Letter to ABC News President Dear David Westin, Last week's Politico story broke the news that George Stephanopoulos, your Chief Washington Correspondent and the host of your Sunday morning news show This Week , has daily phone discussions with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, which help formulate and shape the thoughts of and messaging for the Democratic Party and the Obama Administration. As stated in the Politico : Everyone likes to deride the "conventional wisdom." In fairness, though, the wisdom is not yet conventional at the moment it is hatched. And in any given news cycle, it is... continue reading
Alexandria, VA - Media Research Center (MRC) President L. Brent Bozell, III has written a letter to ABC News President David Westin calling on him to publicly address and resolve what appears to be a clear violation of journalistic ethics by ABC's Chief Washington Correspondent George Stephanopoulos. Last week a Politico story broke the news that Stephanopoulos has participated in daily phone strategy sessions with now White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel throughout his tenure at ABC. Mr. Bozell on Thursday issued a statement demanding an explanation, and calling for Stephanopoulos to recuse himself from reporting on an Obama... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Tuesday's Politico broke the news that ABC News's Chief Washington Correspondent and the host of ABC's Sunday morning news show This Week George Stephanopoulos has daily phone discussions with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel during which he helps formulate and shape the thoughts of and messaging for Emmanuel and the Barack Obama Administration. And that he has had these conversations with Emanuel throughout his tenure at ABC. CNN liberal pundits Paul Begala and James Carville also participate in the daily round robin telephonic strategy sessions. In the article, Begala said he often can't remember the... continue reading
Alexandria, VA - President Barack Obama took a shot at conservative talk radio king Rush Limbaugh by warning GOP leaders that "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." This attack came during a meeting on Capitol Hill held to discuss Pres. Obama's hefty $1 trillion stimulus package. One White House official attempted to cushion the jab by alleging that the President was pointing to the fact that "There are big things that unify Republicans and Democrats" and that "partisan politics" should not get in the way of accomplishing "very important things." President of the Media Research... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - After NBC's Today Show cancelled an appearance of Ann Coulter, the nation's top-selling conservative author, reports quickly spread through the news circuits late yesterday that Coulter received an alleged "ban-for-life" from the network. Even while the report has yet to be confirmed, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell has offered his words of consolation: "Ann, as a veteran banee from NBC, I can well attest to the fact that you will, in fact, survive this ordeal. I can also tell you that they're not very good at banning people, however. During a two-year period while I was... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- The Media Research Center today announced its Best Notable Quotables of 2008: The 21st Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting , and MSNBC's Chris Matthews "won" the dubious honor of Quote of the Year for gushing over a Barack Obama speech back in February: "I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often....And that is an objective assessment." Top runner-up for Quote of the Year went to Reuters for this ridiculous post-election headline: "Media bias largely unseen in U.S. presidential race." MRC President Brent Bozell: "Year after year, the... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Media Research Center President Brent Bozell has issued the following statement regarding Paul Weyrich's passing: "Paul Weyrich was a foundational pillar of the modern conservative movement. He was a leader, a patriot and a friend, with an unwavering conscience that held fast to traditional values in good times and bad. Even as Republican leaders vacillated on issues like taxes, abortion and government spending, Paul never wavered, and when he admonished those leaders - even presidents among them - he spoke for legions of conservatives across America. He was a man of principle who not only stood firmly... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - CNN has responded to the Media Research Center's call for CNN to retract an accusation that wrongly accused National Review's Byron York of calling Gov. Sarah Palin "incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt or all of the above" on the airing of The Situation Room on October 21, 2008. Reporter Drew Griffin read the quote to preface a question addressed to Gov. Palin, but the original context of Mr. York's full quotation revealed his critique of the media and their negative portrayal of the Republican candidate for vice president - NOT an attack on Gov. Palin on behalf of... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Speaking today on MSNBC's Morning Joe , former CBS news anchor Dan Rather noted that the traditional media is largely ignoring Democratic Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden's alarming comment on Sunday: "...(M)ark my words, within the next, first six months of this administration if we win, you're gonna face a major international challenge, because they are going to want to test him...." Rather pointed out "... (C)ertainly if Sarah Palin had said this it would be above the fold in most newspapers today... (I)f Sarah Palin had said this, the newspapers would have jumped all... continue reading
ALEXANDRIA, VA - On yesterday's Situation Room , CNN's Drew Griffin completely mischaracterized the nature of a "quote" from National Review's Byron York during his interview with Alaskan Republican Governor and Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Griffin said to Gov. Palin: "Governor, you've been mocked in the press, the press has been pretty hard on you, the Democrats have been pretty hard on you, but also some conservatives have been pretty hard on you as well. The National Review had a story saying that, you know, 'I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt or all of... continue reading