After the 1988 election of George Bush the Elder, the nation's media elite pulled their chins in forums and seminars up and down the East Coast, proclaiming in unison: Never again. Bush had crushed Michael Dukakis with withering negative advertising and campaign rhetoric, they believed, and the media had been far too passive in defending the Democrat against Republican fusillades. So in 1992 they premiered the "ad watch," a regular feature where media experts in civility and statistics predictably singled out the Republicans, regularly flogging the Bush campaign for being "misleading" and "wrong" - for outrageous claims such as Bill... continue reading
When Al Gore was selected as Bill Clinton's running mate in 1992, reporters used his wife Tipper's long-recanted crusade for parental labels for offensive rock lyrics as a political plus. NBC's Andrea Mitchell boasted for the Democrats: "They also believe that the Willie Horton of this campaign is family values, and you can't get much more squeaky clean than Al Gore, his four kids, and his wife Tipper." But as Vice President, Gore has made sure he's no Dan Quayle in disparaging Hollywood attacks on traditional values. In 1997, he praised Ellen DeGeneres coming out as a lesbian on national... continue reading
I am not a fervent believer in the death penalty. I am also not a fervent supporter of George W. Bush. But the media's use of the death penalty issue to drive down Bush's poll ratings is another exercise in naked journalistic partisanship. Network news watchers woke up early this week to a new media campaign to question Bush's record in Texas. NBC's Lisa Myers declared Texas is "under special scrutiny these days" as a Chicago Tribune review of the "131 inmates executed by Governor George W. Bush" found "dozens of cases in which inmates were executed despite serious questions... continue reading
Several years ago I was asked by the Heritage Foundation to deliver a major address discussing the state of affairs between the conservative movement and the liberal press. My hosts then were expecting a sobering review of a seemingly endless, and uncorrectable problem: What to do about a leftwing national so-called "news" media committed to undermining anything and everything conservatives believe. It came as a surprise to them to hear my title, which title I didn't proffer until I arrived at the hall: "Why Conservatives Should Be Optimistic About the Media." Preparing my remarks for you today I revisited my... continue reading
Imagine we're back in 1990. A local Indiana TV station reports that Vice President Dan Quayle is failing as a landlord. A poor family that lives off government handouts, with a father who can't work and five children (two of them disabled), can't get Quayle to fix their broken toilets and other household debacles. They've rented a house within sight of Quayle's home, and say they've waved at his limousine, but he's never noticed them. They say they've been complaining for months. Ultimately, Quayle Realty doesn't send a plumber. It sends an eviction notice. You can just imagine the adrenaline... continue reading
You are a prominent sports columnist. You cover the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Olympics. You mingle with world-class athletes. You are the envy of millions. Even so, once in a while you hanker to forsake fun and games in favor of Something Important. You dream of being...a liberal pundit, holding forth on the serious issues of our time. If so, the efforts of radio talkmeister and pigskin buff Rush Limbaugh to join the "Monday Night Football" broadcast team have been manna for you. When you deal with this topic, your fantasy is realized, as you bash one of... continue reading
Very early in the Clinton era, a media consensus developed that there were two kinds of women associated with Clinton scandals: the disreputable haters who accused him, and the sainted, put-upon victims who were useful to him. It never really mattered which women spoke the truth, only which ones had the right sympathies. Falling in the first category were Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Linda Tripp, and Juanita Broaddrick. They were regularly caricatured as partisan harpies wanting the big bucks from tabloids along with their 15 minutes of fame. Then there were the persecuted innocents, the Susan McDougals and Julie Hiatt... continue reading
Liberals suggest that not much has gone their way over the past quarter-century or so. As they might tell it, ever since they catalyzed the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and forced the political demise of Richard Nixon, not only have almost all of their initiatives been stymied, but a few of their accomplishments have been undone. They are partly correct. In a narrowly political sense, America has moved to the right, notably on economic issues. Socially and culturally, however, the left has dominated the policy debate in at least one respect. The gay agenda is in full control. And the... continue reading
PBS would like to be seen as an oasis of civility in an uncivil desert of hot-headed trash talk. One of its inventions is the talk show "To The Contrary," an eight-year-old political roundtable for female pundits. Hosted by Bonnie Erbe, a former legal correspondent for the NBC Radio/Mutual network, it strives to provide "a discussion of issues from a variety of women's perspectives." But apparently some perspectives are worthy only of scorn. On the weekend of the so-called "Million Mom March," conservative panelist Linda Chavez of the Center for Equal Opportunity explained why she recently broke a liberal taboo... continue reading
It's a presidential election year, so Ted Turner's baby, the Cable News Network, is very busy in reporting the latest developments. But for those ethical experts that wonder about conflicts of interest in journalism, another baby of Ted's, the Turner Foundation and its $25 million grant budget is also heating up for the election cycle - on the side of pro-abortion and radical green groups. After covering the Democrats' joke of a racketeering lawsuit against Rep. Tom DeLay, Newsweek recently added: "Meanwhile, the Democrats may be getting some indirect help of their own from an undisclosed source. Newsweek has learned... continue reading