MediaWatch: July 1996
Table of Contents:
Slow Out of the Gate on Filegate
After some initial reluctance, the networks eventually picked up the news that the White House had improperly obtained FBI files. But instead of launching their own investigations, they selectively ran revelations uncovered by others.
The White House admitted on June 7 collecting FBI reports on 338 GOP officials. ABC, CBS and CNN failed to mention the revelation that night. NBC's Tom Brokaw did a brief item. ABC aired its first story the next day after Bob Dole raised the Watergate comparison. Over on NBC, anchor Brian Williams painted Dole as the bad guy: "The politics of Campaign '96 are getting very ugly, very early. Today, Bob Dole accused the White House of using the FBI to wage war against its political enemies."
Three days later only ABC reported that FBI procdures were violated and the next day, June 12, ABC and NBC didn't bother noting that President Clinton apologized. On June 13 the networks were silent though the Senate announced hearings would be held, the FBI began an overhaul of procedures, and the New York Post reported that Anthony Marceca, who got the files, had ties to Democratic politicians.
On June 14 FBI Director Louis Freeh charged the White House with "egregious violations of privacy." All four did stories, but the day after this critical report that contradict-ed the White House claims, only CBS touched the subject.
"There's no question that the press initially blew this story," Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz declared on the June 16 Fox News Sunday. Why? There was a "feeling that...a political snooping operation was not the kind of thing they expected from the Clinton White House, whereas if hundreds of files had been obtained by Ed Meese in the Reagan administration on Democrats, I think this story would have rocketed to the front page." But that failed to prod his colleagues. No network noted that day's Washington Post report that, in contradiction to White House claims, the Secret Service said they did not produce the list.
Instead, CBS painted the Clintons as victims. When the Senate issued its June 18 report on its Travel Office investigation, Dan Rather intoned: "The more than year-long investigation ended almost the way it began: A Republican offensive targeted First Lady Hillary Clinton. Democrats claim that it's an all-out election-year political smear-attack." Weeks later abuses of pow-er still failed to raise concern. The July 6 Los Angeles Times reported that Marceca "learn-ed from his own background file the names of two women who made critical comments about him to the FBI. After seeing the file, Marceca sued the two women for defamation." Network coverage? Zilch.
