Media Coverage of the Parties and Candidates

FNC Reported "Rats" Story — On August 28
Read the exchange about the "subliminal" ad taped way back in August on FNC’s Special Report With Brit Hume.

CNN, FNC Report on Vanity Fair’s Dyslexic Bush Story
The broadcast networks refrained from reporting on the latest Gail Sheehy hit piece, but not so cable news – though they approached the "story" from very different angles.

Andrea Mitchell Invents Willie Horton II
Wrapping up her MSNBC Mitchell Report, Andrea Mitchell did her level best to tie George W. Bush’s ad men to those who created the anti-Dukakis Willie Horton ad twenty years ago

Gumbel Thinks Rats Worse than Nuclear Annihilation
What else can Early Show viewers conclude when, commenting on the ad in which the word "rats" flashes on screen for 1/30th of a second, co-host Bryant Gumbel asserted Republicans "have struck a new low" in campaign advertising when, in 1964, Democrat Lyndon Johnson ran an ad featuring the explosion of a nuclear bomb to suggest if his Republican opponent were elected, life on Earth would cease to exist?

GMA on Gore vs. GMA on Bush
Compare the treatment (never mind the frequency of appearances) the Democrat and Republican Presidential candidates received at the hands of ABC’s Good Morning America.

Different Angle on Gore and Hollywood
FNC’s Jim Angle alone reminded viewers that a 1999 newspaper story disclosed "that Gore initially distanced himself from the study, telling potential Hollywood donors that he had nothing to do with it."

CBS Gives Bush New Slogan
On the CBS Evening News, Bill Whitaker reported "The new Bush slogan is ‘Real Plans for Real People,’ but it could be ‘Less is More.’"

Oprah’s Wet Kiss
Monday’s show marked the first time Oprah Winfrey featured a presidential candidate, and Gore couldn’t have dreamed of a more adoring audience or host.

NBC Blames Republicans for Wen Ho Lee Fiasco
Ignoring that there was a Democratic Energy Secretary and a Democratic Department of Justice, on NBC Nightly News Andrea Mitchell identified the source of the trouble as "Republicans demanding action."

Major League "Week In Review"
In a Sunday New York Times "Week In Review" piece, Adam Clymer (of "major league ass***" fame) accidentally outed himself.

Cheney is Carlson’s "Outrage Of the Week"
Time columnist and reporter Margaret Carlson took Dick Cheney to task on CNN’s Capital Gang over his former employer’s toilets.

Best Line of the Weekend Shows
... goes to syndicated columnist Cal Thomas on FNC’s NewsWatch for what George W. Bush should have said when asked to apologize.

NYT’s Clymer Speaks
The New York Times’ Adam Clymer appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources over the weekend, revealing to viewers how he’d cover, which he "obviously can’t," the flap in which he’s a major league player.

Labeling: "Prominent" vs. "Superstar"
Compare the labels The New York Times applied to elder statesmen surrounding the Republican and Democratic presidential tickets.

Gore Surge or Dead Heat?
ABC, CBS and NBC all focused on conservative critiques of the Bush campaign, but limited them to the debate over debates, rather than the concern that Bush’s failure to take on Gore’s massive social spending plans may be at fault.

Myers Reports Gore Kisses and Hugs Get Women’s Vote
In a report Thursday night, NBC’s Lisa Myers interview middle-aged California women and found that at least some put emotion and gimmicks ahead of substance and policy in deciding whom to support.

FNC Reports NYT Had to Correct Clymer’s Cheney Hit Piece
The New York Times reporter who Hillary Clinton says "is a superb, fair-minded reporter" but whom Bush called a "major league ass****" for his bias, was the subject of a Special Report with Brit Hume segment that appears to support Bush’s claims.

Rather Skips Pro-Tax Cut Arguments
As usual, CBS’s Dan Rather relayed the liberal anti-tax cut spin without so much as a nod to the other side of the debate, this time in a story on inheritance taxes.

Only ABC Reports Gore Plan Swallows Surplus
While NBC stuck to analyzing the politics of spending proposals, ABC’s Terry Moran reported that a Senate Budget Committee review of Gore’s spending proposals will consume the surplus and then some.

Dan Can’t Say "Debate"
Wednesday night, CBS’s Dan Rather found a new way to promulgate the theory that Bush is "afraid to debate" by casting the Bush proposal as calling for "joint appearances," rather than debates, with Gore.

Bush, Gore on Morning Shows
In a surprise move, CBS’s Bryant Gumbel actually posed one question from the right to Al Gore.

MRC Says Bush Right On Clymer
... and proves that even liberals agree. Check the Sept.5 Campaign 2000 Media Reality Check.

Nets Scold Bush for Open Mike Comment
Monday night, ABC, CBS, NBC pounced on Bush for using profanity to characterize New York Times reporter Adam Clymer whose reportage Bush felt was biased, made when he thought the microphone was off and that his remarks were being made privately to his running mate.

Borger Red-Faced on Face The Nation
Substitute host Gloria Borger embarrassed herself in a question to Bill Bennett about whether Lieberman crossed "the line" on religion in politics.

News Reminds Bush Went Negative on McCain
In pumping the "nothing new" theme, ABC and NBC seize the opportunity to discuss their favorite politician, John McCain.

CNN Twice Corrected Error Bush Ad Didn’t Make
President Clinton’s veto of the estate tax cut went unmentioned Thursday night by CBS and NBC, while ABC relayed only Clinton’s spin about how it would "help only the richest two percent." But FNC’s Jim Angle alerted viewers to how all the Democratic Congressmen from Tennessee voted for the bill, even the keynoter at the Democratic convention.

NBC Defends Bush on Defense
On Thursday night, NBC actually came to Bush’s defense on the decline of the military. In an "In Depth" segment on NBC Nightly News, David Gregory reviewed the claims and counter-claims of Bush-Cheney and Gore, concluding: "Tonight, both the Gore campaign and the administration say Bush’s attacks demonstrate he doesn’t truly understand what’s happening in the world and is not prepared to be commander in chief."

What Veto of Tax Cut?
President Clinton’s veto of the estate tax went unmentioned Thursday by CBS and NBC, while ABC covered it by relaying Clinton’s spin about how it would "help only the richest two percent."

FOB Forced Out at CNN
In a reshuffling at CNN announced Wednesday, Friend of Bill and President of CNN/USA Rick Kaplan was forced out of the network. As AP’s David Bauder noted last night, Kaplans’s "friendship with President Clinton made conservative activists suspicious." And with good reason.

