Shocked, Just Shocked Nets Hype "Staged" Bush Event with Troops --10/14/2005

1. Shocked, Just Shocked Nets Hype "Staged" Bush Event with Troops
Thursday's NBC Nightly News led, yes led, with how, as anchor Brian Williams put it, President Bush had that morning conducted "a staged event" via satellite with ten U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi soldier in Iraq. "Today's encounter was billed as spontaneous," Williams intoned. "Instead, it appeared to follow a script." Andrea Mitchell warned that "the troops were coached on how to answer the Commander-in-Chief" and, indeed, not until two minutes into her three-minute story -- after showing clips of how a DOD official had told the soldiers the questions Bush would ask -- did Mitchell note how "the White House and at least one of the soldiers says the troops weren't told what to say, just what the President would ask." So, the answers were not staged. The soldiers, naturally nervous about appearing on live TV with the President of the United States, were simply told who should answer which question and to "take a breath" before answering. Scandalous! ABC's World News Tonight also devoted a full story as did the CBS Evening News on which Lara Logan uniquely showcased a soldier who denied any phoniness. CNN's Situation Room dedicated a full story to the "highly rehearsed" event.

2. Olbermann Features Dana Milbank Mocking Iraqi Soldier's Accent
Mirroring the same evening's NBC Nightly News (see item #1 above), on Thursday night's Countdown show, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann led with the rehearsed meeting between President Bush and U.S. troops serving in Iraq. Olbermann spent considerable time showing and making fun of clips from that event and from a contentious White House press briefing with Scott McClellan before proceeding to an interview with Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank, during which he seemed to play along with and was amused by Milbank mimicking the accent of an Iraqi soldier at the Bush event, a politically incorrect action which would bring ridicule if performed by a conservative. Milbank greeted Olbermann, mimicking the Iraqi soldier: "I just want to say thank you, Mr. Olbermann. I like you's, I like anything."

3. CBS Blog: "Perception Problem" for Wallace at Anti-Gun Fundraiser
Cam Edwards, a talk radio host at NRANews.com, drew out CBS Public Eye blog facilitator Vaughn Ververs on the subject of 60 Minutes star Mike Wallace appearing at a $250-a-pop fundraiser (and birthday party for political humorist Art Buchwald) for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Ververs took that question to Wallace and CBS senior vice president for standards Linda Mason. Mason suggested the network was investigating whether Wallace would be allowed to report on gun issues after this appearance. Wallace claimed he had no idea the Buchwald party was an anti-gun fundraiser until a few weeks before the event. Ververs declared: "It never looks good when a correspondent...appears at events connected with a controversial cause....it creates a perception problem at the very least....[W]hile Wallace may have kept his remarks primarily about Buchwald, the fact that he brought a video that referenced gun control and that he cast Heston in an unfavorable light raises concerns and skirts the edges of advocacy..."

Shocked, Just Shocked Nets Hype "Staged"
Bush Event with Troops

Thursday's NBC Nightly News led, yes led, with how, as anchor Brian Williams put it, President Bush had that morning conducted "a staged event" via satellite with ten U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi soldier in Iraq. "Today's encounter was billed as spontaneous," Williams intoned. "Instead, it appeared to follow a script." Andrea Mitchell warned that "the troops were coached on how to answer the Commander-in-Chief" and, indeed, not until two minutes into her three-minute story -- after showing clips of how a DOD official had told the soldiers the questions Bush would ask -- did Mitchell note how "the White House and at least one of the soldiers says the troops weren't told what to say, just what the President would ask." So, the answers were not staged. The soldiers, naturally nervous about appearing on live TV with the President of the United States, were simply told who should answer which question and to "take a breath" before answering. Scandalous! Over video of Bush on the aircraft carrier, Mitchell went on to remind viewers of how "this isn't the first time this administration used troops to help sell the Iraq war." But she also admitted a media double-standard: "Many administrations, Democrat and Republican, stage-manage events and often the news media ignore the choreography."

ABC's World News Tonight also devoted a full story, though not the lead, to the media-generated controversy. Terry Moran contended that "the fact that this was so carefully choreographed...shows just how urgently the White House wants not just a success on the ground in Iraq, but a PR success at home for this embattled President." Over on the CBS Evening News, anchor Bob Schieffer opined that "unfortunately for the President, after satellite cameras caught administration aides rehearsing the soldiers beforehand, Democrats dismissed the whole thing and said the troops deserved a lot better." Lara Logan managed to cover other material in her story and uniquely showcased a soldier who told CBS: "The truth is that everything that was said was meant to be said, though it may have sounded scripted in some places. Nerves kick in, for one. Two, everyone puts their thoughts together. You put it down, you go over and over it a hundred times."

MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann also led Thursday with the "staged" event (see item #2 below) and the AP distributed a story breathlessly headlined, "Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Staged." See: news.yahoo.com

In the 4pm EDT hour of The Situation Room, Suzanne Malveaux checked in from the White House:
"There's a lot of discussion over the video-conference that took place because of a rehearsal that took place before that. For many of us who cover these White House events, that is nothing new. These are hand-picked audiences when he goes before to speak to people, the format is highly rehearsed, they're not spontaneous events.
"But Tom [Foreman, fill-in host], what makes today's so unusual is that you, me, and many of our viewers get a chance to see a rehearsal actually taking place. You're looking at a satellite feed. And it really pulls back the curtain, if you will. You see U.S. troops actually being fielded questions that are expected by the President, practicing the responses. There are ten American soldiers as well, an Iraqi official in Tikrit that are running through this kind of dress rehearsal of the video conference, if you will. And what you're hearing is a senior Pentagon official, Allison Barber, who is prompting their responses. Let's take a quick listen."
Allison Barber to soldiers: "The President will open up with some remarks. He's going to kind of shape this discussion today by highlighting the importance of what you're doing, by letting you know how much the American people appreciate your hard work, and how important this vote on Saturday is to the process in Iraq. And so you'll hear him shape those comments today."

Wow. That kind of hardly unusual pre-event preparation is certainly newsworthy, not.
About half way through CNN's 7pm EDT Anderson Cooper 360 on Thursday, the announcer plugged an upcoming story: "And the President tele-commutes to Tikrit. Mr. Bush's video-conference with soldiers in Iraq seems to have gone just fine, exactly as scripted and rehearsed. So much for reality TV." But the story never aired, apparently because of "breaking news" a few minutes later: more video of the New Orleans police beating incident. At the top of CNN's 10pm EDT NewsNight, co-anchor Cooper also plugged the controversy, but the coverage didn't go beyond the "Headline News" updates as the show ridiculously devoted 45 minutes of its first hour, and the first 15 minutes of its second hour, to the police beating video. They spent the entire 11:30pm EDT half hour on Syria.

NBC's Williams devoted nearly his entire "Daily Nightly" blog entry, titled "Dress Rehearsal," to the "staged" event.

But on FNC's Special Report with Brit Hume, Hume noted complaints the event was "not entirely spontaneous" before Carl Cameron pointed out that Bush posed an unplanned question to the Iraqi soldier. In the panel segment, Washington Times reporter Bill Sammon recalled how when "back in December" a soldier asked Rumsfeld about armor, a question that "had been planted by a reporter, I didn't hear any outcry from the press."

All three cable news channels had carried the event live around 10am EDT.

[This item was posted Thursday night on the MRC's blog: NewsBusters.org. To share your comments, go to: newsbusters.org ]

Transcripts from October 13, as compiled by the MRC Brad Wilmouth (who did the long ones while I handled the shorter CBS and FNC material):

# NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams in opening teaser for his lead story: "Tonight, command performance. The White House called it a chance for the President to hear candid comments from U.S. soldiers in Iraq. But as you'll see, the cameras were rolling on what appeared to be a staged event."

Williams began: "Good evening. It was billed as a chance for the President to hear directly from the troops in Iraq. The White House called it a 'back and forth,' a 'give and take.' And so, reporters who cover the White House were summoned this morning to witness a live video link between the Commander-in-Chief and the U.S. soldiers in the field as the elections approach in Iraq. The problem was, before the event was broadcast live on cable TV, the satellite picture from Iraq was being beamed back to television news rooms here in the U.S. It showed a full-blown rehearsal of the President's questions in advance, along with the soldiers' answers and coaching from the administration. While we should quickly point out this was hardly the first staged political event we have covered -- and we've seen a lot of them in the past -- today's encounter was billed as spontaneous. Instead, it appeared to follow a script. Our report tonight from NBC's Andrea Mitchell."

