Arlington Cemetery Media Frenzy?
"Republicans
succeeded in spreading this despicable lie because the press is
as addicted to scandal as they are."
- Time columnist
Margaret Carlson's "Outrage of the Week" on CNN's
Capital Gang, Nov. 22.
"There's been
considerable publicity lately about accusations that President
Clinton quote, 'perhaps provided burial space at Arlington
National Cemetery to major campaign donors,' unquote. Spokesmen
for President Clinton flatly and unequivocally denied this today
to CBS News and they called it 'a deliberate political smear,'
unquote."
- CBS anchor Dan Rather with the totality of
broadcast network evening show time devoted to the Arlington
story, 17 seconds on the November 21 Evening News.
Defend Yourself, Black Conservative Race Traitor
"Do you never feel like you're being used by white conservatives to lead this thing, that you're the cat's paw?"
"One of your critics says: 'For someone to stand within the ranks and say 'I'm not black,' but use it to destroy his own people, that's the kind we label a traitor.' That's how you're perceived by many people in the black community. 'I'm not black,' says Ward Connerly."
"I
get the feeling that you're looking at things through
rose-colored glasses. I can see black folks across the
country look at him now and saying [sic] what world does
this Connerly guy think we're living in?'"
- Some of
60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace's questions to Ward
Connerly, lead spokesman for California's Proposition 209
outlawing racial preferences in state government, November
9.
Racism on the Decline? Ha!
"You talked
about the responsibility of being an African-American woman,
and being descendents of slaves. Conservatives are quick to
point to you, and people like you...as an indication that
ours is a colorblind society. Where do you come down on what
is now the popular whipping boy in politics, affirmative
action?"
- CBS Public Eye host Bryant Gumbel to Oprah
Winfrey, November 19.
"If being
racist is no longer acceptable, then how come the schools
are in such bad shape, and black kids don't get a good
education still and the criminal justice system is filled
with young black men?"
- National Public Radio White
House correspondent Mara Liasson on Fox News Sunday,
November 2.
Today: Only Tough on Authors Who Attack Liberal Heroes
"Best-selling
author Kitty Kelley has proven both her courage and her
credibility with her no-holds-barred biographies of Frank
Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Now she's out with her most difficult and explosive book
yet. Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography goes on sale
this morning, and already people are running for cover,
issuing denials from all around the nation....This book
paints a picture of a totally unethical, scheming social
climber who lied and faked her way through life. Is that the
picture you set out to create?"
- Then-Today co-host
Bryant Gumbel beginning a three-day interview with Kitty
Kelley, April 8, 1991.
vs.
"The book, The
Dark Side of Camelot, is out today, but the controversy
began earlier this fall when a collection of Hersh's source
documents on some of the most titillating topics proved to
be fakes. Seymour Hersh, good morning...You handle the
legacy of JFK with about as much tenderness as a
steamroller. What was your goal with the book?"
-
Today co-host Matt Lauer beginning a two-day interview with
Seymour Hersh, November 10, 1997.
What Coffee Tapes Prove: Clinton Combines Best of Carter, Reagan
"Flattering
fat cats with backstage gossip about world affairs, modestly
describing how he tutored Arab leaders on Middle East
diplomacy, mournfully confessing the sins of his opponents,
striving to dip into the heart of every last soul he meets,
Clinton emerges as a consummate persuader, a missionary for
his own creed who combines Jimmy Carter's encyclopedic
mastery of issues with Ronald Reagan's instinct for
translating them into homey words."
- Los Angeles
Times staff reporter Richard T. Cooper in an October 18
front-page news story describing what's on the coffee tapes.
Open-Minded Time?
"I don't think
there's a bias in the media now the way there used to
be....I know that at Time, we're pretty careful to make sure
everybody's open-minded, that you're not bringing a
political bias to this....I think that our newsroom at Time
and the people who write there are open-minded and not
Democrats and liberals as the popular perception is."
- Time Managing Editor Walter Isaacson responding to a Fox
News poll showing "bias" led the list (with 44
percent) of what the people surveyed believed was the
media's "worst problem," November 9 Fox News
Sunday.
Reality Check:
"The noises coming from [Rep. Sonny] Bono and many of
his fellow Republican signers of House Speaker Newt
Gingrich's 'Contract with America' signal a radical shift in
Congress' attitude toward environmental issues - a shift
that may bode ill for the health of snail darters, spotted
owls, and even the human species."
- Time reporter
Dick Thompson in a February 27, 1995 story headlined
"Congressional Chain-Saw Massacre: If Speaker Newt
Gingrich gets his way, the laws protecting air, water and
wildlife may be endangered."
Global Warming: 1840 or 1940?
"Scientists delving through 400 years worth of arctic
ice and mud have unearthed more evidence pointing to a
probable human link to this century's higher
temperatures."
- Washington Post reporter Joby
Warrick's lead in a November 14 article headlined
"Arctic Implicates Humans in Warming."
vs.
"An
unprecedented warming in the arctic climate, widely blamed
on 20th century industrial pollution, actually began in 1840
as a result of natural factors, scientists reported
yesterday."
- Toledo Blade reporter Michael Woods
opening a story carried by the Washington Times headlined
"Global Warming is Nothing New, Detailed New Study of
Arctic Finds," same day.
Conservatives Like Excluding Blacks from College
"Did anyone
really expect President Clinton to appoint an attorney
general for civil rights who agrees with Senator Orrin Hatch
on the subject, or to appoint someone who is happy that no
blacks were admitted to the University of California? If
Hatch won't let [NAACP activist] Bill Lann Lee get to the
floor...Clinton should use a recess appointment."
-
Time columnist Margaret Carlson on CNN's Capital Gang,
November 15.
Che Guevara: Bigger Than Jesus
"He's
simultaneously endowed with the humility of an everyman and
the larger-than-life presence of a hero...In the
proliferation of his image since his death (he'd be 69
today), he's remained an ever-youthful demi-god. Chesucristo,
superstar."
- Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher
Knight, October 18.
Conservative Views: The "Price" of Freedom of Speech
"For now,
Jacoby's columns about homosexuality will be judged case by
case. Was his column on Oct. 23 offensive? Yes. Should it
have been published? Yes. But it's a high price to pay for
freedom of the press."
- Boston Globe Ombudsman Jack
Thomas concluding a column condemning conservative Jeff
Jacoby's column on liberal gay intolerance for
conservatives, November 3.
L.
Brent Bozell III,
Publisher
Brent H. Baker, Tim Graham; Editors
Eric Darbe, Geoffrey Dickens, Gene Eliasen,
Steve Kaminski, Clay Waters; Media Analysts
Kristina Sewell, Research Associate
Carey Evans, Circulation Director
Rebecca Hinnershitz; Karen Sanjines; Intern