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Friday, April 7, 2006
Conservative Matthews Ignored Again
Topic: NewsBusters
In an April 7 NewsBusters post, Tim Graham cites as evidence of Chris Matthews' alleged liberal bias that Matthews spoke at a fundraiser for "the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay-left lobbying group." But Graham ignores the fact that Matthews has spoken to conservative-leaning groups as well.

Matthews is reported to have accepted speaking fees to appear before The National Venture Capital Association, The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and The American Hospital Association -- all trade groups whose PACs have given the majority of their donations to Republicans.

This is yet another example of how the Media Research Center plays up evidence that Matthews is liberal while ignoring evidence of his conservative tendencies.

Posted by Terry K. at 3:01 PM EDT
Joseph Farah, Conspiracy Theorist
Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily slides into some serious conspiracy theorizing, declaring on a radio show not only that there are 20 million to 30 million "illegals" in the U.S. (without offering any evidence to back it up; most reliable figures put the number at around 12 million) but also that the "one-worlders" of the Council on Foreign Relations have a plan to merge the United States, Mexico, and Canada by 2010 and that President Bush's proposed guest worker program is part of this plan. Uh, yeah. (Full disclosure: I co-wrote this item for Media Matters.)

Posted by Terry K. at 1:30 PM EDT
Thursday, April 6, 2006
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 10:31 PM EDT
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 10:22 PM EDT
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?

Posted by Terry K. at 1:33 PM EDT
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 12:38 AM EDT
Updated: Thursday, April 6, 2006 11:06 AM EDT
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
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."

-- Media Research Center press release, April 5

"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

Or is it that great minds plagiarize each other?

Posted by Terry K. at 6:37 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, April 5, 2006 6:43 PM EDT
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 6:14 PM EDT
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 1:35 PM EDT
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."

Posted by Terry K. at 11:21 AM EDT
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 1:40 AM EDT
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 4:40 PM EDT
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?

Posted by Terry K. at 3:28 PM EDT
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.

Posted by Terry K. at 11:50 AM EDT
NewsMax Recycles Clinton Smears
Topic: Newsmax
In an April 4 NewsMax article (posted April 3) promoting the new, fawning book on Laura Bush by Ron Kessler, Jim Myers revives largely debunked charges of White House vandalism by members of the Clinton administration before George W. Bush took office.

Myers recounts the allegations as an example of "the Clintons' real irreverence for the White House," as opposed to the Bushes' purported reverence. He details the allegations made by then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer of the alleged damage in the White House and the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building before noting three paragraphs later that "The final, official report from the Government Accounting Office, released on June 11, 2002, did not confirm all of Fleischer's allegations." In fact, as the
GAO report indicates (as indicated by the list of items Myers provided), the most serious of Fleischer's allegations were never confirmed and, in fact, not much different from the condition of the White House when Clinton took over in 1993 from George H.W. Bush. Additionally, as was noted at the time, most of the vandalism allegations were made anonymously and never backed up with solid evidence.

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.

Posted by Terry K. at 12:15 AM EDT

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