Under Schieffer CBS Maintains Hostility to Bush's SS Reform Plan --3/11/2005

1. Under Schieffer CBS Maintains Hostility to Bush's SS Reform Plan
Bob Schieffer's assumption of the anchor chair on the CBS Evening News didn't alter the program's hostility to President Bush's Social Security reform proposal. John Roberts joined Bush in a visit to Alabama where Roberts highlighted how the chief of the state's retirement system dismissed private accounts as "a dumb idea" and how a woman who voted for Bush doesn't think much of the concept. Without citing a single poll number beyond his two anecdotes, Roberts asserted: "The level of skepticism about the President's proposal in Alabama would seem remarkable. After all, he walked away with 63 percent of the vote here in November." (Over on ABC, Terry Moran noted that a Quinnipiac Poll found that 49 percent nationwide support the President's plan, suggesting a higher level in Alabama.) Schieffer pressed Roberts from the left: "All weekend the Democrats were saying if the President would just take this idea of personal savings accounts off the table, they'd be willing to sit down and talk about this. Do you think there's any chance he would do that?"

2. CBS Finally Airs Look at Chile's Success with Private Accounts
Five weeks after the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather featured a story on how Britain's decision years ago to allow private retirement investing led to "a life in poverty" for many, the very first CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer provided a balancing look at Chile's success with individual stock market investment of retirement funds. One difference in the two stories: The one on Britain was 100 percent negative whereas the largely glowing piece about Chile also included some critical comments. Back on February 2, Sheila MacVicar declared that Britain did "just like President Bush proposes" and "analysts say that was a disaster." MacVicar lectured: "At the moment when the U.S. administration says Social Security in the U.S. is broken, British pension experts say that same U.S. system may be part of the answer to their problem."

3. Schieffer Pledges to Not Take Viewers' Trust in Him for "Granted"
At the end of his first broadcast as the named anchor of the weekday CBS Evening News, Bob Schieffer pledged that his newscast will "find out what happened and tell you about it in clear and concise language." Schieffer acknowledged that "I'm not exactly a new face. Many of you have known and trusted me over the years. I take that as a high compliment, and I promise you this: I'll never take that trust for granted." Schieffer also introduced a cold open for the show, with him standing to the side of the anchor desk, followed by reporters in an inset box plugging their upcoming stories.

4. Matthews Rejects Notion Anchors Liberal, But Admits Cronkite Was
When William McGowan, author of Coloring the News, suggested the obvious on Wednesday's Hardball on MSNBC, that Dan Rather's newscast was "governed by the same liberal political orthodoxy that governs the other network anchors," Chris Matthews pounced and incessantly demanded proof: "Whoa! That was a broad brush, sir. Do you mean to tell me that, which, which anchors do you say are biased?...Which ones? Which ones are biased? Name names....Give me an example of Tom Brokaw's bias." Matthews scolded McGowan: "You just broad-brushed all network anchors as liberals." Yet, minutes later, Matthews accused Walter Cronkite of bias: "Every time he said the name Goldwater, he said it as if the guy was some sort of insect. You're not gonna tell me, Morton Dean, you must remember the way he said the word Goldwater. [inflecting voice in a disrespectful tone] 'Barry Goldwater said today,' Okay, he's a loony-toon."

5. Brown: Rather Left "More Tragic than Heroic" and That's "Wrong"
"No doubt a lot of people are celebrating" Dan Rather's "demise tonight," CNN's Aaron Brown bemoaned on Wednesday's NewsNight before making clear: "I am not one of them." Brown regretted that "Rather didn't get the victory lap that Brokaw received" and asserted that "TV writer Tim Goodman said it best today, 'Rather left more like Willie Loman,' more tragic than heroic, a bit beaten. And for someone who has done so much for so long there is something not simply sad about that but wrong."

