The President's compulsion to get complicated with Monica Lewinsky has prompted another round of embarrassing media defenses of the Clinton marriage. In the eyes of most married Americans, the Clinton union looks like a grisly car accident, and we've been transformed into a nation of rubber neckers, with the media and their pals in White House spin control running around the highway screaming "Look away! This is none of your business!" But then, strangely, they seem to insist the important thing is the highway itself was undamaged. The liberals would like to assert that marital fidelity has nothing to do... continue reading
Family TV Window: Barely Open by L. Brent Bozell III March 5, 1998 Last year, when the television networks instituted a content-based ratings system, the forces outraged by the offensive nature of entertainment programming were stilled, if not entirely pleased.It's wakeup time. Not only is the content on television worse than ever before, but the networks also are purposely concealing this from parents. I grew up in the heyday of television's family hour. In the mid-1960s, early evening programming, which then began at 7:30 p.m., was almost completely suitable for youngsters. Sure, there was occasional non-graphic violence, on shows like... continue reading
Slim Pickings on the Tube by L. Brent Bozell III February 25, 1998 Sad but true: Television's "family hour" at 8 p.m., largely taken for granted until the early 1990s, is becoming a dim memory. For several years now, the broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, and WB - in their feverish pursuit of the 18-to-49-year-old demographic have generally refused to dedicate programming during this hour to that which parents and children could watch together. It's a bad situation that's getting worse. Watched the hyperlibidinous "Spin City" (ABC, 8 p.m. Wednesdays) lately? But what about after the so-called... continue reading
The conservative movement lost a crucial voice last week. He wasn't famous. He didn't have a TV show. He spent most of his time being studiously ignored by the media. But armed with hard scientific evidence, Julian Simon brought an important vision of hope for the planet in the midst of a "idealistic" environmental movement suspicious of liberty, prosperity, dynamism, and the propagation of human life itself. In his books full of charts and tables, most notably "The Ultimate Resource," Dr. Simon's optimism - that the ultimate resource is not found in the earth, but in the creative potential of... continue reading
Media Elite: The Wind Beneath Bill's Wings by L. Brent Bozell III February 17, 1998 It seems like it was a lifetime ago when the Beautiful People of Hollywood descended on Washington to celebrate Bill Clinton's first inaugural. They were there by the dozens, musicians and actors alike, dancing and singing that they couldn't stop thinkin' about tomorrow. And then, by and large, they disappeared. Seemingly no cause, no issue surrounding their man could excite them enough to publicly proclaim their allegiance to him. Until Clinton got caught with his pants down. At the February 5 White House dinner for... continue reading
Spurred on by their most macho political gut-puncher - Hillary Clinton - the White House sprung into attack mode in Phase Two of Monicagate, declaring "war" on independent counsel Kenneth Starr. Put aside the oddity of a draft evader's administration declaring metaphorical "wars" and assembling "war rooms" to fight scandals. Why doesn't this strategy beg the question from the media: Isn't this an inappropriate attack on the judicial process, a spin-control Saturday Night Massacre? Perhaps because intimidating this special prosecutor doesn't outrage the major media - it inspires them. What a difference from just a decade ago, when their attitude... continue reading
'South Park' Reconsidered, Sort Of by L. Brent Bozell III February 11, 1998 Last August, after watching the premiere episode of Comedy Central's half-hour animated cartoon series "South Park" (Wednesdays, 10 p.m. Eastern), I used this space to call it "filth" and "toxic sewage," and suggested, "It doesn't just push the envelope; it knocks it off the table. It shouldn't have been made, period." A vehement denunciation, to be sure. Six months later, does the criticism still hold water? "South Park," which centers on Colorado third-graders Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny, made instant waves with violence, constant foul language, and... continue reading
Tinseltown: Don't Mess With Bill by L. Brent Bozell III February 5, 1998 As they started doing back in 1992, they came, in late January, to the defense of Bill Clinton. On one television show after another, they proclaimed, in the face of mounting, ever-more-convincing evidence, that the scandalous stories we'd heard were mostly bogus, simply irrelevant, and motivated by irrational hatred of this caring and dedicated public servant, who happens also to be charming and handsome. "They" refers not to Clinton's political allies, like James Carville, Ann Lewis, and Hillary. It's the Hollywood Left, so quiet in recent years,... continue reading
'The Apostle': Robert Duvall's Tour de Force by L. Brent Bozell III January 30, 1998 Hollywood's hostility to religion is evidenced by God knows how many movies ridiculing and insulting matters of faith. It's not surprising, then, that Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall couldn't obtain financing to make his film about a minister's spiritual journey. That theme just doesn't interest Hollywood. But it did interest Duvall, who ponied up $5 million to fund the project. "The Apostle," which he also wrote, directed, and stars in, is a cinematic tour de force. Duvall may be blushing at all the accolades he's receiving... continue reading