MediaWatch: January 11, 1999
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: January 11, 1999
- Moral Equivalence on "Men of the Year"
- NewsBites
- Networks on China: Still Soft on Defense
- Hillary's Holiday Halo
- Let's Avoid Impeachment
- Baldwin Wanted Hyde Stoned?
Networks on China: Still Soft on Defense
Bipartisan House Report on Missilegate Gets Just Seconds
After months of media groaning about the lack of bipartisanship in the impeachment debate, on December 30 a special select House committee of five Republicans and four Democrats released a unanimous report which concluded that U.S. technology deals with China over the last 20 years have boosted the accuracy of their missiles and harmed America’s national security.
Of the broadcast networks, only CBS considered it worth a full story. ABC’s World News Tonight gave it a piddling 22 seconds and NBC Nightly News allocated 26. FNC and CNN also provided full stories, but only FNC reminded viewers that Loral’s Chairman donated $100,000 to Democrats just before his company earned a technology transfer waiver.
The next morning, ABC and NBC aired even less, although the December 31 New York Times advanced the story by revealing the panel found China had stolen military-related American technology from American nuclear labs. NBC’s Today aired nothing while ABC’s Good Morning America allowed 17 seconds in the 8am newscast.
It wasn’t just the official House probe that the networks ignored. New York Times reporter Jeff Gerth continued to plug away with front-page dispatches on the Missilegate front:
December 9: Gerth relayed: "A secret Pentagon report
concludes that Hughes Space and Communications, without proper
authorization, gave China technological insights that are
crucial to the successful launchings of satellites and
ballistic missiles." Network coverage: zero.
December 15: Gerth, David Johnston, and Don Van Natta
presented an overview: "Federal authorities have unearthed new
evidence that Beijing’s efforts were part of a broader campaign
to obtain access to high technology," contradicting the
earlier view that donations were meant to swing specific
elections. "Investigators now believe contributions were
intended to enhance the political standing of those passing
along the contributions to Democratic causes, to give them clout
in arguing for favorable policies on trade and technology." Network
coverage: zero.
December 24: Gerth revealed CIA officers in China "told
headquarters in March 1996 that a consultant who worked for
American aerospace companies had made payments to Chinese
officials in hopes of getting lucrative contracts...The cable
languished in CIA files for more than two years." The
consultant, Bansang Lee, was a Chinese-American who worked for
both Hughes and Loral. Network coverage? Zero.
