ConWeb Unites on Vieira Smear Topic: NewsBusters
Both NewsMax and WorldNetDaily picked up on NewsBusters' attack on Meredith Vieira, who will replace Katie Couric on NBC's "Today."
Branding her an "anti-war liberal," NewsBusters' Brent Baker repeated Vieira's claim about the Iraq war that “Everything’s been built on lies. Everything! I mean the entire pre-text for war.” Rather than proving Vieira wrong, Baker branded her words a "vicious charge, which matches the most virulent hate speech of the far left" -- a claim NewsMax repeated as fact, ignoring the actual fact that it's merely Baker's overheated opinion.
Selective Softball Outrage Topic: NewsBusters
So Mark Finkelstein does care about Chris Matthews' softball interviews after all. Well, some, anyway.
An April 6 NewsBusters post shows Finkelstein in high dudgeon over about a Matthews interview with John Kerry that was "all slow-pitch softball." But Finkelstein still has shown no similar outrage over the softball-laden interview Matthews did with Tom DeLay.
Somebody's Got Issues Topic: NewsBusters
In an April 6 NewsBusters post, Michael Rule spends way too much time obsessing of CBS host Harry Smith's alleged lack of masculinity.
In the post, headlined "Harry Smith Giddy as a Feminist Over Couric Joining CBS," Rule wrote that Smith narrated "a piece that was so laden with praise, it could have been mistaken for a eulogy." Rule then claimed that Smith's welcoming of Couric as CBS Evening News anchor "echoed that of Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women," adding that "Bernard Goldberg, in his book Bias described Harry Smith as a man-loathing feminist." Rule concluded by noting: "It may be Harry Smith’s feminism that overpowers him with joy over the fact that Katie Couric is coming to his network."
Um, Michael, is there something you need to bring up with your therapist?
FrontPage Bottom-Feeds for Clinton Dirt Topic: Horowitz
How desperate are the Horowitz folks to feel that Clinton-bashing rush they're so addicted to? They're promoting Melrose Larry Green.
Green, you see, has written the "Snakes On A Plane" of anti-Clinton tomes, "Why The Clintons Belong in Prison." And FrontPageMag managing editor Jamie Glazov treats him quite seriously, even as he makes Norman Liebmann (who, like Green, used to write for NewsMax) sound reasonable.
UPDATE: World O'Crap offers its take on Melrose Larry, reminding us that he is a "Los Angeles nut known for spending his time standing on Melrose Avenue holding signs, was formerly one of freaks who made up Howard Stern's 'Wack Pack.'" Which, of course, makes him the perfect spokesman for the Clinton-haters. David Horowitz must be proud to be associated with him.
Great Minds Think Alike Topic: Media Research Center
"CBS blew a golden opportunity to upgrade its Evening News anchor slot," said MRC President Brent Bozell. "CBS chose the perky, likeable, and politically liberal Katie Couric, whose biases will only reinforce CBS’s reputation as a network riddled with liberally biased reporting. CBS, already in third place in the evening news ratings, has metaphorically put its anchor chair on the deck of the old media Titanic."
"The decision suggests there will be less emphasis on hard news on the network that employed Edward R. Murrow, considered a hero to the old CBS News crowd. On the Today Show, Couric had to deal with some hard news, but a lot of celebrities and fluff. She has been hired by CBS, apparently, because she is a liberal who projects a pleasant, warm and friendly appearance. That may be enough to raise the ratings. CBS Evening News has been mired in third place among network news shows, with 8.1 million viewers. ABC World News Tonight is second, with 8.7 million, and NBC Nightly News is number one, with 9.7 million. It's like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic."
-- Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in Media press release, April 5
NewsBusters Ignores Conservative Chris Matthews Topic: WorldNetDaily
As we've previously noted, the Media Research Center ignores all evidence that Chris Matthews has some conservative tendencies in order to whack him for his allegedly liberal views. It happened again: An April 5 NewsBusters post by Mark Finkelstein takes offense at a single line of praise uttered by Matthews about Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, but he fails to give credit (as it were) to Matthews for, during that same edition of "Hardball," a lengthy, softball-laden interview with Tom DeLay. That does seem to be how people like Finkelstein and his MRC colleagues want conservatives in the media to be treated, after all. Finkelstein also offers no mention of further evidence of Matthews' admiration of DeLay.
And before Finkelstein gets all worked up about "Democrats and their MSM claque ... dancing on the graves of their political opponents," he might want to recall that his MRC colleagues exhibited much the same behavior when Peter Jennings died last year.
Meaningless Poll of the Day Topic: Newsmax
NewsMax is polling its readers about the idea of Katie Couric as CBS Evening News anchor, as if 1) its polls mean something, and 2) biased, unreliable opt-in polling plays a role in the hiring process. Oddest question: In asking "who would you prefer be CBS News anchor?" NewsMax serves up the options of Couric, Bill O'Reilly, and Lou Dobbs.
Just in case there was any doubt about how NewsMax wants its readers to vote in this poll -- particularly on the question "Do you believe Katie Couric is fair or biased as a journalist?" -- a companion article by Jim Meyers regurgitates a Media Research Center compendium of Couric's alleged liberal bias. As a bonus, Meyers cites a NewsBusters poll on Couric's purported bias without telling readers that the opt-in poll is just as unreliable and meaningless as the poll NewsMax is doing.
