Mr. Ron Fournier Washington Bureau Chief Associated Press 1100 13th St NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005 Mr. Fournier: I was disturbed by reading an Associated Press story out of your bureau late Friday that used Democratic propaganda to demonize Rush Limbaugh and make him appear nasty and disrespectful for suggesting the same thing that Democrats on the Hill have been suggesting for months: that a health care bill would be named after Senator Ted Kennedy. As such, I appeal for you to correct and update the story given the journalistic standards that you and the Associated Press are committed... continue reading
WHO: Joe Scarborough, Ann Coulter, Joe the Plumber, Andrew Breitbart and other conservative luminaries will present and accept Dis Honors "awards" at the annual gala hosted by Brent Bozell and the Media Research Center. Conservative leaders Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin were among the 10 judges to select the award "winners." More than 1,000 guests will be in attendance. WHAT: MRC's annual Dis Honors Awards Gala, an evening dedicated to "honoring" the worst reporting of 2008 with witty presentations, mock "acceptance" speeches, comedic video compilations and celebrity photo opportunities. The third annual "William F. Buckley Jr. Award for... continue reading
WHO: Joe Scarborough, Ann Coulter, Joe the Plumber, Andrew Breitbart and other conservative luminaries will present and accept Dis Honors "awards" at the annual gala hosted by Brent Bozell and the Media Research Center. Conservative leaders Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin were among the 10 judges to select the award "winners." More than 1,000 guests will be in attendance. WHAT: MRC's annual Dis Honors Awards Gala, an evening dedicated to "honoring" the worst reporting of 2008 with witty presentations, mock "acceptance" speeches, comedic video compilations and celebrity photo opportunities. The third annual "William F. Buckley Jr. Award for... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Media Research President L. Brent Bozell, III today called on all of President Barack Obama's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) nominees to pledge to preserve the First Amendment freedoms of conservative and Christian talk radio. Bozell asserted that if they do not do so, they should not be confirmed by the Senate. Bozell insists that this include the nominees' public disavowal of the censorship aspects of the just-passed Durbin Amendment. Last Thursday, the Senate passed a rider from Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin that creates broad new free speech-suppression regulatory powers for the FCC. The nebulous Durbin Amendment... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Media Research President L. Brent Bozell, III today called on all of President Barack Obama's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) nominees to pledge to preserve the First Amendment freedoms of conservative and Christian talk radio. Bozell asserted that if they do not do so, they should not be confirmed by the Senate. Bozell insists that this include the nominees' public disavowal of the censorship aspects of the just-passed Durbin Amendment. Last Thursday, the Senate passed a rider from Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin that creates broad new free speech-suppression regulatory powers for the FCC. The nebulous Durbin Amendment... continue reading
Alexandria , VA - The Media Research Center's Free Speech Alliance (FSA) today called President Barack Obama's stated opposition to a reinstatement of the Censorship Doctrine, also mis-known as the "Fairness" Doctrine, just a first step towards ensuring that talk radio remain free from government censorship. The FSA calls on the President to publicly declare his opposition to all forms of regulatory assault on talk radio. Conservative and Christian talk radio face the real threat of government censorship on several fronts. Besides the so-called "Fairness" Doctrine, the nebulous FCC "diversity" in ownership and "localism" requirements may also be used to... continue reading
Alexandria , VA - Iowan Tom Harkin today became the second Democratic Senator in less than a week to call for a return of the Censorship Doctrine, otherwise mis-known as the "Fairness" Doctrine. Harkin ended his interview with left-wing radio host Bill Press by saying "(W)e gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again." Harkin has joined Michigan's Debbie Stabenow, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Chuck Schumer and an ever growing laundry list of liberal censors on the record calling for a return of the anti-free speech Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation. The Censorship Doctrine was an FCC regulation... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - George Stephanopoulos' official role for ABC News is Chief Washington Correspondent and host of their Sunday morning news show This Week . Since joining the network's news team in 1997, however, his unofficial role has been in-house spin doctor for the Democratic Party. The MRC has been publicly demanding an explanation from Stephanopoulos and ABC News of a January 27 th Politico story in which it was reported that Mr. Stephanopoulos participates in daily strategy phone calls with now-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as well as with key Democratic strategists James Carville and Paul Begala... continue reading
February 9, 2009 Ms. Kerry Smith Senior Vice President of Editorial Quality ABC News 77 West 66 th Street New York, New York 10023 Dear Ms. Smith, Thank you for responding to my letter addressed to ABC President David Westin regarding the controversy surrounding George Stephanopoulos. I am pleased to see that ABC did not choose to ignore my concerns nor those of the multitude of viewers who called your network last week to voice their disapproval. However, it is unfortunate how inadequately, disingenuously and indeed dishonestly you chose to respond and remove focus on the matter at hand by... continue reading
Alexandria , VA - Kerry Smith, ABC's "Senior Vice President for Editorial Quality," has in an open letter responded to MRC President Brent Bozell's call to publicly address and resolve the apparent breach of ethics of its Chief White House Correspondent George Stephanopoulos. But while Ms. Smith succeeds in delivering distortions and hurling false allegations at Bozell and the MRC, she fails to at all address the journalistic problems reported in the original Politico story. On January 27 th , the Politico reported that Mr. Stephanopoulos participates in daily strategy phone calls with now White House Chief of Staff Rahm... continue reading