West On Fire, Tax Issue Not
CBS’s Bill Whitaker reported Bush’s tax cut issue hasn’t caught fire on the campaign trail, then delivered the usual liberal spin about how "more than half his across-the-board cuts" would go to the affluent.

Nets Jump on ADL Complaint
While all the networks covered the story, ABC’s Peggy Wehmeyer noted how press criticism has impacted talk of religion on the campaign trail.

Time, USA Today Concede Double-Standard
"If a Conservative republican were saying these things it would, people would be going nuts" reporters from Time and USA Today acknowledged to Chris Matthews on Monday night’s Hardball.

ABC Ignores Clinton Response to Disbarment Suit
CBS gave 25 seconds to Clinton’s "campaign to save his license to practice law" while NBC’s 28 seconds included an unusual turn of phrase, referring to "the Paul Jones sex harassment suit."

Dems and Drug Makers: ABC Stops Short of Hypocrisy
While NBC called Gore’s attack on drugmakers "harsh," ABC pointed out that the Democratic Veep candidate is one of the main recipients of drug industry campaign funds...and managed to avoid the word hypocrisy.

NBC Energized by Gore Attacks
Of all the evening news broadcasts, only NBC devoted a second straight night to Gore’s efforts to "needle Governor Bush."

Convention Coverage Contrasts
... check out MRC’s comparison of how Time, Newsweek and U.S. News covered the Republican and Democratic Nation Conventions in the current issue of MRC’s MagazineWatch.

I.C. Ray Awaits Rather Apology
Independent Counsel Robert Ray is still waiting for an apology from CBS’s Dan Rather for linking him to the Clinton grand jury leak, the source of which turned out to be one of the judges on the three-judge panel that oversees Ray -- and a Democrat.

Nets Rule Ad Pull Evidences Disarray
But on GMA, the only morning show to run the full ad on Thursday, ABC Political Analyst George Stephanopoulos offered a conscious motive to the Bush campaign’s action: fear of Big Media.

What A Difference A Party Makes
When it comes of Veep nominees, guess who’s an "overweight bald guy" and who wafts in like "air freshener?" Comparing the news mags Cheney vs. Lieberman coverage and more from the latest MRC MagazineWatch.

News Have ‘Miscues’ All Cued Up
The CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News cast Bush’s recent verbal miscues as problematic, then run the tape again.

CBS Rues Reno’s Special Counsel "Burden"
Reporter John Roberts sympathized that AG Janet Reno will have to take the heat for refusing to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate Al Gore’s Buddhist Temple and White House fund raising activities.

ABC Cheers Gore Up, Bush Down
Dean Reynolds relayed, without rebuttal, the Gore charge that Bush’s plan "would squander the nation’s surplus."

CNN’s Jackson Disappoints
Reporter Bruce Jackson, who usually sees and reports beyond the partisan spin of the day, gave two full reports on how the federal budget surplus is supposedly susceptible to Bush’s tax cuts but not to Gore’s spending.

Feds Still Want 411 on CBS’s "Snipers Wanted"
An FCC commissioner wants a better explanation from CBS on how the "Snipers Wanted" caption appeared over video of George W. Bush during a comedy item on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.

ABC Breathless Over Own Pro-Gore Poll
ABC spent Monday night celebrating its ABC News/Washington Post poll showing "that Al Gore has not just pulled even... our poll says he’s ahead." The fact that it was based on bad data (weekend polling) was mentioned only in passing.

Morning Shows All Host Gore
While ABC’s Jack Ford on Good Morning America and NBC’s Matt Lauer on Today at least pressed Gore on a few topics, CBS’s Jane Clayson limited her interview to things like family, health and kisses.

ABC Calls Bush Words "Harsh"
Apparently, saying Gore is "a little short on the [campaign finance reform] credibility issue" is too tough for World News Tonight anchor Jack Ford.

Big Three Push Liberal Spin on Grand Jury "Leak"
Thursday night and Friday morning, the networks all ran, without rebuttal, the White House/Gore campaign spin that evil Republicans were responsible for leaking the news, on the eve of Al Gore’s acceptance speech, that there is another grand jury investigating Clinton. Yet when they were proven wrong....

CBS Convention Coverage Sinks
Could the fact that CBS didn’t actually show any of the Democratic convention it is first forty-five minutes of coverage be to blame for CBS’s being dead last in ratings?

Final Convention Coverage Media Quote
How fitting that the final award for most biased media quote goes to CBS’s Dan Rather. Find out why.

Sam Says Gore "On Speed"
ABC’s Sam Donaldson was so concerned that the audience of Al Gore’s acceptance speech would miss vital points, he described the Vice President as acting as if he "was on speed" or "late catching a plane."

Rather Finds Ghost of Nixon Among Dem Delegates
Near the top of CBS’s prime time coverage Thursday night, anchor Dan Rather charged: "In an apparent attempt to embarrass Al Gore... someone...leaked the story... [of] a new grand jury to investigate President Clinton." Of course, Rather’s report omitted that a three-judge panel approved the new grand jury and that Democrats repeatedly said that as an alternative to impeachment conviction, Clinton could be prosecuted after leaving office.

Media Stars Happy With Gore Acceptance Speech
Check out the assessments of ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Cokie Roberts and Ted Koppel, as well as CBS’s Ed Bradley and CNN’s Bernard Shaw.

Guess Which Policy Agenda Media Scrutinized and Which Evaded Critique
In previewing George Bush’s acceptance speech two weeks ago, the CBS Evening News attacked conservative policies from the Left. Gore’s policy recommendations, however, went untouched.

Media Definition of "Inclusiveness"
... excludes those holding the pro-life position.

Media Bias Bites
"Hair-In-A-Can" politics, craving a Clinton third term, and more from the Friday wrap-up of convention coverage.

Media Quote of the Day
Find out why the award for most biased media quote goes to CBS’s Bryant Gumbel.

Lieberman Speech Doesn’t Survive Early Show
The CBS vehicle for Bryant Gumbel, who recently called a conservative guest he interviewed a "f------ idiot," spent less than a minute on Joe Lieberman’s acceptance speech, compared to 19 minutes recapping goings-on in the network’s popular Survivor show. This is serious journalism?

NBC Flipping Through Tipper’s Photos
On Today, Tipper Gore was invited to show viewers her "Al’s-a-great-guy" photo album and discuss "the love in his eyes."

