MediaWatch: June 1, 1998
Table of Contents:
NewsBites: The Alexis Nexus
The Alexis Nexus. Before she was confirmed as Labor
Secretary, Alexis Herman figured in several Clinton scandals,
including Ron Brown's use of Commerce Department trade missions
as fundraisers, and the White House's possible funneling of
campaign donations to allegedly "nonpartisan" tax-exempt voter
registration groups.
But when Attorney General Janet Reno
requested an independent counsel on May 11 for charges that
Herman accepted cash for influence as White House Liaison, it
attracted the same TV news buzz as other Cabinet probes: almost
nothing. The decision drew a lead story from ABC's World News Tonight
(where investigative ace Brian Ross first broke the story in
January.) As with Ross's scoop in January, the competition
balked: CBS gave it 26 seconds, NBC 18. CBS and NBC have yet to offer a
full evening story on Herman's scandal.
Thirty minutes before the new probe was announced, CNN's Inside Politics
was already piling on doubts. Anchor Judy Woodruff began: "At a
time when many Americans are uneasy about the work of independent
counsels, and the Clinton administration is downright fed up,
another counsel appointment may be in the offing." Woodruff's
second story asked how much the counsels have cost. The next
day, all three TV morning shows offered stories, but only ABC's
Good Morning America had an interview segment. Host
Kevin Newman asked legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin: "How much is
this going to cost?"
Arafat Allies. The Clinton
administration gave Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
an ultimatum: cede 13.1% more of the West Bank to Yassir Arafat
and the Palestinians, or the U.S. will stop acting as
facilitator in the peace talks, thus setting Israel up as an
obstacle to peace if they didn't accept the loss of territory. The media
followed that lead, painting Netanyahu as the stumbling block,
while ignoring Arafat's flaunting of the Oslo Peace Accords as
well as other Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Between May 4 and May 21, the big three networks and CNN made 15
mentions of the administration's ultimatum, but only Mike Lee of ABC
News noted what Netanyahu pointed out on his U.S. trip: Israel
had given up 27 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians
already. As Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer noted,
Albright's 13.1 percent figure was based not on careful
consideration but to indulge a whim of Palestinian leader
Arafat: "It was picked because Arafat already had 26.9 percent
of the territories, and 13.1 would produce a nice round number:
40.0." The only hint that Palestinians might have to make
concessions of its own was a vague comment from ABC's Gillian
Findlay suggesting that Palestinians would have to "offer
tougher security."
ABC's David Ensor committed this bizarre
analysis May 13: "Albright today will try one more time to
convince him [Netanyahu] that nonetheless, unless he's willing
to make sacrifices for peace, his country will never be
secure." As if Israel's people and soldiers who have died by
the thousands in terrorist bombings and attacks, have never
"sacrificed" trying to keep peace in Israel.
The Gail Gaffe. On ABC's World News Tonight
May 14, anchor Peter Jennings assured viewers: "Whenever the President
travels we watch him like a hawk." Really? Jennings was
introducing video showing Clinton having trouble maneuvering
because of a bad back, but ABC skipped video they surely would
have highlighted if it involved Dan Quayle.
At a
ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift Clinton
praised "the countless acts of individual kindness, like Gail
Halvorsen, the famous Rosinenbomber, who dropped tiny
parachutes of candy to Berlin's children. She is here with us
today, and I'd like to ask her to stand." He stood.
None of the broadcast networks or CNN touched it, not even CNN's Inside Politics. FNC's Brit Hume highlighted it at the end of his show. Two days later on the CBS show Saturday Morning,
Mark Knoller showed the flub, but blamed Halvorsen's mother:
"It's probably not the first time that a man named Gail has had
this happen to him." Co-host Russ Mitchell chimed in: "Those
things happen, Mark."
