MRC Alert: NBC Says Clinton is Hubbell's Victim; Poisoned Brains 1. Clinton knew in advance of illegal fundraising; donor hit up in Cuba; DNC had plan to use non-profit groups. Stories all skipped by the networks while NBC portrays Clinton as Hubbell's victim. 2. Allen Ginsberg died. In 1994 he tied Rush Limbaugh to concentration camps. 3. Two headline contrasts for stories on a day care study. 4. Cronkite's Crockery of the Day: Americans have failed to embrace left-wing environmentalism because poison has "crippled" our brains. 1) The networks aired stories last week on how Mack McLarty and Erskine Bowles... continue reading
Contract with America Too Conservative; Grand Grenada Conspiracy 1. CBS reports that Republicans out-spent Democrats in 1996 by $200 million. That's the White House spin, but it's not quite true. 2. Katie Couric suggests conservative "rigidity" and "their almost religious adherence to the Contract with America" backfired. 3. Rockefeller and Kennedy "have long histories of caring about people," Eleanor Clift says. The problem is people who "think government regulation is the worst problem facing the country." 4. Hugh Downs is upset that the Republican Party is "enthralled to the far right." 5. Cronkite's Crockery of the Day: The Reagan administration... continue reading
Copy of: MRC Alert: NBC Finds Sleaze -- In London; Brokaw's Temper 1. Democratic donors rewarded with federally guaranteed loans? Contributor money direct from a Chinese government bank? Two more stories ignored by ABC, CBS and NBC. 2. A Hubbell-related story got a bit of coverage Tuesday night, but three previous disclosures have not yet been picked up by the networks. 3. NBC News discovers sleaze: in Britain's Conservative Party. 4. Don't get between Tom Brokaw and his video. NBC's anchor threatens a lawyer for a minister who sold a cult video to ABC. 5. From the Late Show with... continue reading
Talk Radio Conspiracies; Bank Robbing Journalists 1. ABC's Cokie Roberts equates Oliver Stone conspiracy movies with "conservative talk radio." 2. Scandals continue to be skipped, but ABC finds time for jokes from Al Gore and NBC for "Chelsea's Excellent Adventure." 3. Free housing! Free education! Free health care! It's all available, says CBS, in Cuba. 4. Patty Hearst reveals that journalists told her they felt guilty about not taking up arms like her and robbing banks. 5. Conservatives' interest in life begins at conception and ends at birth, Bonnie Erbe of PBS and NBC Radio argues in a harsh op-ed... continue reading
Praising Newt's Moderation; Cronkite's "humane" liberalism 1. NBC still hasn't reported one big Clinton fundraising story, but NBC did highlight a development ignored by the other networks. 2. Steve Roberts says Gingrich realizes he doesn't have votes for "radical right agenda." Sam Donaldson praises Newt for dumping tax cut. 3. A Washington Post vs. Washington Times headline contrast. 4. Cronkite's Crockery of the Day: He complains about the "selfish '80s" and insists the public has not rejected liberalism's "humane and deeply democratic principles." 1) The March 25 CyberAlert noted that NBC News had not yet reported how the White House... continue reading
Copy of: MRC Alert: TV Skips Over Religion; Cronkite: U.S. Not a Democracy 1. A correction to yesterday's CyberAlert. 2. Bernard Shaw raises possibility of a "contradiction" between opposing the Dept. of Education and wanting to educate children. 3. The MRC releases two studies documenting how little attention religion receives in entertainment plots and in the news agenda. 4. Cronkite's Crockery of the Day: He wonders "whether we qualify as a democracy at all." 1) A correction to the March 25 CyberAlert. I cited a Prime Time Live story in which reporter John Quinones said of Mexican boys in San... continue reading
Copy of: MRC Alert: Pedophilia: Blame Conservatives; Cronkite's Dream 1. NBC News fails report a word about how newly released documents show the White House coffees were designed to raise a specific amount. 2. NBC's Gwen Ifill offers some hyperbole about Hillary Clinton's Africa trip: "Just by setting foot here..." 3. Pedophilia in San Diego: ABC blames Proposition 187. 4. Cronkite's Crockery of the Day: "A system of world government is mandatory." 1) If you watched NBC Nightly News and Today aired since Sunday's New York Times headlined "White House Kept Close Tab on Cash Raised at Coffees," you would... continue reading
Copy of: MRC Alert: Rather Wrong; Hunt's Hit; Fawning over Finland 1. Newspapers full of Clinton scandal disclosures, but the networks look the other way. 2. Dan Rather falsely reports that Republicans turned down Burton's investigation because it will focus on Clinton. 3. Al Hunt: Dan Burton is leading a "kooky investigation." 4. A New York Times columnist argues that Gingrich's tax violation means he cannot lecture Chinese about the rule of law. 5. Tom Brokaw and NBC gush over a snowy socialist state "where women rule the land" so "family matters are a national priority." 1) The March 20... continue reading
Copy of: MRC Alert: All Nets Burton Bound; "Conservative" Sierra Club 1. ABC, CBS and NBC all highlight the Washington Post's story on Dan Burton, but they've ignored many Post discoveries about Clinton. 2. Media labeling: CDF and Ted Kennedy not liberal but the Sierra Club is "relatively conservative." 3. March MediaNomics Issue Analysis: Networks fail to notice that Clinton's budget leaves long-term entitlement spending unaddressed. 1) All three broadcast evening network shows Wednesday night carried pieces on a Washington Post story alleging a fundraising misdeed by U.S. Representative Dan Burton, who is chairing the committee looking into Democratic fundraising... continue reading
Copy of: MRC Alert: What 60 Minutes Will Show; Clinton Hammered Last Fall? 1. 60 Minutes insists good taste prevents it from saying what Clinton requested of Paula Jones, but the program will show bare breasts. 2. NBC's Andrea Mitchell claims that NBC was "hammering" Clinton on fundraising before the election. Not true. 3. From the Late Show with David Letterman: "Top Ten Ways President Clinton's Injury Has Changed His Life." 4. The March MediaWatch study: TV Fundraising Coverage in February Skips Major Developments. 1) Two CyberAlert recipients made some interesting observations about Sunday's generally favorable 60 Minutes story on... continue reading