ABC Airs DNC "Home Movies"
In 1996, ABC’s Ted Koppel stormed out of the GOP convention claiming it to be mere infomercial. This morning, the same network’s Charles Gibson presented an Al Gore infomercial – "home movies" of the Gores filmed, produced and directed by Spike Jonze, a hot Hollywood director.

Media Bias Bites
If "politics is Hollywood for ugly people," what are Hollywood people doing playing politics all over the morning news shows?

Nets Dump Keynote for Kennedy
Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.’s keynote address was ignored by the broadcast networks and MSNBC, allowing a reprise of the syrupy Kennedy "mystique."

Blinded By Love, Media Miss Hate in Jackson Speech
If a conservative used a line comparable to the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s "America, stay out [of] the Bushes!" – perhaps, "America, don’t get Gored!" – would NBC’s Matt Lauer coo "he does have a way with words?"

ABC, CBS Treatment of Mrs. Lieberman vs. Mrs. Cheney
Both networks presented pieces to introduce the wives of potential Veeps. Guess which was cast as a warrior and which as a victim?

Stephanopoulos to the Rescue!
Joe Lieberman, with a 95% liberal rating from Americans for Democratic Action and a 0% rating from the American Conservative Union, is so moderate he scares the Democratic base – at least according to some reporters. George Stephanopoulos enters they fray.

Quote of the Day
Find out why the award for most biased media quote goes to Time’s Margaret Carlson.

Media Reaction to Veeps’ Acceptance Speeches
Liberal Joe Lieberman was said to have a "light, deft hand" while conservative Dick Cheney was said to have hurled "red meat."

Brokaw On Abortion: Only One Side Hardline
During the GOP Convention, on MSNBC Tom Brokaw complained that the platform was hardline because it "tolerates no other point of view except anti-abortion." But Brokaw was mute when it came to the Democratic platform’s hardline pro-partial birth abortion position.

A One-Note World News Tonight
ABC’s World News Tonight on the Wednesday of the GOP convention: Bush too conservative. ABC’s World News Tonight on the Wednesday of the Democrat convention: Lieberman must show not conservative.

Media Bias Bites
ABC’s Peter Jennings refers to Karenna Gore-Schiff as "very, very good looking." This and more from Thursday’s convention coverage.

Quote of the Day
Find out why Wednesday’s award for most biased media quote goes to CBS’s Dan Rather.

Media Bias Bites
Good Morning America’s Charlie Gibson recites lyrics from the Gore campaign’s theme song...by omitting the raunchy lines. This and more from Wednesday’s convention coverage.

Only FNC Notes Extremism on Abortion
Reporters frequently pressed Republicans on whether their pro-life stance would turn off women voters, but only the Fox News Channel applied the same standard to Democrats by asking if their pro-partial birth abortion stand would do the same.

Brokaw’s Lament
On MSNBC, Tom Brokaw complains to Jesse Jackson, Jr. that there’s "not very much talk about poverty in America... about affirmative action... about the homeless problem."

Rather’s Gift to Democrats
CBS’s Dan Rather never wrapped up Republican convention coverage by delivering the party’s spin, a gift he gave to Democrats Tuesday night.

"Moderate" Media Mantra
Check out the depth and breadth of the media’s harmony with the Democrat spin that Joe Lieberman is a "moderate."

Media Bias Bites
NBC’s liberal historian Doris Kearns Goodwin says Lyndon Johnson came to her in a dream. This and more from Tuesday night convention coverage.

Media Quote of the Day
Find out why Tuesday’s award for most biased media quote goes to CBS’s Dan Rather.

FNC’s Cameron on Dem’s "Transgender" Delegate Quotas
Kudos to FNC’s Carl Cameron for a full story on the Democrat party’s racial, ethnic and sexual orientation quotas for delegates.

MSNBC: Two Conventions, One-Sided Questions
At the Republican National Convention, NBC reporters on MSNBC asked delegates and candidates questions from the Left. Now, at the Democratic National Convention, they ask questions... from the Left again.

Sam on "Pass The Torch" Speeches
Prior to Clinton, the last President to address his party’s convention to pass the torch to his Veep was Ronald Reagan. Let’s go to the videotape to compare how ABC’s Sam Donaldson treated the two events (hint: not the same).

CBS, CNN Hail Clinton’s Speech
The media’s only complaint seemed to be that the lateness of the hour limited audience size.

Media Bias Bites
This is not a joke: in a story on campaign finance "reform," ABC’s World News Tonight on Monday featured the insights of actor Brad Pitt. This and more from the liberal media’s most recent bias-soaked performances.

Media Quote of the Day
Find out why Monday’s award for most biased media quote goes to CBS’s Bryant Gumbel.

Morning Shows Discover Brazile
On Monday’s morning news shows, Gore campaign chief Donna Brazile suddenly appeared after not being interviewed for seven months. This compares to the number of appearances by her subordinate Bob Shrum, who has appeared for six network interviews.

Gumbel Pleads for Kennedy
In contrast to media grumblings that George W. Bush’s nomination was rooted in nepotism, Gumbel summoned positive images of the Kennedy family dynasty while interviewing Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

Media Miss Platform
In contrast to myriad (negative) comments about the GOP platform, the morning news shows have paid scant attention to the Democratic platform.

At What Time Did Boom Begin?
In the August 14 Time, reporter Eric Pooley scolded Bush by writing, "To deny Democrats credit for the prosperity... backdates the boom and pretends it began before Clinton took office." But Pooley’s the one who’s rewriting history – and even the liberal New York Times agrees.

CNN on Delegates’ "Souls"
Of Democratic delegates who joined in the business-bashing protests, CNN’s Maria Hinojosa said "Some of the Democratic delegates may have the interests of the workers in their souls." And as for balance, her story included not one quote from pro-business sources.

Media Bias Bites
NBC’s Russert fails the test. The Meet the Press host failed to have a conservative comment on Lieberman’s selection the same way he had a liberal, James Carville, comment on Cheney’s selection.

Sunday Shows Easy on Lieberman
Two weeks ago, Republican Veep pick Dick Cheney was held to account for his voting record. And while all five Sunday morning show anchors pressed Democratic Veep nominee Joe Lieberman on policy differences with Gore, none demanded he explain votes cast that were as far liberal as Cheney’s were conservative.

Case Study In Dan Rather’s Bias
CBS anchor Dan Rather introduces Republicans with attacks, but Democrats with their own talking points.

