MediaWatch: October 5, 1998
Table of Contents:
That Was Then, This Is Now
FNC demonstrated again how it offers a unique perspective. On September 23 CBS and NBC relayed the Democratic strategy of blaming the GOP for dragging out the Clinton impeachment inquiry, but only FNC picked up on Democratic hypocrisy.
"Republicans take a hard line," declared NBC's Tom Brokaw on Nightly News before Gwen Ifill found that even "one Senate Republican" decided "that House Republicans are too shrill." On the CBS Evening News Dan Rather emphasized the GOP's unreasonableness: "On Capitol Hill not only did the Republican-led majority reject any punishment deal, they're even talking now of a wider, deeper, longer investigation."
Only Fox Report viewers heard a different take, as FNC's Carl Cameron observed: "For the last couple of weeks the Democrats have said Republicans are in a 'reckless rush to judgment.' Now they seem to think that the GOP is moving too slowly."
After allowing House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt to charge
that "if the Republicans don't want to drag this out we can do
it fairly and judiciously and justly in the next 30 days or
so," Cameron highlighted the Democratic change of ploys: "Quite a
contrast to recent Democratic complaints that Republicans have moved
too fast." To illustrate the point, Cameron played a clip of
Democrat John Conyers from just nine days earlier: "What is it
that we're rushing for? What are we trying to find? What
deadline have we self-imposed on each other?" Cameron observed:
"Republicans accuse the minority of trying to pick fights and
cause distractions."
