Three items today: 1. CBS Evening News led Tuesday's broadcast with a Defense Department report critical of the Clinton Administration's drug policy, but minutes later Bill Plante worried that Bob Dole's speech on character may appear "mean-spirited." 2. Bill Clinton has saved America's cities , ABC reported Monday night. According to ABC's story, while dozens of housing developments have been built under Clinton, during Reagan's years "only one new house was built in the entire city" of Detroit. 3. In a California House contest, CBS portrayed the race as between an "ultra-conservative" woman who is "pro-assault weapons" and "a soft-spoken"... continue reading
Four items today: 1. A correction and a clarification of previous MRC CyberAlerts. Plus, a fact checking error from ABC on Jack Kemp. 2. A study shows a link between abortion and breast cancer, but instead of giving equal time to study proponents and opponents, ABC declares it "flawed." 3. Thanks to Bill Clinton, the President of CBS Entertainment relays, a father will be able to say good-bye to his dying daughter -- and you'll be able to see it in a prime time movie. 4. NBC's David Bloom says Bob Dole issued his "harshest, most personal attack yet on... continue reading
Six items today: 1. CBS highlights conservative criticism of Jack Kemp's debate performance. 2. Profiling a House race, CBS reporter Bob Schieffer says GOP shut government down and endorses view that House Republicans are extremists. 3. Unlike 1992, the networks fail to run fact checking stories on VP debate claims. The Washington Post does, but its correction of Kemp needs correcting. 4. The PBS Frontline special on Dole and Clinton included a cheap shot at Reaganomics. 5. MSNBC's InterNight looked at presidential character. Host Bryant Gumbel found "true character" in Bill Clinton, but with Reagan, Gumbel believed "his policies caused... continue reading
Four items today: 1. Dole's reaction to a man in a crowd calling Bill Clinton "Bozo" generated media condemnation on Wednesday. Boston Globe and USA Today stories portrayed Bozo as part of a grand strategy. On Today, Katie Couric charged that the campaign "turned decidedly nastier in the Dole camp yesterday" and she blamed "the right wing" for his new strategy. 2. Dole's intentions are scrutinized on Today, but Al Gore gets a softball interview that began with this challenging question: "Many can see that you have indeed been the most powerful Vice President in our history." 3. To the... continue reading
Four items today: 1. On Tuesday Bob Dole responded positively to a supporter in a crowd who yelled "Get the bozo out of the White House." The ABC and NBC evening shows focused on the remark as CNN's Bernard Shaw wondered "Did Bob Dole lower the level of civility a notch?" 2. Instead of exploring FBI file revelations and Whitewater, the host of This Morning on CBS complained about how "Whitewater did rear its ugly head" during the debate. 3. Clinton scandals may not interest reporters, but Newt Gingrich had to answer six questions in a row about his ethics... continue reading
Three items today: By sticking to a moderate course in the debate and avoiding scandal topics that would enrage the media, Bob Dole largely avoided media condemnation and earned praise for his humor. But, not from everyone. NBC's Lisa Myers tagged him as "harsh," CBS reporter Phil Jones said Dole failed to explain how we can "afford" his tax cut and CNN's Judy Woodruff asked Al Gore if Dole was "too negative." This past weekend Al Hunt labeled three conservatives from the South as representing "hate," a "hatemonger," and an "extremist," but he doesn't have such a mean-spirited attitude toward... continue reading
Three items today: 1. On Thursday the Dole and Clinton campaigns released new TV ads. Guess which one NBC's Brian Williams labeled "nasty." 2. In front of cameras in the Senate press conference facility on Friday, Senator Orrin Hatch released the deposition of a former aide to Craig Livingstone. She said the FBI files were not obtained by mistake and that there are pages missing from the log tracking who looked at the files. Network coverage: Zilch. 3. The Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt spews some mean-spirited venom, tagging a former Republican presidential candidate a "hatemonger" (and it's not Pat... continue reading
Three items today: 1. Bob Dole delivered a speech Thursday on foreign policy. ABC and NBC call it "harsh" and ABC says the White House responded "softly." 2. The fact that Al Gore continued to grow tobacco for years after his sister's death from lung cancer finally makes it onto CBS News, but only to report how "Gore dismisses that attack as politics, an attempt to sully a man so close to the President he feels free to interrupt him." 3. The October 7 edition of Notable Quotables. If you make it to the end, you'll learn which anchor uttered... continue reading
Three items today: 1. Bryant Gumbel wonders if OJ Simpson "will ever get a fair shake in this country?" It's one of several liberal questions on race he poses to Johnnie Cochran. 2. The newly moderate President Clinton attends a fundraiser packed with aging 1960s lefties and Hollywood celebrities with animus toward Republicans. 3. Incredibly, a major newspaper says it was an error to report that Bill Clinton and Dick Morris have been unfaithful to their wives. 1) Wednesday's Today (October 2) carried the third part of Bryant Gumbel's interview with Johnnie Cochran. And as he did on Monday, Gumbel... continue reading
Five items today: 1. Networks avoid mentioning four Clinton scandals, but find time to cover ethics committee action on Newt Gingrich. 2. A USA Today headline blasts the Republican Congress for being "mean." 3. Acceptance of the charge that the media are biased in favor of Clinton has pervaded mass culture -- it was part of the opening skit on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. 4. The Clinton Administration will soon make a political appointment to run an agency and who is at the top of their list? A prominent journalist/pundit. 5. Yes, OJ's back in the news!... continue reading