ABC Chooses Pay Over Playboy
ABC’s World News Tonight on Saturday spent three minutes and ten seconds on Dick Cheney’s retirement package, compared to 24 seconds on the Sanchez-Playboy fundraiser controversy.

FNC Gets Lieberman to Admit "Real" Diversity Due to Quotas
Kudos to Fox News Sunday’s Tony Snow who alone asked the Democratic Veep nominee about Democrats’ racial quota system for convention delegates.

Media Quote of the Day
Find out why Friday’s award for most biased media quote goes to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

Couric on Clinton’s "Candid Confessional"
ABC, CBS and NBC all allocated air time to running President Clinton’s "personal struggle for religious redemption" unchallenged.

CNN Says "Most Conservative Democratic Ticket in 50 Years"
CBS, MSNBC and CNN get busy attaching labels like "moderate" to Dick Cheney, a Veep pick who scores a 19 out of a possible 100 rating from the American Conservative Union.

ABC, CBS, NBC Tout "Centrist" Lieberman
Maintaining the myth of Joe Lieberman as a "centrist" requires him to visibly disagree with Al Gore on a few major issue – an task the networks were happy to take on.

Media Debuts of Lieberman
To see how very soft they were, check out the actual questions the media stars posed to Gore and Lieberman, such as Bryant Gumbel’s "The two of you are now running mates. Talk to me about your longstanding relationship."

CBS Turns to Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson for Comment on Anti-Semitism
Media anchors, commentators agree: anti-Semites vote Republican.

NBC, ABC Digs Up Death Penalty – Again
Even though the majority of Americans favor the death penalty and there is no evidence voters care about the issue, NBC and ABC continue to insist on injecting the topic into the presidential campaign.

CBS’s Death Threat "Inappropriate"
On Thursday, FNC picked up on CBS’s "apology" for allowing a graphic reading "snipers wanted" to appear on screen with George W. Bush during a late night comedy show.

"Photo-Op" vs. "History Making"
CBS News anchor Dan Rather’s introductions of the presidential running mates is bias as bad as it gets.

Joe Lieberman is No Jerry Falwell
Wednesday, August 8 (the day Joe Lieberman accepted Al Gore’s offer to run as his vice presidential candidate) was the day the networks decided it was no longer correct to decry the involvement of the faithful in politics.

NBC’s Tim Russert Caught On Tape
Check out Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert grilling George W. Bush on whether his religion makes him intolerant.

Gumbel on Lieberman’s "True Loyalties"
First, CBS Early Show co-host Bryant Gumbel asks if Republicans "however quietly" will made Judaism a presidential issue, then: "Do voters not have a, do they not have some justification for wondering if his [Lieberman’s] true loyalties could be with Israel or Washington?" There's more...

Media Stars Say What Ain’t So About Joe
Despite solid facts to the contrary, media stars (and newspapers) claim Joe Lieberman is a "centrist," or "moderate."

CNN Touts Gore’s "Trump" Of Republicans
CNN analyst Bill Schneider was happy to relay on Inside Politics, "You know how the Republicans in Philadelphia kept trying to show how moderate they were? Well, this [Lieberman pick] trumps anything the Republicans had to say."

Media Quote of the Day
Find out why Saturday’s award for most biased media quote goes to Time’s Margaret Carlson.

Gumbel on Bush’s Widely Heralded Speech
CBS Early Show co-host Bryant Gumbel, who refers to the Texas governor as "W," claimed Bush received "mixed reviews."

Gingrich Takes on Brokaw
Check out the former House Speaker’s view of the "difference between [Tom Brokaw’s] view of reality and normalcy."

Convention Coverage Ratings
The public may be more interested in watching Survivor than the Republican National Convention, but the ratings reveal some interesting facts.

NBC’s Preparation for Democratic Convention?
NBC chooses to air an episode of West Wing, its program about a fictional – and very liberal – presidential administration every singly night the week between national political conventions.

CBS’s Whitaker Says Bush "Master of Mixed Signals"
In a story about how Bush’s compassionate image "often obscures the conservative" side of the candidate, the CBS Evening News toed the liberal line that the two concepts are mutually exclusive.

ABC, CBS Refuse to Air Bush Bio Video
The party-produced video biography of the candidate, now standard convention fare, was rejected for air by ABC and CBS, both of whom created and aired their own.

Network Stars Stunned Bush Speech a Success
Seemingly flabbergasted, the respective takes on Bush’s acceptance speech by ABC’s Cokie Roberts, CBS’s Bob Schieffer, CNN’s Jeff Greenfield and NBC’s Tom Brokaw reveal more about them than the candidate.

Clinton-Aide-Turned-ABC-Political Analyst Touts Gore
On Thursday, ABC’s Good Morning America provided co-host Charles Gibson and assorted former Clinton aides (now ABC "analysts") a platform from which to defend the Clinton-Gore administration from charges leveled at it from the previous night’s Republican National Convention speakers.

To NBC, Same Words "Nasty" From Cheney, Fine From Gore
On Thursday’s Today, NBC’s Tim Russert was forced to remind Katie Couric that the Cheney "attack" she cast as "nasty" was word-for-word the Gore attack of a previous convention. To see how the media greeted Gore’s words at the time, let’s go to the MRC videotape....

Rather Focuses On Bush’s...Face
Verging on incoherence, CBS anchor Dan Rather took viewers on a tour of Bush’s face.

ABC Concludes Compassion Clashes with Record
World News Tonight dedicated a full story to "proving" the Republican nominee is a hypocrite. Will World News Tonight apply the same standard to the Democratic nominee?

Brokaw Delivers DNC Talking Points Before Cheney Even Speaks
Before the Veep candidate opened his mouth, NBC anchor Tom Brokaw relayed the opposition’s talking points, starting with the assessment of Cheney’s speech as "the most negative...since Pat Buchanan."

Barbara Bush Gets Gibson’s Promise
In an interview with Good Morning America co-host Charlie Gibson, former First Lady Barbara Bush secured Gibson’s promise to ask Gore whether he would (courageously) pick a pro-life Veep, the same way he asked Bush if he would (courageously) pick a pro-abortion Veep.

Katie’s Unnamed Sources Call Mrs. Cheney "Right-Wing Warrior"
Grilling Veep pick Dick Cheney’s wife Lynne on Today, Katie Couric opens by claiming "many [unnamed] people" think she’s a "right-wing warrior."