Under Schieffer CBS Maintains Hostility
to Bush's SS Reform Plan

Bob Schieffer's assumption of the anchor chair on the CBS Evening News didn't alter the program's hostility to President Bush's Social Security reform proposal. John Roberts joined Bush in a visit to Alabama where Roberts highlighted how the chief of the state's retirement system dismissed private accounts as "a dumb idea" and how a woman who voted for Bush doesn't think much of the concept. Without citing a single poll number beyond his two anecdotes, Roberts asserted: "The level of skepticism about the President's proposal in Alabama would seem remarkable. After all, he walked away with 63 percent of the vote here in November." (Over on ABC, Terry Moran noted that a Quinnipiac Poll found that 49 percent nationwide support the President's plan, suggesting a higher level in Alabama.) Schieffer pressed Roberts from the left: "All weekend the Democrats were saying if the President would just take this idea of personal savings accounts off the table, they'd be willing to sit down and talk about this. Do you think there's any chance he would do that?"

(On the other hand, five weeks after the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather aired a story on how private retirement investing has been a disaster in Britain, Schieffer's first night as anchor featured a story on Chile's success with having citizens put their retirement into the stock market. See item #2 below.)
Schieffer announced on his inaugural March 10 broadcast: "Well, President Bush is back on the road sounding an alarm again about the financial future of Social Security, and he stepped up the pressure today on Congress to find a long-term fix."
George W. Bush: "If you see a problem, member of Congress, regardless of your party, you have an obligation to come to the table. You got an obligation to sit down and come up with a permanent solution. We don't need a band-aid solution for Social Security."

Schieffer the set up Roberts, as corrected against the closed-captioning by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth: "The President's on a two-day tour of four red states, states he won in November. But even in friendly territory, it's fair to say he's finding that his plan is going to be a hard sell. John Roberts is in Montgomery, Alabama, tonight, and he has a report for us."

Roberts began: "David Bronner knows something about retirement security. He runs Alabama's state pension, one of the most successful in the nation. His take on private accounts in Social Security?"
David Bronner, CEO of Retirement Systems of Alabama: "A dumb idea. Basically what you've got is, you're taking a program that has a problem, and you're creating your own crisis."
Roberts: "Ironically, Bronner's a fan of private investment. Putting the state's money in everything from stocks to hotels to golf courses, he grew Alabama's pension from $500 million to more than $26 billion."
Bronner, showing plans to Roberts: "Well, this is the hotel that we're building in a town called Hoover-"
Roberts: "But Bronner argues the President's proposal guts Social Security's cash flow and adds, 'individual investments are far different than what he does.' So you're saying institutional investing is one thing, personal investing is quite another."
Bronner: "Absolutely, a big difference."
Roberts: "Republicans discovered those same concerns in recent polling, and we found them at Montgomery's farmer's market café. Older Americans, like Carolyn Howton, who voted Bush, worry their children and grandchildren won't invest wisely."
Carolyn Howton, Alabama resident: "I don't think the public in general is gonna have the expertise."
Roberts: "The level of skepticism about the President's proposal in Alabama would seem remarkable. After all, he walked away with 63 percent of the vote here in November. So his visit is more than just a pep rally. He needs to convince even people who supported him that his plan is the right plan. In this state, where one in five people draw Social Security, there's almost universal agreement it needs some kind of fix, and many voters are willing to put their faith in the President. Are you in favor of the idea or are you against the idea?"
Dr. Felix Tankersley, Alabama resident: "If 'W' wants to do it, I'm sure it's correct."
Roberts countered: "But among the people President Bush must rely on to get his plan through, faith is not enough."
Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL): "I'm not convinced of any plan. I'm not convinced of the President's plan or any of the other plans."
Roberts concluded: "President Bush is doing all he can to give political cover to skeptical Republicans. But until he gives them something more to chew on than just talk about private accounts, they say they'll continue to remain on the fence. Bob?"

Schieffer, in a new format for the show in which he asks reporters a question at the end of their pieces, inquired of Roberts: "You know, John, all weekend the Democrats were saying if the President would just take this idea of personal savings accounts off the table, they'd be willing to sit down and talk about this. Do you think there's any chance he would do that?"
Roberts' answer must have disappointed Schieffer: "I don't think that the President's about to do that. One of his chief economic advisors said that private accounts are on the table and will stay on the table."

