess which one CBS denounced. 1) Making up for Tuesday night, when NBC Nightly News delivered just a 40-second item on the hearings while ABC... continue reading