Andrea Mitchell: "The White House says the idea was to highlight an important milestone in Iraq, Saturday's referendum on the proposed constitution, and thank the troops for their sacrifice."
George W. Bush: "Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to allow me to visit with you a little bit."
Mitchell: "Speaking to soldiers in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, the President used the video conference to repeat his arguments for staying in Iraq."
Bush: "We're never going to back down. We're never going to give in. We'll never accept anything less than total victory."
Mitchell: "The White House had said the exchange would be spontaneous, but there was something they did not expect you to see. The troops were coached on how to answer the Commander-in-Chief. This is Allison Barber. She works for the Pentagon."
Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense: "But if he gives us a question that's not something that we've scripted, Captain Kennedy, you're going to have that mike, and that's your chance to impress us all. Master Sergeant Lombardo, when you're talking about the President coming to see you in New York, take a little breath before that so you can actually be talking directly to him. You've got a real message there, okay?"
Mitchell: "During today's rehearsal, Barber played the role of the President. Here's one of Mr. Bush's questions in the practice session."
Barber: "I'm interested in how your pre-election operations are going."
Mitchell: "And here's how it was repeated when the cameras were rolling with the President in place."
George W. Bush: "-confident? I mean, how do you feel like the operations are going?"
Mitchell: "Here, from the rehearsal, is a soldier practicing his answer."
Unidentified soldier: "We're working in northern Iraq right now with an operation we call Operation Saratoga."
Mitchell: "And here's how it appeared on the broadcast."
Unidentified soldier: "We're surging in an operation called Operation Saratoga."
Mitchell: "But the White House claimed only hours earlier that it would be unscripted. Later, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told NBC News he didn't know the extent of the coaching and didn't see the rehearsal. Still, the White House and at least one of the soldiers says the troops weren't told what to say, just what the President would ask. This isn't the first time this administration used troops to help sell the Iraq war [video of Bush on aircraft carrier]. In fact, the Bush White House has choreographed everything from town hall meetings on Social Security to campaign events with planted questions. Many administrations, Democrat and Republican, stage-manage events [video of Clinton behind sandbags with soldiers and of Reagan at Korea's DMZ]. And often the news media ignore the choreography. David Gergen worked for four presidents, including three Republicans."
David Gergen, former presidential advisor: "I've rarely seen the news staged with the military in quite as blatant a way, but it has been done before, so it does belong to a long and somewhat unhappy tradition."
Mitchell: "But only two weeks ago, the Government Accountability Office criticized the Education Department for violating a law banning government-funded propaganda."
Barber: "Okay, let's run through this one more time."
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian: "Here is a White House working very hard to script an unscripted moment, and when the public learns that that's happened, it undermines what they're trying to do."
Mitchell: "A rare look behind the curtain of a White House trying to sell an increasingly unpopular war. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington."

# ABC World News Tonight. Anchor Bob Woodruff: "We turn now to the war in Iraq. President Bush met with the troops today by satellite. The Commander-in-Chief wanted to hear how things were going in the lead-up to Saturday's vote on the new Iraqi constitution. They answered him, but what has attracted a great deal of attention today is how they were prepared. ABC's White House correspondent, Terry Moran, joins us now. Terry?"

Terry Moran: "Well, Bob, as you know, this is a White House that has prided itself on expert stage managing and polished presentations of Mr. Bush's public appearances. Today, we got a glimpse behind the scenes. It was billed as a simple, straightforward back-and-forth conversation, a video tele-conference, between the President and a group of soldiers serving in Iraq."
George W. Bush: "And I've got some questions for you here in a minute, but I do want to share some thoughts with you."
Moran: "But those questions, it turns out, came as no surprise to the soldiers."
Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, at podium Bush would later use: "Are we ready for one more run-through? Jimmy, you ready?"
Moran: "Before the President appeared, Allison Barber, a senior Pentagon official, prepped the troops thoroughly, and, in a rare White House slip-up, was caught on camera."
Barber: "Master Sergeant Lombardo, when you're talking about the President coming to see you in New York, take a little breath before that so you can actually be talking directly to him."
Moran: "Nothing, it seemed, was left to chance."
Barber: "The President will continue to speak. And then, he'll go into his questions. All right, here we go. I'm interested in how your pre-election operations are going."
Bush: "One of the, you know, questions I have is about the pre-election operations."
Moran: "The soldiers, ten serving with the 42nd Infantry in Tikrit and one Iraqi soldier, are providing security for Saturday's crucial referendum on the new Iraqi constitution."
Captain Steven Pratt, U.S. Army 42nd Infantry Division: "We'll have a very successful and effective referendum vote."
Moran: "The whole event was very carefully choreographed, but just in case Mr. Bush deviated from the plan, there was a backup."
Barber: "All right. But if he gives us a question that's not something that we've scripted, Captain Kennedy, you're going to have that mike, and that's your chance to impress us all."
Captain Kennedy: "Okay."
Moran: "The White House insists that the real story here is what those soldiers are doing in Iraq. And they're right. But the fact that this was so carefully choreographed, Bob, shows just how urgently the White House wants not just a success on the ground in Iraq, but a PR success at home for this embattled President."