Labeling Veeps, Then and Now
In 1992, the media labeled Clinton’s pick for Veep, Al Gore, a "moderate" or "conservative." What will they label Bush’s Veep pick?

Network Anchors At McCain Soiree
Just hours after his arrival in the convention city of Philadelphia, John McCain hosted a dinner for national press stars.

Media for McCain! (Still)
Network stars made clear Tuesday night how deeply they regret that Senator John McCain’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination failed, and how hopeful they are for his return in 2004.

Media Cheney-Bashing, Day 7
NBC’s Katie Couric and CBS’s Jane Clayson keep the radical rap against Veep pick Dick Cheney going a full week after his selection.

Borger: Why Will Cheney Attract Women?
CBS Face The Nation co-host Gloria Borger asks Cheney a question based on her premise that women are, by definition, pro-abortion.

ABC Sees Laura Bush as "Hillary-Like"?
Newsweek, Time and ABC’s Good Morning America all contribute outrageous quotes to convention coverage.

NBC Stars Warn Conservatism Will Scare Voters Away
From Tom Brokaw to Tim Russert, Brian Williams to Chris Matthews, NBC’s news stars appeared on MSNBC to attack conservatives from the Left.

Media Stars Attack Laura Bush, Lynne Cheney
... but both hold their ground.

Sunday Shows Pound Cheney
Worst offenders: ABC’s This Week and CBS’s Face The Nation.

News Labels Cheney, Helps Launch Gore Attack
After dismissively labeling Dick Cheney ("hardline"), the evening news broadcasts focus on Gore’s anti-Cheney talking points.

Compare and Contrast: Media Handling of Veep Announcements by Bush and Clinton
In 1992, the networks not only avoided pinning the "liberal" label on Clinton’s Veep pick, they labeled him "moderate."

Kudos to CNN’s Jonathan Karl
On Wednesday night’s Inside Politics, Jonathan Karl reported that in the 1980s, Al Gore voted just like Dick Cheney on guns and abortion, positions which the Gore camp now uses to paint Cheney extremist.

Networks Agree: Cheney May Not Look "Fire-breathing...."
Check out the highlights of Tuesday, July 25th’s network reporting on Bush’s pick of Dick Cheney for Veep.

Brokaw Uses Powell Speech to Attack GOP
NBC’s Tom Brokaw claims Colin Powell’s Monday night speech reminds Republicans "that they have to think about minorities everyday, not just every four years."

CNN Looks for Republican Splits
Reporter Jeanne Meserve tried her best to stir up controversy among united Republicans.

CBS Insinuates Black Republicans Mere Window Dressing
On the Early Show, Bryant Gumbel’s sidekick Jane Clayson grilled Reps. Henry Bonilla and J.C. Watts, asking the latter how he could possible support Bush’s running mate Dick Cheney.

"Well-Orchestrated, Pre-Scripted, Week-Long Informercial"
That is how CBS’s Dan Rather described the Republican National Convention in opening the CBS Evening News on Sunday.

CNN Distorts "Pro-Bush" Media Study
On Inside Politics, Judy Woodruff asserted a new study found a pro-Bush media. Nice try, but no sale.

Rather, Schieffer Grumble About GOP Platform
CBS’s Bob Schieffer, in discussing platform planks, concluded: "at Republican conventions, the other side always wins."

Reuter’s Reporting is DNC "Dream"
Some reporting is so biased, the DNC’s anti-Bush Web page incorporates it verbatim.

Matthews, Shogren Play Hardball with Gender Gap
... and in so doing reveal their own pro-abortion, anti-Second Amendment positions.

Slate Smears Cheney’s Wife
Former Newsweek and now Slate reporter Timothy Noah casts Lynne Cheney as "a shrill opportunist who could prove to be a serious liability" whose opposition to federal standards for left-leaning school history curriculum was "Stalinist."

Evening News Pass Along Dem. Spin on Cheney
Some reporters went so far as to dig up their own "evidence" to back up the liberals’ talking points.

Gumbel’s "Hard Right" Hyperbole
Byrant Gumbel, co-host of CBS’s failing Early Show who recently caused a flap by referring to a conservative guest he had just interviewed as a "f—ing idiot," spews viewers with his own hard left version of Dick Cheney’s life and politics.

Network Stars "Worried" the GOP "Held Hostage"?
Looking through the liberal media lens, pro-lifers are dangerous to the Republican party. Of course, one can legitimately question their sincerity since a 1994 study showed that in 1992, 89% of Washington, DC, reporters voted for the Democratic presidential candidate.

Rather Won’t Give Up on Powell "Scoop"
The fact that the CBS anchor’s alleged "scoop" about Bush being in "deep negotiations" with General Powell proved fallacious doesn’t dissuade Dan from delving deeper in a subsequent Bush interview.

Brokaw Laments Rejection of Pro-Abortion Running Mate
In a sit-down interview with Bush, the NBC anchor pushes PA Gov. Ridge as a Veep pick; any bets on whether he’ll promote a pro-life Democrat as a Gore running mate?

Networks Label Likely Veep Pick
Likely Veep pick Dick Cheney earned the networks’ approval Monday, with the supposed caveat he’s a "very," "reliably," or "strong" conservative.

Face the Nation Can’t Countenance Both Reaganism and Compassion
Substitute host Gloria Borger, in a question to Bush campaign manager Karl Rove, reveals she thinks the two are mutually exclusive.

Letterman’s "Top Ten Shocking Facts About Dick Cheney
... from the comedian’s July 24 broadcast.

Pundits Paint Conservatism as Flaw in Otherwise Okay Cheney
Sunday talk show treatment of Dick Cheney as potential Bush running mate reminiscent of the characterization of Jack Kemp by CNN’s Bill Schneider in 1996: "He [Kemp] is a rare combination — a nice conservative." (August 9, 1996 Inside Politics.)

ABC’s Roberts Warns Failing to Tap McCain a Mistake
The John McCain for Veep boomlet that began Friday subsided by Sunday, something Cokie Roberts rued on This Week, reducing Bush’s decision to a choice between being comfortable (no to McCain) and winning (yes to McCain).

CBS, NBC Give Conflicting Reports on Bush’s Response to McCain for Veep
Whether the notion was a non-starter or a possibility depends on which news broadcast one watched.

Media Bemoan Pro-Abortion Veep Candidates Off Bush’s List
According to ABC and NPR, development opens Bush up to charges of being from "the same old party" and not being "his own man."

