Compare and Contrast
Topic: NewsBusters
"There was more good news about the economy today. The Conference Board announced that consumer confidence is now at its highest level since May 2002. Yet, on Tuesday’s 'Hardball,' host Chris Matthews just couldn’t admit on television – with people watching – that the economy is actually doing well. Instead, he stuttered, stammered, and referred to the current economic condition as 'not terrible.'" -- Noel Sheppard, NewsBusters, March 29

"Matthews made his comments in response to guest Ron Christie -- a former special assistant to President Bush and former policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney -- who asked: "When do you ever hear people in the media come out and say the economy is strong in this country?" Christie later continued: '[W]hy doesn't the media, why don't we sit and have a conversation on Hardball and say, "Let's talk about some of the good things [about the economy]"?' As an example of the 'good news" reported on MSNBC and Hardball, Matthews stated: "Every single night on this network, we produce on the half-hour, the latest stock averages. We show Nasdaq's doing well and Dow's [Industrial Average] doing well and the economy's doing well. We don't produce bad news on this show.'" -- Media Matters, March 22