CBS Finally Airs Look at Chile's Success
with Private Accounts

Five weeks after the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather featured a story on how Britain's decision years ago to allow private retirement investing led to "a life in poverty" for many, the very first CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer provided a balancing look at Chile's success with individual stock market investment of retirement funds. One difference in the two stories: The one on Britain was 100 percent negative whereas the largely glowing piece about Chile also included some critical comments. Back on February 2, Sheila MacVicar declared that Britain did "just like President Bush proposes" and "analysts say that was a disaster." MacVicar lectured: "At the moment when the U.S. administration says Social Security in the U.S. is broken, British pension experts say that same U.S. system may be part of the answer to their problem."

MacVicar's piece was so one-sided that Dan Rather followed up by noting how Bush's plan wouldn't allow investment in individual stocks and promised a look at Chile, where supporters say "the plan works quite well," in "an upcoming broadcast."

Trish Regan's March 10 story from Chile delivered a positive assessment of that nation's experience, but she also gave time to how "critics say it's a system with serious flaws. Many of Chile's poorest workers, like this tomato farmer, told us they can't afford to put away 10 percent of their pay. Nearly half of Chile's workforce is self-employed, and many are seasonal workers who rarely declare income, pay taxes or contribute to their pensions. These people have little to retire on, other than the government's guaranteed payment of $150 a month."

-- February 2 CBS Evening News, the night of President Bush's State of the Union address.

Dan Rather, in Washington, DC: "As you know, and as President Bush will say here again tonight, he wants to privatize a portion of Social Security. That is, let workers direct some of their Social Security payroll taxes into private accounts of stocks, bonds and special Wall Street combinations. One country did just that. It's Britain. So you may want to see, well, is it working there? CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar gives you the 'Inside Story.'"
MacVicar began her dour report: "For most of Britain's retirees, there is no pension jackpot. For many, there is a life in poverty."
Woman: "Well, I blame the government for that."
MacVicar: "Twenty years ago, the British government partially privatized their pension system. It seemed like a good idea at the time, a time when the market was strong and the promise of strong returns seemed real. But only a few reaped any benefits."
Robin Ellison, National Association of Pension Funds: "I think, with hindsight, we are beginning, possibly, to regret having done it. It was a noble experiment at the time."
MacVicar misleadingly equated Britain's plan with Bush's proposal: "Just like President Bush proposes, the British government thought it could offset a lower state pension by encouraging private investment accounts. Analysts say that was a disaster -- 75 percent of those accounts will not provide adequate pensions. Pensioners' protests have laid bare the facts [video of naked men on a beach carrying a long sign that declared: "STRIPPED of our PENSIONS"]: Companies went bust; people were charged too much for financial advice; some funds promised returns they couldn't possibly deliver; and in 2000, the stock market crashed. Tens of thousands have been left with nothing."
Alan Marnes, pensioner: "It never says your pension is at risk."
MacVicar: "The company Alan Marnes worked for since the age of 15 went bankrupt, and the pension fund was used to pay those who had already retired."
Marnes: "There will not be a penny left for those of us yet to retire."
MacVicar: "And for you?"
Marnes: "Nothing. Not a brass penny is there left for me."
MacVicar: "Another key Bush proposal, just like Britain, is to link the state pension not to rising wages but price inflation, which is only a percentage point or two different. But over 20 years, that difference is compounded. Ros Altmann is an expert on pension economics and a consultant to Britain's current prime minister."
Ros Altmann, economist: "The state pension has fallen so far behind earnings that far too many of our pensioners have ended up in poverty. We now have pretty much the lowest state pension of any developed country in the world."
MacVicar: "British pensioners today collect only $580 a month from the state. Under the old rules, that same pension would be worth nearly twice that. How to fix the problem?"
Ellison: "We might want to copy the existing American system, which is a very simple Social Security pensions arrangement for most of the population."
MacVicar concluded with an indirect shot at Bush: "At the moment when the U.S. administration says Social Security in the U.S. is broken, British pension experts say that same U.S. system may be part of the answer to their problem. Sheila MacVicar, CBS News, London."

Even Rather realized MacVicar's equating Britain's plan with Bush's ideas was a distortion: "Now, to try to avoid what happened in Britain, President Bush would limit the options of workers participating in private Social Security accounts. They'd have to choose from a small number of what are called relatively low-risk investments. In South America, Chile also has private retirement accounts for workers, and supporters there say the plan works quite well there. We will be reporting on that in an upcoming broadcast."

