Topic: Media Research Center
In a May 22 NewsBusters post, Randy Hall complains that Obama-bashing author Edward Klein "is being almost totally ignored by the elite media" -- yet he inadvertently explains why.
Hall admits that Klein's book, "The Amateur," is "a biography of President Obama which relies heavily (although not entirely) on anonymous sources to paint a highly unflattering picture of its subject." Hall adds: "Given that we don’t know who Klein’s sources were on some of his more sensational accusations, it’s tough to vouch for his credibility."
Indeed, one of Hall's fellow NewsBusters bloggers, the rabidly anti-abortion Jill Stanek, has criticized Klein for getting things "pretty much all wrong" on the subject of abortion, going on to say that "Klein’s portrayal of events was wrong on just about every point. I expected more from the former editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine, who has also had many books on the NYT bestseller’s list."
Yes, Klein's book is a major hack job filled with distortions and falsehoods -- so much so that Hall can't deny it.
Because the Media Research Center can't let go of the Clinton years, Hall also complains that the media ignored Gary Aldrich's Clinton-bashing book:
Stephanopoulos’s parading of the slime against [Nikki] Haley is particularly egregious given that he played a significant role in suppressing another book making accusations against his boss Bill Clinton. That book, Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House, was similarly blackballed by America’s media elite.
At the time, Stephanopoulos argued that salacious accusations deserved no place in the mass media:
"Someone should have to pass a bare threshold of credibility before they're put on the air to millions of viewers. You know, his [Gary Aldrich's] story couldn't get past the fact-checker at the National Enquirer....A 30-year record in the FBI in and of itself is no proof of credibility."
Note that Hall makes no attempt to vouch for Aldrich's credibility either -- perhaps because he can't. As CNN reported, Aldrich's book is filled with "second-hand, unsubstantiated sexual rumors about and bitter attacks against President and Mrs. Clinton."
Even Tim Graham concedes Klein's lack of credibility in a May 23 NewsBusters post: "Journalists would suggest that Klein is not a credible author, with a habit of making wild charges with anonymous sources."
Graham makes no effort to counter this claim, instead changing the subject by baselessly imputing a political motive to the Klein blackout: "Liberals like the outraged activists at The New York Times want to make sure no one is allowed to bring up Reverend Wright again."
