Democratic Obstructionism Spiked Again; MSNBC's Tabloid Priorities The July issues of MediaWatch and MediaNomics are now on-line and can be accessed from the MRC home page: http://www.mediaresearch.org . Or, for MediaWatch: http://www.mediaresearch.org/archive/mediawatch/archive1997.asp For MediaNomics: http://www.mrc.org/medianomics/1997/1997medianomics.asp Correction : The August 6 CyberAlert cited an article by Marc Gunther about Rick Kaplan and reported that it appeared the Detroit News. It actually ran in the Detroit Free Press, owned by Knight-Ridder. The story was also picked up in February 1994 by several other Knight-Ridder papers as well as by papers subscribing to the Knight-Ridder/Tribune news service. Democrats again delayed release of key... continue reading
No Interest in Clinton Calls; Helms a Bigot; Nets Gun It for Guns The July issue of MediaWatch is now online and can be accessed from the MRC home page, or more directly from: http://www.mediaresearch.org/archive/mediawatch/archive1997.asp During presidential press conference reporters ignored Clinton- Gore calls and the hearings, but worried about harm of the tax cut. In a change from the 1991 media attitude, a female reporter doesn't think it's a big deal for a man to drop his pants, at least if the perpetrator is Clinton. Jesse Helms is a bigot because....he opposes the NEA and criticizes union abuses, argued... continue reading
Kaplan's Clinton Claims; "Bravo" to Tax Hikers; Conking Connerly Rick Kaplan, FOB and new head of CNN, insisted that he'll direct coverage as a journalist, not a friend. But in 1992 he was a friend first. CNN's Bernard Shaw literally yelled "Bravo" and applauded a story praising those who have advocated or implemented tax hikes. ABC insulted Ward Connerly ("You've been called an Uncle Tom, an Oreo cookie"), but didn't challenge Jesse Jackson with such condemnations from the right. 1) The August 6 CyberAlert detailed the close personal and working relationship between Rick Kaplan, the new CNN President, and President... continue reading
Clinton Buddy & Adviser Takes Over CNN; Al Gore's Calls Ignored The new President of CNN: Rick Kaplan, a FOB who crossed the line to strategize in 1992 with candidate Bill Clinton on how to overcome the Gennifer Flowers story. Al Gore made many more fundraising calls than he previously admitted from federal property, but the networks are silent. MSNBC's InterNight focused on Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's sex life, but last week instead of mentioning Kathleen Willey the show asked Mike McCurry about the Air Force One movie. 1) CNN has tapped Rick Kaplan, a Friend of Bill who advised him... continue reading
CNN Jumps on Giuliani But Drops Willey; Ray Brady's Bad Bias With hearings over the MRC has ceased creating the daily fax reports on coverage of the hearings, but MRC Web manager Joe Alfonsi has put them on the MRC Web site. All nine issues of Media Reality Check: A Daily Report on the Media's Coverage of the Campaign Finance Scandal Hearings, can now be read at: http://mediaresearch.org/archive/realitycheck/archive1997.asp CNN's Inside Politics, which gave just two minutes to Kathleen Willey, devoted half the show to Giuliani. Howard Kurtz complained the media are too quick to jump on Clinton and painted a... continue reading
GMA Noted Lack of Hearings Coverage; Class Envy on Tax Bill Correction: The August 1 CyberAlert quoted Tom Brokaw as saying that "Warriors for Paula Jones served a subpoena on a former White House aide...." Brokaw actually said that "Lawyers for Paula Jones..." GMA offered no update on the hearings, but noted that "media watch groups" think they were undercovered. Medicare reform is the only "storm cloud" on Clinton's horizon, asserted Today's Matt Lauer. Fundraising story non-existent over the weekend. Even news of another policy payoff to a donor failed to stir the networks. MSNBC claimed that "the new tax... continue reading
ABC Finds GOP Abuse and Follows McCurry's Wish on Jones Starting Monday at 10am ET C-SPAN2 will replay the fundraising hearings each weekday during the weeks of August 4 and August 11. Total morning show fundraising stories on Thursday: Zero Neither NBC Nightly News or ABC's World News Tonight ran a piece Thursday night, but ABC did raise foreign money fundraising -- by a little-known Republican Congressman. CBS and NBC note the subpoena from Paula Jones for a White House staffer, but ABC followed Mike McCurry's wish and ignored the matter. Newsweek suppressed an incident in which their staffer inadvertantly... continue reading
Nets Finally Find Hearings Newsworthy; CBS on Clinton's Harassing 1) Two of three Wednesday morning shows ignored fundraising but made time for multiple segments on Cosby's paternity test. 2) For second night in row all three networks ran full fundraising stories, but NBC didn't bother reporting how the Clinton team delayed admitting that Mr. Wu visited the White House ten times. 3) The CBS Evening News reported that Paula Jones' lawyers have subpoenaed another woman whom Bill Clinton supposedly harassed. >>>> The MRC's new fax reports, Media Reality Check: A Daily Report on the Media's Coverage of the Campaign Finance... continue reading
Money Laundering Piques Nets; Budget Deal Leads The MRC's fax reports, Media Reality Check: A Daily Report on the Media's Coverage of the Campaign Finance Scandal Hearings, can now be read from the MRC home page or directly from: http://mediaresearch.org/archive/realitycheck/archive1997.asp Zilch on the fundraising scandal Tuesday morning, but both CNN and MSNBC provided live coverage of the FBI agent's testimony. ABC, CBS and NBC all aired full stories Tuesday night on the testimony about money laundering, though deep into the newscasts. Networks fail to note how small the tax cut is compared to projected revenue. Dan Rather assumed all the... continue reading
Chung Chopped; Democrat's Nazi Ignored; Flustered on Flushing The networks reported Sunday that Johnny Chung contended that he was solicited in the White House. But not a word Monday morning. Monday night only CBS ran a fundraising story -- more evidence of Trie's money laundering. But NBC oddly linked the Helms/Weld fight to the White House coffees. Democrats showcased a man at a press conference who had a Nazi tattoo. Not newsworthy, but if Newt involved it would have been. Eleanor Clift demanded toilet conformity: "I don't think the people of one state should be allowed to flush three times."... continue reading