-- March 10 CBS Evening News. Not until after Rather's departure did CBS get around to the Chile story. Bob Schieffer set it up: "As you know, President Bush's plan for overhauling Social Security would allow workers to invest some of their payroll taxes in the stock market. The South American nation of Chile already has a similar plan. Our CBS News correspondent Trish Regan went down there to find out how it's working. She has the 'Inside Story.'"
Regan began from Chile as matched against the closed-captioning by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth: "Here in the heart of the Andes Mountains is an example of a fully privatized social security system. Forty-eight-year-old Hector Espinoza is one of the 3.6 million Chileans with a private retirement account. What is the biggest benefit of it?"
Hector Espinoza, Chile resident: "I have the chance to control my retirement."
Regan: "In 1980, Chile's traditional pay-as-you-go social security system was about to go under. In response, the government created a program that required workers to save for their own retirement through private investment accounts. Ten percent of every paycheck must now be deposited into an individual account, an AFP, as it's known in Spanish. Workers have to pay an additional percentage [2.3%] of their wages to cover administrative costs, health and disability insurance. The money in the account grows tax-free until the worker retires. With annual returns topping 10 percent since the program began, advocates of privatization deem Chile a success story. Nearly $60 billion worth of retirement assets have been put to work right here in the Chilean stock market. Supporters of the private accounts say all this investment in local companies has helped fuel an unprecedented economic boom. Chile's former Labor Secretary, Jose Pinera, designed the program."
Jose Pinera, former Chilean Labor Secretary: "I believe it gives people ownership, freedom, choice. I believe it is such an American system."
Regan: "But critics say it's a system with serious flaws. Many of Chile's poorest workers, like this tomato farmer, told us they can't afford to put away 10 percent of their pay. Nearly half of Chile's workforce is self-employed, and many are seasonal workers who rarely declare income, pay taxes or contribute to their pensions. These people have little to retire on, other than the government's guaranteed payment of $150 a month. Still, most of the people who consistently contribute to their accounts, like Hector Espinoza, say the system works."
Espinoza: "I hope to put more money in the system in order to obtain a better pension."
Regan concluded on an upbeat note: "But that pension depends on the Chilean markets sustaining their impressive returns. Still, Hector says, the risk is worth it because for him and millions of Chileans like him, ownership of a retirement account means ownership of their future. Trish Regan, CBS News, Santiago, Chile."

Schieffer Pledges to Not Take Viewers'
Trust in Him for "Granted"

At the end of his first broadcast as the named anchor of the weekday CBS Evening News, Bob Schieffer pledged that his newscast will "find out what happened and tell you about it in clear and concise language." Schieffer acknowledged that "I'm not exactly a new face. Many of you have known and trusted me over the years. I take that as a high compliment, and I promise you this: I'll never take that trust for granted." Schieffer also introduced a cold open for the show, with him standing to the side of the anchor desk, followed by reporters in an inset box plugging their upcoming stories.

At the conclusion of the March 10 CBS Evening News, Schieffer offered these comments:
"Finally tonight, as we begin this new chapter at CBS News, only a very few people have held this job, among them Walter Cronkite, who was my hero when I was a young reporter, and Dan Rather, my friend for 40 years. It's an honor to be asked to follow them. Dan will be remembered for the remarkable body of work he's compiled over four decades, but I'll remember him for his love of the news and the fierce determination and courage to go wherever the news was breaking. I wish him the very best.
"This is a daunting assignment, but I accept it because we have a proud tradition here and a terrific news team. My friend, the great Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, was asked the other day what his mind-set was when he and his partner, Carl Bernstein, embarked on covering that important story. Woodward said, 'We didn't have an agenda and we didn't know how it would end. We were just trying to find out what happened.' That's what we'll try to do: Find out what happened and tell you about it in clear and concise language. If we do that, and do it well, you'll take it from there. I'm not exactly a new face. Many of you have known and trusted me over the years. I take that as a high compliment, and I promise you this: I'll never take that trust for granted. That's the news. I'm Bob Schieffer. See you here tomorrow."

