MediaWatch: February 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: February 1994
- ABC Friday Segment Often Used As Vehicle for Unbalanced Praise
- NewsBites: What A Great Book
- Revolving Door: Bode Moves to PBS
- Schieffer Asks 26 Questions About Lying, But No Such Questions for Dems
- Media Suffer Memory Lapse
- Not My Fault
- ABC First to Hire Religion Reporter
- Janet Cooke Award: PBS Program on Campaign Finance Laws Boasts Nine Opponents, No Supporters
ABC Friday Segment Often Used As Vehicle for Unbalanced Praise
"Person of the Week" Celebrates Liberals
Two years ago, MediaWatch examined ABC's weekly "Person of the Week" segment. In an analysis of the Friday World News Tonight feature from January 1988 through December 1991, our study found a liberal tilt: in 181 segments aired over the four-year period, ABC saluted 27 left-leaning political officials or advocates, but only five who could be labeled conservative.
Last fall, World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings conceded in TV Guide that ABC's regular "American Agenda" segments had "revolved around a liberal axis," but promised to "pay more attention to what conservatives are saying." But ABC has not shown the same concern for their "Person of the Week" pieces.
This month, MediaWatch analysts reviewed the Person of the Week choices from January 1992 through December 1993. In 99 segments, 21 identifiably ideological figures were honored. These individuals were classified either as political officials or activists. During the two-year period, liberal or Democratic officials outnumbered conservatives or Republicans by a margin of 7 to 2. Among activists the margin grew, with liberals holding a 10 to 2 advantage. Overall, liberals outnumbered conservatives 17 to 4.
The seven liberal political figures chosen were U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, Harry Truman, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, former Sen. William Fulbright, Hillary Clinton, Clinton campaign manager James Carville, and former New York City Schools Chancellor Joseph Fernandez. The two who could be labeled conservative were Lynda Owens, a black GOP candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, and Evan Kemp, former chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Ironically, ABC chose Kemp for his work in gaining passage for the Americans with Disabilities Act, a measure opposed by most conservatives for its regulatory burden.
Among the Democratic pols chosen by ABC, Roll Call recently ranked Waters as the most left-wing member of the House. On May 15, 1992, Peter Jennings lauded her role in the riots in Los Angeles, introducing her as "a woman who will not go unheard, with good reason." As Waters explained, "The fact of the matter is, whether we like it or not, riot is the voice of the unheard."
On February 12, 1993, Jennings lamented Fernandez's dismissal. His "Rainbow Curriculum" guide which told teachers to "include references to lesbians/gay people in all curricular areas" was opposed by parents and school board members. Jennings concluded, "and so we choose Joseph Fernandez, who has certainly helped us to understand what a challenge improving education and understanding really are, which is why he makes a difference."
In praising Hillary Clinton on September 24, 1993, Jennings credited the citizenry for finally coming around: "Earlier this week, it occurred to us that this particular individual had come an awfully long way in the last year or so. And then we thought, no, maybe it's the country which has come a long way."
Activists. ABC chose an array of activists. Of the 12 identified, only two could possibly be classified as right of center. Clint Eastwood, the former Republican Mayor of Carmel, California, was praised on August 7, 1992 for is work in Unforgiven, a film acclaimed by liberals.
Walter Annenberg was honored on June 25, 1993 for awarding millions of dollars to schools. Jennings mentioned his father's newspaper campaign against the New Deal and imprisonment for tax evasion before quipping, "and whether he is atoning for his father's sins or not, he honors his father's memory by giving his vast fortune away."
The ten identifiably liberal activists received no such scrutiny. In fact, elements of controversy and disagreement were absent, particularly in segments on environmentalists. On February 14, 1992 Jennings introduced "a man to whom every man, woman and child owes a great debt of thanks." Sherwood Rowland, the alarmist scientist warning of drastic ozone depletion, was chosen "because he was right. The Popular Science magazine once referred to him as `The Man Who Saved the Planet -- Maybe.' Maybe -- now the world is listening." ABC aired no criticism of Rowland's dubious assertions, as if none existed.
On June 5 of the same year, Jennings praised "the world's most tireless cheerleader for the planet," Earth Summit organizer Maurice Strong. Jennings proclaimed: "Strong warns delegates from the industrialized nations that the cost in the short term to clean up the mess we have made and change the way we do business will be much less than the price we will all pay if we don't."
Among the artists celebrated was dancer Katherine Dunham, praised on March 20, 1992 for her hunger strike protesting Bush policy toward Haitian refugees. Diane Sawyer introduced "Susan Sontag, author, essayist, theater director" on August 27, 1993. With no mention of her activist past, Sontag was commended for directing a play in war-torn Sarajevo. ABC never noted Barbara Bush's later humanitarian mission to Bosnia.
ABC also selected Inaugural poet Maya Angelou, the former adviser to Malcolm X, and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, who wrote an essay and edited a book attacking Clarence Thomas and praising Anita Hill. Activist Fran Visco was celebrated because, Sawyer reported, she "organized women to target the male-dominated government...which hasn't spent nearly as much time and money fighting breast cancer as diseases which are more deadly to men."
Also celebrated by ABC were liberal New York Times columnist Tom Wicker, and TV regulation activist Peggy Charren. Forrest Sawyer saluted former Stride Rite CEO Arnold Hiatt on May 29, 1992 for achieving success "with a conscience, unlike some of the leaders of American industry in the 1980s." ABC then showed a clip of the Gordon Gekko character in Wall Street.
ABC's Person of the Week selections still retain a liberal bias. In spite of Jennings' promises about other features, this one has remained a vehicle for celebrating liberals without the inconvenience of criticism.
