MediaWatch: January 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: January 1994
- Conscientious Objectors to Trooper Allegations Jumped on Tower
- NewsBites: Bryant Confesses
- Revolving Door: Talbott Promoted at State
- Friend of Bill Takes Over at ABC
- Fascists, Communists on "Right"
- Boxing Helen Thomas
- TV Truth Squads Take the Day Off
- Janet Cooke Award: Newsweek Celebrates 60th Anniversary with Mostly Liberal Historical Essay
TV Truth Squads Take the Day Off
Entitled to Errors
"When President Clinton opened a day-long seminar on entitlement spending yesterday in Pennsylvania, he painted a somewhat distorted picture of trends in federal taxation, poverty, and his own deficit-reduction program...the President made statements that did not always match available statistics," reported Major Garrett in the December 14 Washington Times.
For example, Garrett wrote: "He [Clinton] said there had been `30 years of family [income] decline concentrated heavily among the poor.'" Census Bureau figures show median family income grew by one-half of 1 percent from 1970 to 1991, with the highest and steadiest period of income growth for all families occurring from 1983 to 1989. Garrett further reported: "The President touted cuts in entitlement spending for farm subsidies, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits." Garrett noted however that while the Clinton budget does include reductions in the growth of entitlement programs, in actuality, entitlement spending is projected to increase from $764 billion in 1993 to $1.3 trillion by 1998. So how did the networks and papers, which all covered the Pennsylvania conference and all regularly focused on Reagan's gaffes, react? They didn't.
In fact, only ABC's Brit Hume on the December 13 World News Tonight pointed out the contradiction in Clinton addressing an entitlement-reduction conference when "Clinton has, by his health care plan, proposed one of the biggest expansions of federal entitlement benefits in recent history." The fact checkers in the media obviously have a different set of standards for their fellow liberals.
