MediaWatch: August 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: August 1994
- Reporters Hold Anti-Clinton Ads to Higher Standard of Disclosure, Accuracy
- NewsBites: Health Plan or Else
- Revolving Door: The Times Agenda
- Networks Fail to Investigate Allegations While Dismissing Revelations
- Too Tough-On-Crime Lawman
- The Numbers Game
- So Much for the Truth Squad
- Janet Cooke Award: ABC's Tom Foreman Finds the Majority of Ad "Inaccuracy" and "Scare Tactics" on the Right
Networks Fail to Investigate Allegations While Dismissing Revelations
Whitewashing Whitewater
"Are the Republicans on a witch hunt?" NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert asked Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on July 31. Russert argued "Bob Fiske found no criminal behavior, the White House Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics have found no unethical behavior." When it came to Whitewater in July, the media's innate skepticism evaporated, replaced with passive acceptance of official reports and Clinton Administration denials.
After Special Counsel Robert Fiske's report was released June 30, the media touted it as the definitive statement on the Foster death and White House-RTC contacts. On the CBS Evening News Dan Rather declared: "For now, at least, President Clinton and his aides are entitled to say, `We told you so.'" On CNN's Inside Politics, anchor Bernard Shaw asked White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler, in light of the Fiske report, "Should the Republicans shut up?"
When Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and Sen. Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.) raised questions the Fiske report failed to answer about the condition of Vince Foster's body, none of their concerns were reported. Faircloth's and other Republican's questions on the subject during the Whitewater Senate Banking Committee hearings were reported, but some were disgusted with the subject. Peter Jennings asked Capitol Hill correspondent Cokie Roberts, "With all they have to do, how did they get into this one?"
On July 26, Day 1 of the House Banking Committee hearing, many reporters reflected CBS' Bob Schieffer's conclusion: "Neither the testimony nor a stack of internal White House documents released by the committee contained any startling new information." Only ABC's John Martin reported that evening new information had, in fact, been presented. Lloyd Cutler revealed he had found 30 White House-RTC contacts, up from the 20 Fiske found.
Two days later Cutler revised his testimony in a letter to the House committee, changing the date on which the White House learned of the RTC criminal referrals, from after a meeting between Clinton and Ark. Gov. Jim Tucker to a month before. Cutler also conceded that information on the RTC probe could have come from the RTC contacts, not through questions from the media as he had testified. Once again, this went unreported by the networks.
When the White House admitted on August 2 that Foster's Whitewater-related papers were moved to a closet in the Clintons' White House residence after Foster's death, not immediately given to their lawyer as they had maintained, no network reported it for a whole day. On August 3, CBS did a piece on the lie, NBC noted it in passing, while ABC waited two days to report it.