Woodruff added: "And taking no chances. Terry Moran at the White House, thank you."

# CBS Evening News. Anchor Bob Schieffer: "President Bush held an unusual conversation by satellite with American soldiers in Iraq today, and they told him exactly what he wanted to hear: Iraqis are eager to vote on a new Constitution. Unfortunately for the President, after satellite cameras caught administration aides rehearsing the soldiers beforehand, Democrats dismissed the whole thing and said the troops deserved a lot better. Here's Lara Logan in Tikrit."

Lara Logan: "With Iraq poised to vote on a new Constitution, President Bush chose this moment to speak directly to U.S. soldiers on the ground here."
President Bush before big video screen: "One of the things, Captain, that people in America want to know is, one, do the Iraqis want to fight and are they capable of fighting?"
Captain Stephen Pratt, 42nd Infantry Division: "The Iraqi army and police services, along with coalition support, have conducted many and multiple exercises and rehearsals."
Logan: "But his message was overshadowed by questions about how much staging went into the event."
Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (not identified on-screen by CBS News) at podium Bush would later use: "If the question comes up about partnering, how often do we train with the Iraqi military, who does it go to?"
Soldier in Iraq: "That's going to go to Captain Pratt."
Logan: "The White House responded this live televised interview had to be rehearsed in order to run smoothly, and there was no doubt from the soldiers involved."
Staff Sergeant David Smith-Barry, 42nd Infantry Division, one-on-one to CBS: "The truth is that everything that was said was meant to be said, though it may have sounded scripted in some places. Nerves kick in, for one. Two, everyone puts their thoughts together. You put it down, you go over and over it a hundred times."

Logan then moved on to other news from Iraq.

# FNC's Special Report with Brit Hume. During the panel segment, Washington Times reporter Bill Sammon, responding to a comment from Morton Kondracke: "You mentioned that this press conference was scripted and the administration has taken a huge hit today about, you know, they scripted this press conference. It's funny, but when that reporter back in December asked Rumsfeld about armor and that question had been planted by the reporter -- I'm sorry, the soldier asked Rumsfeld and the question had been planted by a reporter, I didn't hear any outcry from the press, but now that we're rehearsing it from the Pentagon we're hearing all this talk about it."
Fred Barnes then quipped: "Scripted? I'm shocked that anything would be scripted like that."

# "Dress Rehearsal," posted by Brian Williams at 4:53pm ET on his Daily Nightly blog. An excerpt:

My day, at least editorially, started just after I'd chosen a spot on the couch for the 9:30 a.m. editorial daily planning meeting. I arrived early and was finishing up the newspapers when an e-mail came into my BlackBerry -- it was from a producer in our control room, watching the incoming feed from Iraq. The President was minutes away from what was billed to us as a "give and take...a back and forth" with soldiers on the ground in Iraq. The e-mail said they were rehearsing their answers to the President's questions. It went on to say they were receiving coaching from yet-unnamed government officials on HOW to deliver their lines once the President appeared.

We've all been party to media events and blatant photo ops. Members of the media have known full well when events in the past have been thoroughly scripted to bring about the desired response. While this kind of thing gets reported when germane, it's a given in political campaigns, just as it was a given during the series of town meetings this President held, the guests were invited and questions were at very minimum strongly encouraged by subject manner, if not outwardly planted. It's what the home team gets to do. It's part of politics and both parties have made it something of an art form. In this case, however, the advance billing and final execution were at odds. And what we witnessed -- the comments first rehearsed then repeated verbatim with minor deviations once the President entered the discussion -- was rather stunning to see on television, as viewers will see on our air tonight.

The story developed steam as the day wore on, and as more in the media realized what they'd just witnessed, and the White House briefing reflected it. Press Secretary Scott McClellan has since admitted to our own Kelly O'Donnell that he did NOT know the extent of the situation and how it played on television when he answered reporters' questions about it today from the podium. Beyond that, I'll let the reporting of Andrea Mitchell speak for itself on tonight's broadcast....