WND Hearts Olmert? Topic: WorldNetDaily
Could this be? Nice things about Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert appearing in a WorldNetDaily article?
It's true: In an April 5 commentary, Michael Evans does with WND Jerusalem report Aaron Klein won't, not only describing Olmert's background but explaining the Kadima party's plan to establish a permanent border for Israel with or without the cooperation of the Palestinians.
It's telling, however, that Evans' article is relegated to WND's commentary page, while Klein's much more biased articles are presented as "news."
New Article: Even More Less-Than-Wholeness Topic: WorldNetDaily
Why does it matter that WorldNetDaily's Diana Lynne is being dishonest about the Terri Schiavo case? Because dishonesty is the fuel that runs WND. Read more.
Lack of Disclosure Watch Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily scores a two-fer today in failing to disclose its personal or business interests in the subjects it covers:
-- WND promoted the latest Minuteman border-watching campaign while not disclosing that WND editor Joseph Farah is a member of the group.
-- WND reported on a meaningless NCAA basketball bracket-style presidential poll that has Tom Tancredo in the lead without disclosing that it is publishing Tancredo's new book.
A Question for the MRC Topic: Media Research Center
If Chris Matthews really is the unrepentant, biased liberal the MRC loves to portray him as, why was Matthews the first major media person with whom Tom DeLay broke the news that he was resigning from Congress?
CNS Buries, Spins DeLay's Corruption Links Topic: CNSNews.com
Two April 4 CNSNews.com articles by Susan Jones about the resignation of Tom DeLay from Congress were less than eager to note DeLay's links to congressional corruption scandals -- and then, when it was broached, to repeat DeLay's spin on it.
The first Jones article appeared to take offense that "a report posted on the Washington Post website Tuesday described DeLay as 'succumbing to scandal.'" Jones then told the tale of DeLay's indictment with a barely disguised attack on the legal process:
A Texas grand jury -- one of several called to hear the evidence against him -- finally indicted DeLay last year on conspiracy and money laundering charges stemming from campaign fund-raising technicalities. A Texas judge later threw out the conspiracy charge.
Jones then inserts a little more pro-DeLay, anti-Democrat spin: "Abramoff has not publicly accused DeLay of corruption, nor has his former aide Rudy. But the congressman's close ties to those two men has given Democrats all the political ammunition they need." As we've previously noted, CNS regularly portrays Democrats as being motivated only by the prospect of political gain.
In Jones' second article, she puts DeLay's attack on the guy he's no longer running against ahead of any mention of corruption, waiting until the ninth paragraph to bring it up. Jones also repeated without challenge that "DeLay said the Left has tried to brand him with guilt by association."
Ironically, in a separate April 4 article -- which repeats criticism by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson of Rep. Cynthia McKinney over an altercation with Capitol Police -- Jones repeats Peterson's guilt-by-association attack against McKinney:
He said McKinney could have defused the situation by apologizing for not wearing the special pin that identifies members of Congress. "Instead, she held a press conference flanked by known racists such as Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, and members of the NAACP.
"The real racists here are Cynthia McKinney and her racially divisive supporters," Peterson said.
Myers also states: "The Clintons had used the White House to court fund-raisers, putting up political supporters in the Lincoln Bedroom. The Bushes, on the other hand, have given overnight privileges only to dignitaries, family members and longtime friends." In fact, the Bush Lincoln Bedroom guest list between 2000 and 2004 included "at least nine of his biggest campaign fund-raisers," according to the Associated Press.
Myers claims that the "Hillary Clinton supporters" at Vanity Fair are "attacking" Kessler's book as a "valentine" to Mrs. Bush filled with "fluffball quotes" and "dubious factoids." Myers hasn't exactly proved VF wrong here; the fact that NewsMax is selling the book is more evidence of that. And Myers' claim that VF is a seething den of "Hillary Clinton supporters" is undercut by the fact that, as NewsMax itself reported, VF published the first excerpts from Edward Klein's dubious Hillary-bashing book that NewsMax loved so much.
Checking In With Cinnamon Topic: NewsBusters
Remember back in January, when we profiled Cinnamon Stillwell, the NewsBusters contributor who had defended right-wing Jewish extremist and convicted bombing plotter Earl Krugel? (Read about it here and here.) We thought we'd check in to see what she's up to these days.
Not much beyond the usual right-wing causes, it turns out. But interestingly, she hasn't posted anything at NewsBusters since around the time we posted the profile of her.
Oddly, though, she has linked to our posts about her on the "media" page of her personal website. But she hasn't responded to it anywhere that we know of.
Who's Cynical? Topic: NewsBusters
In an April 2 NewsBusters post bashing Newsweek for daring to examine the issue of illegal immigration from the perspective of "the plight of illegal immigrants," Mark Finkelstein wrote that it was "cynical" for Newsweek to observe that CNN anchor Lou Dobbs' ratings have gone up with his crusade on the issue.
But just three days earlier, NewsBusters' Matthew Sheffield was making a similarly "cynical" observation about MSNBC host Keith Olbermann's increased ratings amid his battle with Bill O'Reilly. The headline on Sheffield's post: "Olbermann Cashes in on Feud with O'Reilly."
NewsBusters clearly has no problem peddling such alleged cynicism. So why take offense when Newsweek does it?
