MediaWatch: January 1997
Table of Contents:
Illegal Taping of GOP
Nothing So Good as Nailing Newt
On December 26 the Democratic National Committee released a big pile of embarrassing documents on their fund-raising activities, but two networks ignored it. Weeks later, when Democrats passed along a tape of a cellular phone call among top House Republicans, the networks worried it would divert attention from Newt Gingrich.
The fundraising papers showed how foreign donors got special access to the White House and the President. The New York Times ran a big piece on the December 27 front page. The December 26 CBS Evening News led with the revelations and followed up with another story the next night. But neither ABC's World News Tonight nor the NBC Nightly News uttered a word either night.
ABC did run a story December 27 on Gingrich losing support. John Cochran concluded: "Gingrich is fortunate that his troubles have come over the holidays when most Americans aren't paying much attention." But ABC wasn't paying attention to Clinton.
Examining the DNC papers in a front page USA Today story on December 30, reporter Tom Squitieri relayed how the Democrats planned to respond if questions arose about coordination of DNC, White House and Clinton-Gore campaign fundraising: "Those caught in scandals were advised `don't lie' in one DNC memo. Next they were to `announce an internal investigation, independent investigation or white paper to examine the matter' in order to buy time. Finally, they were to `impugn the source,' the DNC advised." Network coverage of this cynical plan? Zilch.
The January 10 New York Times ran a transcript of a cellular phone conversation they got from a Democrat, later identified as U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.). But exploring this unethical and illegal leak didn't excite reporters. Dan Rather stuck to Gingrich that night, insisting that what was said on the tape "raises a whole new ethics question about Speaker Gingrich."
He kept that spin Jan. 13: "Now there's an added ethics allegation based on what Gingrich said, in what he thought was a secret telephone call, which Democrats say is proof that Gingrich violated a promise to the House ethics committee not to mount a political damage control effort. But Republicans tried to shift the focus today away from what Gingrich actually said."
The next night, CBS reporter Wyatt Andrews concluded by noting how those who recorded the call "could be charged with a crime. Congressman James McDermott, who leaked the tape, could be charged with a crime and ironically, in the ways of Washington, mini-tapegate has for five days sidetracked substantive ethics charges against the Speaker of the House."