END of Excerpt

That's online at: dailynightly.msnbc.com

Olbermann Features Dana Milbank Mocking
Iraqi Soldier's Accent

Mirroring the same evening's NBC Nightly News (see item #1 above), on Thursday night's Countdown show, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann led with the rehearsed meeting between President Bush and U.S. troops serving in Iraq. Olbermann spent considerable time showing and making fun of clips from that event and from a contentious White House press briefing with Scott McClellan before proceeding to an interview with Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank, during which he seemed to play along with and was amused by Milbank mimicking the accent of an Iraqi soldier at the Bush event, a politically incorrect action which would bring ridicule if performed by a conservative. Milbank told Olbermann, mimicking the Iraqi soldier: "I just want to say thank you, Mr. Olbermann. I like you's, I like anything."

[This item was posted early Friday morning, on the MRC's NewsBusters.org blog, by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth. For video of Milbank's mockery, in both Real and Windows Media formats, as well as to post your comments: newsbusters.org ]

Olbermann began the show by remarking that not even political cartoonist Herb Block "could dream up a day like today at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It went from worse to 'hide under a table.'" He also made fun of the performances at the event with the troops, quipping that it's "like your fifth grade class play was carefully choreographed. You can rehearse them forever, but that does not make them Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep."

After a commercial break, before introducing his interview with Milbank, Olbermann replayed a clip of the Iraqi soldier praising Bush, in which the soldier said, using imperfect English, "Thank you for anything, sir. Thank you very much for anything," and "I like you's." This clip had already been played both in the opening teaser and in the first segment of the show. After this third playing, the Countdown host then proceeded to his interview with Milbank who, as he was being introduced, imitated the Iraqi soldier's accent: "I just want to say thank you, Mr. Olbermann. I like you's, I like anything." Olbermann, amused by this imitation, seemed to play along, responding, "Well, good, we appreciate that," as Bush had similarly answered the Iraqi soldier, "Well, I appreciate that." Notably, since the President's question to the Iraqi soldier was the only one that was unrehearsed, the soldier's answer was the only spontaneous moment from the presentation. The spontaneity of his answer seems to have earned it the chance to be played three times on Olbermann's show with some special mockery for its imperfections.

A transcript of relevant portions of the Thursday October 13 Countdown show follows:

Keith Olbermann, in opening teaser: "Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? The White House by the script."
Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense: "Okay, so let's just walk through this. Captain Kennedy, you answer the first question, and you hand the mike to whom?"
Olbermann: "And the White House, totally off the script."
Bob Franken, CNN reporter: "We ask the questions and you provide the answers?"
Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary: "Yes, and I was providing the answer. Can I not say what I want to say?"
Olbermann: "You've heard about the President's choreographed satellite back-slapping session with the troops. You may have heard about the press secretary's knee-capping session with the White House Press Corps. We'll show you each raw and at length."
Sergeant Major Akeel Shaker Nassir, Iraqi Army: "I like you's."
George W. Bush, laughing: "Well, I appreciate that."

After the rest of the opening teaser airs, Olbermann got to his introduction:
Olbermann: "Good evening. The late great political cartoonist Herb Block, or simply Herblock, was born on this day in 1909. His imagination poured out all kinds of different crazy White Houses from Herbert Hoover selling fish on a street corner during the Depression to Richard Nixon wrapping himself in the flag and executive privilege. From an Iran-Contra era Ronald Reagan made out of cardboard to Bill Clinton on a tight rope trying to balance the budget with one hand and trying to balance Monica Lewinsky with the other. But on our fifth story on the Countdown tonight, not even Herb Block could dream up a day like today at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It went from worse to 'hide under a table.' Perhaps the most contentious White House press briefing in 31 years. It was only the second act on a dark day for President Bush. It had begun this morning when Mr. Bush engaged in a question-and-answer session via satellite with 10 American service personnel and one Iraqi soldier. The Associated Press noted simply, 'The exchange was carefully choreographed.' Yeah, like your fifth grade class play was carefully choreographed. You can rehearse them forever, but that does not make them Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Let's give it the 'you are there' treatment."

Olbermann showed clips from the event with the troops, including this exchange between Bush and an Iraqi soldier:
George W. Bush: "Yeah, Sergeant Akeel, thanks for joining us. I appreciate your service. You got something to say, Akeel?"
Sergeant Major Akeel Shaker Nassir: "Good morning, Mr. President. Thank you for anything, sir. Thank you very much for anything."
Bush: "You're welcome."
Akeel: "I like you's."
Bush, laughing: "Well, I appreciate that."

