MediaWatch: December 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: December 1994
- Networks Assail Proposition 187 As "Racist" and "Inhumane," Ignore Proponents' Arguements
- NewsBites: Rather on Race
- Revolving Door: Another Journal Entry
- Media Outlets Scold "Rabid Attack Dog...Darling of the Ultra-Right"
- An "Intolerant Bigot"?
- Capitol Hill Waste
- Newt: Time's Reagan Replacement
- Janet Cooke Award: CBS Packs Story with Emotional Anecdotes, Dire Predictions, Liberal Advocacy Research
An "Intolerant Bigot"?
TV Tirades on Gingrich
Reporters have pounced on every "controversial" utterance from House Speaker-elect Newt Gingrich, instead of providing a sober look at the substance of his policies.
On the November 13 This Week with David Brinkley, Sam Donaldson claimed: "A lot of people are afraid of you, they think you're a bomb thrower. Worse, you're an intolerant bigot. Speak to them." Donaldson identified Newt's problem: "It's the way you talk. You talk about the Clintons as members of the counterculture, the elitists, the left-wingers, how can you have an accommodation with the President when you read him out of 'the Americans,' as you put it?" Donaldson charged: "When you talk about people, you don't talk about it just in terms of the differences, and arguments over policy, or theology, or philosophy, but you talk about it in terms of the American way, your way, and their way, which you suggest isn't American."
On that night's CBS Evening News, Joe Klein noted "like [basketball star] Charles Barkley, Gingrich also has a tendency to get carried away, to throw elbows." Citing Gingrich's comments that the Great Society was a "disaster," Klein contended: "political insiders were wondering...would Newt's new responsibilities make him more statesmanlike, more responsible, less flagrant? Naah!"
Tom Brokaw got personal in the first network magazine profile of Gingrich, on the November 15 Dateline NBC, focusing on the "archconservative" Speaker's "controversial" statements, personal life, and ethics. For refusing to discuss his divorce, Brokaw found hypocrisy: "Gingrich, who makes so much of family values, is touchy on this issue." Brokaw delved into Gingrich's religious life: "He was more combative, perfecting his trademark scorched-earth tactics. That change caused a split between Gingrich and his Baptist minister." Brokaw called Gingrich's criticism of FDA Commissioner David Kessler as "very ominous."
Ignoring the Republicans' prior status as the minority party, Brokaw maintained that "Gingrich has distinguished himself, not for his legislative record, but for carrying the conservative torch and burning Democratic initiatives." Brokaw failed to consider that "burning Democratic initiatives" may have been the legislative record voters preferred.