Networks Compound Error in Gore-Gas-Price-Lie Story
The networks let the Clinton administration slide for weeks by not demanding it produce a drop of evidence supporting its claims of Big Oil "price gouging." Now, two of the three broadcast are compounding their error by failing to report that the accusations, including those made by Al Gore, were knowingly false.

A Glimpse into Network Labeling Practices
ABC refuses to give Green Party candidate Ralph Nader any label (much less the "liberal" label), while CBS refuses to use to "pro-life" label.

Russert, Roberts Take on Gore, Bush
NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert tells Gore he "can’t have it both ways" while ABC This Week co-host Cokie Roberts asks if Bush was "scared."

Gore Lie Deemed Not News
On Friday, it was revealed the high gas prices in the Midwest were, as administration critics charged, due largely to super-strict EPA requirements -- and that Gore knew this but nonetheless blamed corporate "price gouging." Only the CBS Evening News reported the story Friday night, and coverage didn’t get much better over the weekend.

Washington Post Reporter Casts NAACP as Moderate
Appearing on Friday’s Washington Week in Review, the Washington Post’s Michael Fletcher distinguishes the NAACP from the Nation of Islam so as to blast Republicans.

Networks: It’s Not Liberalism, It’s "Populism"
Gore’s recent lurches to the radical left haven’t gotten him tagged with the "liberal" label, only with the benign-to-favorable "populist."

News Has Deficit in Surplus Reporting
By equating spending programs with tax cuts, reporters contribute to the misperception that tax cuts like those proposed by Bush "cost" money like the government programs proposed by Gore.

Nets Put Best Face on Bradley’s Endorsement of Gore
Unlike CBS and NBC, FNC reports on the endorsements reminded viewers how Bradley criticized Gore during the primaries.

FNC Reports on NARAL Veep "Report Card"
FNC’s Special Report with Brit Hume uniquely relayed the "grades" the National Abortion Rights Action League awarded potential vice-presidential candidates on the abortion litmus test. Hint: conservatives want to elect the flunkies and reject NARAL’s "A students."

Newsweek Reports on Bush Military Service
No damaging info on Bush’s National Guard record? Newsweek concludes that means Bush damage-control efforts were successful.

Washington Post Can’t Take A Gore Joke
The Bush campaign’s recent press release poking fun of Gore as "Truman-like" for accusing Congress of being "do nothing" spurred a front page Style section Washington Post article portraying the campaign as filled with racist louts.

DNA Test Vindicates Bush, Not Death Penalty Opponents? ABC: "Next!"
In late May, ABC’s World News Tonight joined the media chorus championing the case of Texas death row inmate Ricky McGinn, whose execution Gov. Bush stayed pending the results of a DNA test which McGinn claimed would vindicate him. On Wednesday, those results were in, but Peter Jennings’s report focused on another Texas death row inmate who claims (surprise!) that a DNA test would vindicate him....

Douglass Defends Republicans from the Left
ABC’s Linda Douglass defended House Republicans against Gore’s charge that they’re a "do nothing Congress" -- then hopes aloud they’ll "do" (read: pass more laws) even more.

CNN Reliably Relays the Spin of All Spin
On Tuesday’s Inside Politics, which many consider the political program of record, reporter Bill Delaney uncritically relayed spin so pro-Gore, it must read to be believed.

CBS Says Bush’s NAACP Speech Futile
According to reporter Jim Axelrod, "No matter how many speeches George Bush makes at NAACP conventions, angry African-Americans in New Jersey say this is why they have problems with Republicans." Click here to finds out what Axelrod’s definition of "this" is.

Nat. Review Takes on Wash Post Over NAACP Reporting
On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that during his NAACP address, George W. Bush refrained from "explicitly acknowledging his party’s failure to support much of the 1960s-era civil rights agenda." But as National Review pointed out, there’s nothing to acknowledge.

FNC Discovers Gore Campaign Ad Man Sought Contract for Ad to Fight Gore’s Prescription Drug Plan
On FNC’s Special Report with Brit Hume, reporter Jim Angle revealed that while Al Gore is denouncing drug company ads fighting Medicare coverage of prescription drugs, his own advertising guru, Carter Eskew, just months ago tried to land that very same ad account.

ABC Sees Bush at NAACP as "Contrition"
ABC’s Dean Reynolds declared on World News Tonight that "Bush’s speech here [at the NAACP meeting] was, in many ways, a political act of contrition." And the network slant only gets worse.

Only FNC Covers Gore-Tenants’ Giving Up
The Mayberry family, which rents a rundown home from Al Gore in Tennessee and has called him a slumlord for failing to make much needed repairs, gave up on Gore’s old promise to make the repairs and moved out, but none of the Big Three nor CNN even noticed.

ABC Deems Both Medicare Plans Insufficient
ABC’s World News Tonight takes "A Closer Look" at Democratic and Republican plans for Medicare coverage of prescription drug costs and finds neither liberal enough.

ABC Star on Clinton Fundraiser
Politically Incorrect host Bill Maher discusses his big-dollar Democratic event with NBC Tonight Show host Jay Leno.

Kudos to Russert for Nader Interview
On NBC’s Meet the Press, host Tim Russert confronted Green Party Presidential candidate Ralph Nader with the hypocrisy of his own record.

Newsweek’s Pro-Abortion Bias
In reporting on the Supreme Court’s striking down of a state law banning partial-birth abortion, Stuart Taylor casts GOP platform plank as "hard-line" – but not the procedure even many in the pro-abortion camp call infanticide.

U.S. News Laments Bigger Tax Cuts
Continuing the media crusade against tax cuts, U.S. News hits Gore from the left for doubling his original tax cut proposal in light of new budget surplus estimates.

"Clinton-Gore Economy" In the Tank?
Read the latest nationally-syndicated column by MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell III, "Bias at The Gas Pump."

Time Splits on Gore
In two successive stories, Time Daily online reporter Frank Pellegrini downplayed the news that Justice Department fundraising investigator Robert Conrad recommended a special counsel investigate Al Gore, while his print counterpart Viveca Novak produced this week’s most substantive magazine treatment of the story.

News Mags’ Death Penalty Vigil
Newsweek ran two pieces on the death penalty: one blamed George W. Bush for denying condemned murderers access to the courts, while the other lamented that attorneys may, by appealing the case of condemned triple-murderer Juan Raul Garza, "drag Clinton and Gore" into the death penalty debate.

ABC Host the Draw at $75,000 DNC Fundraiser
Politically Incorrect’s Bill Maher hosted the June 23 Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Los Angeles, offering attacks on Clinton-Gore opponents that Reuters deemed "below-the-belt."