After playing more clips from the event, Olbermann continued at about 8:06pm EDT:
"Like watching the Jesse Ventura show. It's too bad you couldn't get the White House Press Corps to work from a script like that. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post will be along presently to try to figure out who thought that was a good idea. But first, wait, there's more from the fog of war, playing three acts, to White House Press Room unscripted. The first topic there was, guess what, whether or not the whole deal with the soldiers had been rehearsed. Once again, you are there."

Olbermann, after playing clips from the press conference:
"Unfortunately for Mr. McClellan, the evidence that Mr. Bush's chat with the soldiers was rehearsed and rehearsed within an inch of its life was all on tape."

Returning from a commercial break about 8:18 pm EDT:
George W. Bush: "Sergeant Akeel, thanks for joining us. I appreciate your service. You got something to say, Akeel?"
Iraqi Sergeant Major Akeel Shaker Nassir: "Good morning, Mr. President. Thank you for anything, sir. Thank you very much for anything." (As Akeel Shaker Nassir spoke, Countdown zoomed in on the side of the video which showed him.)
Bush: "You're welcome."
Akeel: "I like you's."
Bush, laughing: "Well, I appreciate that."
McClellan, from the White House press conference: "You all want to focus on side issues like religion. We've said from the beginning, we've said from, no, we have always publicly talked about, come on, Jim, we've always talked about her record and her qualifications."
Olbermann: "As the old Bob and Ray joke about the driving of the golden spike to connect the one track of the Transcontinental Railroad went, 'And here come the trains. One from the East and one from the West.' Our fourth story in the Countdown, the post mortems from the twin train wrecks. Here's the national political reporter for the Washington Post, Dana Milbank. Good evening, Dana."
Dana Milbank, Washington Post reporter, imitating the accent of the Iraqi soldier who spoke to Bush: "I just want to say thank you, Mr. Olbermann. I like you's, I like anything."
Olbermann, who delivered a brief chuckle afterward: "Well, good, we appreciate that."

CBS Blog: "Perception Problem" for Wallace
at Anti-Gun Fundraiser

Cam Edwards, a talk radio host at NRANews.com, drew out CBS Public Eye blog facilitator Vaughn Ververs on the subject of 60 Minutes star Mike Wallace appearing at a $250-a-pop fundraiser (and birthday party for political humorist Art Buchwald) for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Ververs took that question to Wallace and CBS senior vice president for standards Linda Mason. Mason suggested the network was investigating whether Wallace would be allowed to report on gun issues after this appearance. Wallace claimed he had no idea the Buchwald party was an anti-gun fundraiser until a few weeks before the event. (This is a bit odd, since CyberAlert raised a fuss about the perception of taking sides back in July. See "Celebrity Journalists Gather to Help Left-Wing Anti-Gun Group" at: www.mrc.org )

He then decided to remedy the conflict by paying for his own ticket and tickets for family members. Doesn't that ADD to the conflict, that now he's not simply drawing other people into buying tickets, he's putting his own dollars in the Brady basket? Ververs declared:
"Here's my take: It never looks good when a correspondent (or any member of a journalistic enterprise) appears at events connected with a controversial cause. Speaking at an event to raise money for breast cancer, heart disease or AIDS, fine. Speaking at one for either side of the gun control, abortion or Iraq debate is only asking for trouble. You can debate this issue all day but the bottom line is that it creates a perception problem at the very least. CBS News and all news organizations are right to be sensitive to the point of pettiness about this....
"There is nothing wrong with speaking at a friend's birthday party. But while Wallace may have kept his remarks primarily about Buchwald, the fact that he brought a video that referenced gun control and that he cast Heston in an unfavorable light raises concerns and skirts the edges of advocacy -- especially at an event where money was being raised...His presence, and especially the video, comes very close to making him 'identifiable' with a cause in my view.

For the Public Eye posting in full: www.cbsnews.com

For the Brady Center's page on the event: www.bradycenter.org

[This item was posted Thursday afternoon by the MRC's Tim Graham on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org. To share your comments: newsbusters.org ]

Cheers to Ververs for honestly bringing this issue to CBS on behalf of pro-gun viewers. Here is Cam's recent Web post on the approach to CBS: www.camedwards.com

Here's my previous Newsbusters item: newsbusters.org

-- Brent Baker