MediaWatch: November 16, 1998
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: November 16, 1998
- Was 1998 "The Year of the Moderate?"
- NewsBites
- Stamping Dirt Down on Newt's Grave
- ABC's Quiet on Quotas
- Silently Playing the Race Card
Silently Playing the Race Card
The ads run by the GOP in the waning days of the campaign created a fuss among some in the media, complaining about too much negativity and too much Monica. But when the Missouri Democratic Party targeted blacks with a race-baiting ad in the St. Louis area, it only made it into the national spotlight on Fox News Sunday and FNC’s Fox Report.
Running on local black radio stations, the ad tried to scare minority voters to the polls: "When you don’t vote, you let another church explode. When you don’t vote, you allow another cross to burn. When you don’t vote, you let another assault wound a brother or sister. When you don’t vote, you let the Republicans continue to cut school lunches and Head Start." Despite such inflammatory tactics, the ad didn’t make a single ripple among other news shows. But Tony Snow on the November 1 Fox News Sunday challenged guest Rep. Barney Frank about the appropriateness of the ads: "Congressman, the President said that one of the hallmarks he wants to make is in civil rights, and I know that you’ve been actively involved in a number of civil rights issues. What I want to do is to play for you an ad that’s been running in the St. Louis area, and there are also some counterparts around the country, and I want to get your reaction to it ....Congressman, is that fair play?" Snow again brought up the ad in a segment with guest Paul Begala, a presidential counselor: "Is it part of the Democratic strategy to scare black voters into going to the polls?"
During the show’s final roundtable discussion, Snow asked Juan Williams of The Washington Post what he thought about the ad, and Williams responded by calling it "scandalous," "incendiary," and "patronizing" to black voters.
The day before the election, Jim Angle’s piece on FNC’s Fox Report about President Clinton’s efforts to get out the black vote included White House accusations of Republicans trying to intimidate black voters. After clips from White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart and President Clinton making this claim, Angle turned to RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson for a response: "Nicholson pointed to Democratic ads that he said equate voting Republican with racism, such as this radio ad from the Missouri Democratic Party."
Silently Playing the Race Ca