Geraldo: Send Me Your Hate Mail
Monday night, Geraldo Rivera dared viewers to respond to his call for a moratorium on the death penalty and used the odd analogy that "the death penalty is like Viagra in middle-aged men."

Distracted Drivers Trump Call for Gore Probe
Tuesday afternoon, the Attorney General was grilled by a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on her intransigence in appointing a Special Counsel to investigate Vice President Gore’s fundraising, but the network news took a pass, preferring to report on the dangers of "distracted drivers" instead.

Changing the Subject to Big Oil-Bashing
For most people, higher gas prices are a nuisance. For TV reporters, they’re an opportunity for hyperbole and finger-pointing, something especially prized in election years.

NBC News ‘In Depth’ In Deep with Death Penalty Opponents
Just six days after convicted Taxes killer Gary Graham’s execution was conducted as scheduled (following repeated failed appeals) on Wednesday NBC Nightly News latched onto the "crusade" for another Texas death row resident, triple-murderer Henry Watkins Skinner.

CBS Shills for DNC in Gore Story
Of all the broadcast networks, on Friday night CBS alone relayed the Democratic spin intended to discredit the revelation that the head of the Justice Department’s campaign finance division has recommended a special counsel be appointed for Gore’s activities circa 1995-6.

Correspondent Slimes Bush with Oil Prices
CBS News’s Bill Whitaker tells long tale that’s short on Gore’s profiting from Big Oil.

Reporter References Bush’s "Murder, or Excuse Me, Execution"
NBC News reporter Norah O’Donnell, in covering the scheduled execution by murderer Gary Graham in Texas Thursday night, twice referred to his death as "murder."

Geraldo Upset By ‘Obscenity’
At least as he defined the term Thursday night on CNBC’s Rivera Live: the lawful execution by lethal injection of a convicted murderer whose case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, and fell on its face.

Ricky Ray Who?
Since June 12, the media circus about the scheduled execution of a convicted killer in Texas generated 30 stories. So how many stories did networks devote to the death penalty cases over which Governor Clinton presided in 1992? Try two.

In Surprising Move, Networks Report Call for Gore Inquiry
Unlike previous revelations about requests for an Independent Counsel, on Thursday the networks actually told their audiences that a Justice Department official wants Gore’s fundraising probed.

News Mags Minimize Gore Shake-Up
All three major news weeklies minimized the sudden departure of ethics-challenged Gore campaign boss Tony Coelho.

CBS Dismisses Los Alamos Hearing as "Blame Game"
Anchor Dan Rather complained Wednesday that there "is a new round in the blame game" about lost and found hard drives containing top secret nuclear data.

ABC Worries Gas Prices Will Tank Gore
On their evening newscasts Tuesday, June 20, ABC and CBS lead with the who’s-to-blame for high gas prices story. But ABC World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings adds fuel to the furor....

FNC Scoops Big Three on Nuke Lab, WH E-Mail
On June 20, the Fox News Channel broke news damaging to the Clinton-Gore administration on two fronts.

Al Gore Is No Alan Greenspan
From the MRC’s video vaults, proof that Al Gore said the 1980s economy was "the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s." MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell reminds readers that in the 1980, President Reagan cut inflation from 13.5 to 4.1%, cut unemployment from 9.5 to 5.2%, cut the federal discount rate from 14 to 6.5% – while increasing the number of jobs by almost 20 million.... Read this week’s nationally syndicated column.

Media Pushes Conservatives Opposed to Death Penalty
When did you last see R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., Pat Robertson, and the writer of a National Review cover story all in one network news story about something other than a vast right-wing conspiracy?

Network News Tossup on Social Security Plans
On Monday night, CBS Evening News reports only on Gore plan, while NBC Nightly News runs pieces on both the Gore and Bush plans and ABC World News Tonight concludes – for the benefit of viewers – that both plans are inadequate.

Media Inject Death Penalty "Issue" Into Bush Campaign
ABC devotes a whole Nightline episode and a long World News Tonight segment to the pending execution of convicted murderer Gary Graham in Texas, while Time’s Margaret Carlson highlights it on CNN’s Capital Gang.

Kudos...to ABC Anchor Carole Simpson?
The same woman who in interviewing the President of the Free World asked, "How does it feel talking to me?" gave a fair report, especially compared to her competition at CBS, on a new Pentagon report that said the missile defense schedule – not the concept – was too ambitious.

What Criminal Probe of Gore Campaign Chair Coehlo?
On Thursday, ABC, NBC and MSNBC all ran pieces on Tony Coehlo’s abrupt departure as head of the Gore for President campaign that included no mention of the ethical – much less the criminal – charges nipping at his heels.

PBS Punts on Gore Interview
PBS’s Jim Lehrer interviewed Al Gore for a full 18 minutes but couldn’t squeeze in a question about Gore’s subpoenaed e-mail that’s gone missing, nor even his hypocrisy in forcing the "little people" renting his Carthage, TN property to live in squalor.

A Get-Bush Death Penalty Push
"... the media’s use of the death penalty issue to drive down Bush’s poll ratings is another exercise in naked journalistic partisanship." Read the rest of MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell’s nationally syndicated column.

FNC Says Gore Reneged on Rental Repairs
Al Gore has yet to complete the promised repairs to his tenant’s Tennessee home, local station WFTV reported, but only Fox News Channel noticed.

Southern Baptist Convention Condemns Clinton and Gore
While CBS focused on the convention being "bent on exclusion," FNC reported how SBC leaders condemned the two Southern Baptists in the White House.

Al Gore, Rock Star?
On their Tuesday night newscasts, NBC and CBS relayed Gore’s "progress and prosperity tour," but only one asked whether the self-congratulations were deserved.

Gore Excuse: Not a Computer Expert
On Wednesday, June 14, Gore was uncomfortable answering FNC reporter Wendell Goler’s question about how the self-proclaimed Internet inventor didn’t know his subpoenaed e-mails had gone missing – perhaps because no other reporter asked him about it.

This Week’s News Weeklies Skip the News
In their June 19 issues, all three ignored the Gore slumlord story.

U.S. News and Time Lobby for Campaign Finance "Reform"
U.S. News columnist Gloria Borger condemns the "loophole du jour" while Time.com’s Viveca Novak sounds like she’s still at Common Cause in praising "a tiny piece" of so-called reform.

