Three items today: 1. The death of Alger Hiss generated sympathetic coverage that implied he was just an innocent victim of anti-communist hysteria. Tom Brokaw said he "was caught up in a spy scandal." CNN noted that his conviction led to "a period of blacklisting and hysteria over the communist threat." 2. Another week of DNC fundraising/John Huang revelations, another week of a network blackout of the entire issue. 3. This Week with George Stephanopoulos? The White House aide may soon be a regular on ABC's Sunday show. 1) Reporting the death of Alger Hiss, in the November 16 Washington... continue reading
Dornan Loses Conservative District; ABC to the White House? Four items today: 1) Network stories reported that Loretta Sanchez beat Bob Dornan in a "heavily conservative" district that's a "bastion of Republican conservatism." But it's neither. 2) A new poll about Campaign '96 determined that the TV networks lost viewers to the Internet and radio; fewer think the media were fair to Dole than Clinton; voters are split on whether Congress has investigated Clinton scandals enough, but most want an investigation of donations to the Democratic Party. 3) Will an ABC News Executive Producer become the new Communications Director at... continue reading
Five items today: 1. The Commerce Department launched a new investigation of John Huang's conduct, but only ABC reported it. 2. An ABC reporter noted that the Republicans suffered attacks on their Medicare proposal, but seconds earlier he charged that they wanted to "cut" Medicare. 3. MSNBC's Brian Williams tossed softball questions to White House aide George Stephanopoulos. 4. The Washington Post corrected one error, but still has a winner cited as an example of an NRA-backed loser. . 5. God sent Diane Sawyer a pillow to sleep upon -- another woman's "sumptuous bosom." 1) On ABC's World News Tonight... continue reading
Six short odds and ends items today as we wrap-up the campaign season: 1. Discussing the GOP's performance, CBS reporter Bob Schieffer charged that "the harshness of their rhetoric...frightened people." 2. You can't escape Hollywood's left-wing tilt by watching escapist shows. Star Trek linked a murderer to Richard Nixon. 3. To illustrate how NRA-backed candidates lost, The Washington Post cited as a loser a man who won. 4. The Washington Post refuses to tell readers the race of suspects wanted for violent crimes. . 5. Some poll findings: One third see tilt to left; three times as many people get... continue reading
Six items today: 1. Republicans don't want to take on entitlement reform, a NBC reporter charged. But isn't that what they did in 1995? 2. Time magazine insisted that in ousting six House freshmen the voters were sending a message. But over 91 percent won. 3. Larry King called talk radio hosts "wacko," he and Ted Koppel listen to public radio, and Brinkley has the class to apologize. 4. Bill Clinton promises to "cut out" his enemies and calls them "a cancer," but his Nixonian side fails to excite media. 5. Tom Brokaw believes the country wants governance "from the... continue reading
Five items today: 1. The DNC returned donations to two large foreign donors, but CBS and NBC ignored the news. Reporting Senator D' Amato's decision to not hold Whitewater hearings, NBC heralded the end to"high profile political witch hunts," which they barely covered . 2. In 1994 Newsweek's Evan Thomas dismissed Paula Jones as "some sleazy woman with big hair coming out of the trailer parks." Now he believes her story, but has yet to put anything in his magazine. 3. Media which regularly ignored opinionated insults of conservatives erupted with rage at David Brinkley for criticizing Clinton . Larry... continue reading
Special Expanded Election Coverage Edition Nine items today: 1. Six of every seven House freshmen won re-election, so did the vote ratify the GOP's policies? Not according to the network evening shows. And the GOP holding the House is not what Al Hunt and Margaret Carlson predicted. 2. All the networks initially incorrectly reported that Senator Bob Smith lost, but CBS had a ready-made reason: he was just too darn conservative. 3. Numerous Republican candidates got an ideologically-charged label. CNN even reported that if Jesse Helms "was running against Jesus he'd find a way to attack him." 4. Network reporters... continue reading
Five items today: 1. Dole's not the only one who is "harsh ." So is Ross Perot....when he criticizes Bill Clinton. 2. To Sam Donaldson, Jesse Helms is "arch-conservative," but Senators Carl Levin and Ted Kennedy aren't worth labeling. 3. A CBS reporter charges that the presidential race was over in January: "Republicans had just stumbled badly by shutting down the government." 4. On Capital Gang, Time's Margaret Carlson dubbed Republican Congressmen "evil" as Al Hunt's "gut" tells him that 25 "Gingrich robots" will lose. 5. MTV's Tabitha Soren says that for young people choosing between Clinton and Dole is... continue reading
Four items today: 1. NPR's Mara Liasson predicts that in a second term Bill Clinton will propose many new government programs, but that doesn't make him a liberal. 2. Sam Donaldson says Republicans shut the government down and asserts: "I don't think this was a Republican conservative tide in 1994." 3. Among the DNC donors listed in the report the Democrats initially refused to release: Hollywood celebrities from Robert Zemeckis to Danny DeVito. 4. A TV network host admits supporting George McGovern -- when she was seven years old. 1) A lot of little government programs add up to big... continue reading
Five items today: 1. The revelation of John Huang's frequent white house visits led Thursday's Good Morning America, but were not mentioned at all on Today or This Morning. 2. Wednesday's NBC Nightly News did not include a word about Huang, but ABC and CBS did air stories on him. 3. ABC's Jeff Greenfield explores whether liberal bias may explain why scandals don't hurt Clinton. 4. Five days before the election CNN bumped Inside Politics back a half hour in order to show.... 5. The November 4 edition of the MRC's Notable Quotables. 1) "DNC Fundraiser Huang Visited White House... continue reading