Matthews Rejects Notion Anchors Liberal,
But Admits Cronkite Was

When William McGowan, author of Coloring the News, suggested the obvious on Wednesday's Hardball on MSNBC, that Dan Rather's newscast was "governed by the same liberal political orthodoxy that governs the other network anchors," Chris Matthews pounced and incessantly demanded proof: "Whoa! That was a broad brush, sir. Do you mean to tell me that, which, which anchors do you say are biased?...Which ones? Which ones are biased? Name names....Give me an example of Tom Brokaw's bias." Matthews scolded McGowan: "You just broad-brushed all network anchors as liberals." Yet, minutes later, Matthews accused Walter Cronkite of bias: "Every time he said the name Goldwater, he said it as if the guy was some sort of insect. You're not gonna tell me, Morton Dean, you must remember the way he said the word Goldwater. [inflecting voice in a disrespectful tone] 'Barry Goldwater said today,' Okay, he's a loony-toon."

The MRC's Geoff Dickens collected some of the lowlights from the March 9 Hardball on which former ABC and CBS reporter Morton Dean rejected any notion that Dan Rather had a liberal bias.

-- Matthews' introduction: "Tonight, Dan Rather gives up the chair; 24 years to the day he took over as the anchor of the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather signs off. Was America's longest-running anchor a victim of conservative hatred or was he a biased liberal? Let's play Hardball."

-- Matthews: "We've got to go to the veteran right now, Morton Dean. Take a look at Rather's career. We had a brief summary there. Was he a liberal posing as a journalist or was he a journalist doing his job?"
Morton Dean: "I think he was a journalist doing his job, although I'd summarize what happened tonight with respect to Neil Armstrong by saying, one small step for CBS News, one giant leap for Rather's conservative critics. It's a big night for the conservatives."

-- Matthews, summarizing what guest Byron York of the National Review had just expressed: "Your thoughts on the charge that Dan Rather has been liberal all his career and he simply went down trying to get a Bush?"
William McGowan, author of Coloring the News, via satellite: "Well, I think Dan Rather is liberal. I think he, his newscasts and, and his journalism is governed by the same liberal political orthodoxy that governs the other network anchors in their broadcasts as well. I don't see why..."
Matthews: "Whoa! That was a broad brush, sir. Do you mean to tell me that, which, which anchors do you say are biased?"
McGowan: "Well, I would say that the problem of bias is something that also happens at other networks as well at ABC and NBC."
Matthews: "No, you said other anchors are biased. Which ones? Which ones are biased? Name names."
McGowan: "I don't think, I mean I think, when you look at, when you look at Brokaw's and you look at Jennings' broadcasts, I don't think you see any more or any less political bias than you see of Rather's. So that's my point."
Matthews: "Give me an example of Tom Brokaw's bias."
McGowan: "Well, I think some of the stuff that NBC News did that I documented in my book on gays in the military, on the abortion issue."
Matthews: "Well, how was it biased?"
McGowan: "Well, I think they gave, they gave the liberal political side and they didn't give the conservative side very, very much truck."
Matthews: "So, they came out against, or came out for gays in the military on NBC Nightly News?"
McGowan: "You know it's hard to, it's hard to say it's that clear-cut. It's more that they just haven't given a fair and balanced perspective on it."
Matthews: "You sound clear-cut. Well, Bill, you sound clear-cut as hell. You just broad-brushed all network anchors as liberals."
McGowan: "I didn't broad-brush them as liberals. I say they have the problem of liberal political orthodoxy governing their broadcasts."
Matthews: "Well, what's the difference between what I, you said in a long length and, what I said quickly, you said the first time quickly?"
McGowan: "I don't think you can line them up as, as you know political liberals and, or conservatives, but I think you can look at, over time, the influence is definitely there."
Matthews snottily lectured: "Well, that's three versions you've given us. First of all, they were governed by orthodoxy. The other is, they're all liberals. And now it's this new paradigm you're throwing at us. Do you believe that all the network anchors today are liberals?"
McGowan: "I don't think I would go that far as to say they're liberals. I would say that they are liberal-minded. And the problem with their broadcasts, which is really where the rubber meets the road is that there's a, a surfeit of liberal political orthodoxy without balance from the other side."
Matthews: "Morton Dean, do you accept any part of that?"
Morton Dean, also from a remote location: "Well, I really don't. And let me put it this way. I have worked as a network journalist at CBS and ABC for about 40 years. And perhaps you guys won't believe this, but I never once was told by anyone, including the anchor people, and I had many arguments with both of those anchor people, never once was I told how to cover a story."

-- Matthews: "Let me go to Morton Dean. Let me ask you about, you know, Walter Cronkite, I had him on years after he retired. And he said, 'Alright, I`m a liberal.' Now, my brother, who is a very conservative guy, he's Herb, he says, 'You know, I like Cronkite. He's the best newsman. I don't care if he is a liberal. I still think he's the best news reporter.' Do you think the public should be more sophisticated and accept the fact that everybody who votes does have some predilection politically? And everybody, we hope, don't we hope that our news people care about what's going on in the country and have some sort of position, even if they don`t express it?"
Dean: "Yeah, I think that anchors ought to be passionate about the issues they, they cover. I mean, how can you be dispassionate about covering stories dealing with the impoverished and the homeless?"
Matthews: "Right."
Dean: "You'd have to be unfeeling not to."
Matthews: "Well, that's a point of view, though. I'm sure there are some people that don't have that point of view, that say, you know, 'Sink or swim, buddy.' That's another point of view about the poverty-stricken. I mean, I agree. But you're saying it's okay to have that sort of Edward R. Murrow sensitivity about injustice."
Dean: "I absolutely agree with that. But that doesn't mean that one has to wear his political or her political feelings on his or her sleeve."

-- Matthews: "Can we be straight about Cronkite? I know he's God, and I watched him all that, I loved him and Severeid. But, you know, every time he said the name Goldwater, he said it as if the guy was some sort of insect. You're not gonna tell me, Morton Dean, you must remember the way he said the word Goldwater. [inflecting voice in a disrespectful tone] 'Barry Goldwater said today,' Okay, he's a loony-toon. You know he didn't say that about, [inflecting voice in serious tone.] 'President Lyndon Johnson said today.' It's, 'Barry Goldwater said.'"

-- Ending the session, Matthews got in one last shot at McGowan: "Bill McGowan, it was good to play hardball with you. Thank you very much, Bill. Please come back. Still ahead...I want the, I want the whole list, by the way, of the liberals."

Brown: Rather Left "More Tragic than
Heroic" and That's "Wrong"

"No doubt a lot of people are celebrating" Dan Rather's "demise tonight," CNN's Aaron Brown bemoaned on Wednesday's NewsNight before making clear: "I am not one of them." Brown regretted that "Rather didn't get the victory lap that Brokaw received" and asserted that "TV writer Tim Goodman said it best today, 'Rather left more like Willie Loman,' more tragic than heroic, a bit beaten. And for someone who has done so much for so long there is something not simply sad about that but wrong."

For Goodman's March 9 San Francisco Chronicle column: www.sfgate.com [1]

Brown, the MRC's Ken Shepherd noticed, set up a March 9 NewsNight look at Rather's departure from the anchor chair earlier that night: "Dan Rather ended his run as the anchor of the CBS Evening News tonight. The end, as was often the case in his long career, was rich in controversy. No doubt a lot of people are celebrating his demise tonight. I am not one of them. To me he was gracious and helpful and I am grateful for that. And to me he deserved a better end than the one he received.
Dan Rather: "We've shared a lot in the 24 years we've been meeting here each evening."
Brown: "The goodbye was gracious and not without a bit of the quirkiness that in part defined an extraordinary career."

Brown soon noted: "While not one to publicly complain, these last few weeks must have been hard on Rather, forced to leave a job he dearly loved, down and kicked around, not just by his long time critics but by long time colleagues."

After clips of Cronkite asserting that Rather should have been replaced much earlier, Brown fretted: "By reasons of both circumstance and perhaps personality, Rather didn't get the victory lap that Brokaw received. TV writer Tim Goodman said it best today. 'Rather left more like Willie Loman,' more tragic than heroic, a bit beaten. And for someone who has done so much for so long there is something not simply sad about that but wrong."

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