Time Sees Death Tax as Dem. "Gold Mine"
Time.com reporter Jessica Reeves explores Congressional action to cut the death or inheritance tax, and casts it in class-warfare terms she helpfully suggests Democrats exploit in the next election.

Gore Now In Vogue
A lavish piece in the flashy women’s magazine Vogue virtually drips with praise for the veep. But will it help him cross the gender-gap?

Clinton Operative Hosts Gore on Oxygen Channel
Al Gore had a friendly host for his Monday night "Women's Forum" on the Oxygen cable network simulcast on C-SPAN2: former Deputy White House counsel Cheryl Mills. In the show opener, Mills claimed the audience represented "a cross-section of race, age, privilege and political ideology" – even though it just happened to include the spokesperson for CBS News circa 1987-1993 who also contributed the maximum allowed by law to the Hillary Clinton for Senate campaign last August, "Million Mom March" organizer Donna Dees-Thomases.

Media Won’t Let Bush Escape Death Penalty
The network morning and evening shows on Monday pounced on a new study by anti-death penalty advocates, using somber tones to hang the "issue" around George W. Bush’s neck.

Morning Shows Mourn Death Penalty
Morning show viewers had no where to turn Monday as CBS’s Early Show, NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America all sympathetically reported on a new study by anti-death penalty advocates.

Gumbel on Gore’s Broken Pledge, Isn’t GOP "Just as Wrong?"
CBS Early Show host Bryant Gumbel showcased John McCain on Monday, bemoaning inaction of campaign finance "reform" and giving Gore’s soft-money ad campaign a pass.

FNC Reports Clinton In On Willey Letter Release
Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Brit Hume alone reported Monday night on presidential confidant Bruce Lindsey’s testimony the WH tried to sway public opinion against Starr investigation.

No Network Reports from Carthage
But The Weekly Standard’s Matt Labash ventured to the unsavory site of the Gore rental property and reports his findings in the current issue.

Networks Silent on Gore Slumlord Story
Over the weekend, Tony Blankley, Michael Barone and Brit Hume all commented on the lack of interest by the networks in what Hume described as "a pretty darn good and compelling story" about Gore as an absent "slumlord."

ABC, NBC Join FNC in Reporting on LaBella Memo
At last, this past Sunday Meet the Press and This Week got around to reporting a Gore fundraising scandal story that broke last Tuesday.

Women’s Cable Channel to Feature Gore Tonight
"Al Gore gets in touch with his feminine side. Tonight at 9," promised a June 12 Washington Post newspaper ad touting Gore’s appearance on the Oxygen cable television channel tonight, Monday, June 12, from 9 to 10:30pm ET.

Big Media Flushes Another Gore Gaffe
Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass jokingly called it "a tempest in a toilet" – and that lighthearted approach seems to be the media’s reaction to news that Al Gore’s rental property was in such disrepair, the tenants were compelled to go public on Nashville television.

ABC, CBS Defend Gore’s Broken Soft Money Pledge
After months of crusading against soft money, on the evening of Wednesday, June 7, ABC and CBS ran stories about how Al Gore broke his pledge not to allow the DNC to use soft money for advertising before the GOP did. Astonishingly, both excused Gore and blamed "the system."

Untouchable Al Gore
It’s not just toilets in Tennessee – the degree to which the liberal media is refusing to cover Gore scandals is becoming mind-numbing. Read MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell’s most recent nationally syndicated column.

Katie Couric on Hillary: "Can You Really Pretend to Understand?"
On the Wednesday, June 6 Today show, NBC’s Couric interviewed Laura Ingraham, author of The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places, portraying Hillary as a victim of how people like Ingraham project onto her their views of the role of women.

Hillary "Compassionate"
If you thought George W. Bush had a corner on the word, think again. In an appearance on HBO’s Dennis Miller Live on Friday June 2 to plug a new movie, actress Christine Lahti, who recently played a doctor on CBS’s Chicago Hope, proclaimed of Hillary: "I really think she is...compassionate about all people, and I think she’s a true, earnest public servant."

News Mags Grant No Reprieve in Questioning Bush’s Motives in Death Penalty Case
This week’s major political story was George W. Bush granting a reprieve for a death row inmate, and the news magazines were all over it.

Isikoff: Gore Came "Perilously Close" to Ind. Counsel
Newsweek reports that more than 100 pages of Justice Department memos reveal there was a fierce contest at the Justice Department over whether to appoint an Independent Counsel for the Gore fundraising scandal.

Newsweek Shoots Down Missile Defense
The Newsweek article by John Barry and Evan Thomas promoted a "knowledgeable expert" who thinks the current missile-defense system is a "fraud" as well as the wrongheaded notion that he is "not ideologically against" the concept of missile defense.

ABC and CBS Ignore New Scandal Revelations
The ABC and CBS evening broadcasts on Tuesday, June 6 ignored news on the Gore campaign fundraising scandal, while NBC gave higher priority – and more time – to a story about a dog’s ultimately harmless airline misadventure.

GMA Grants Gore Full 30 Minutes
The June 6 Good Morning America featured Al Gore for a roundtable on women’s issues, but apparently working plumbing is not of concern to women as the rental home was never mentioned by ABC’s hosts or guest questioners.

Nothing New On the Clinton Women?
Read MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell’s newest nationally syndicated column.

FNC Beats Bush-Is-Dumb Drum
On Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Brit Hume, reporter Carl Cameron alerted viewers to how when asked about Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew’s claim that Bush had benefitted from ads placed by secretive section 527 groups, Bush clearly never heard of Andrew, and gave Andrew the opportunity to strike.

Fox Breaks Gore Slumlord Story, Nets Ignore, CNN Devotes 38 Seconds
Monday night, June 5, FNC's Special Report with Brit Hume and Fox Report both carried full stories by David Shuster on the state of disrepair of the Al Gore-owned rental home occupied by a Tennessee family. CNN’s Inside Politics gave the story 38 seconds, but there wasn’t a word Monday night or morning on the broadcast networks’ news.

David Letterman’s "Top Ten Al Gore Tenant Pet Peeves"
... from the comic’s June 5 broadcast.

Even a Liberal Admits, If Gore Were a Republican...
... the press would be calling him a "slumlord." 

To Media, Obscenity at Clinton "Tribute" Is Soft Money, Not Profanity
All three newsmagazines touch on the Democratic National Committee’s big soft-money party last week in their June 5 issues.

Nets Attack Missile Defense
Prompted by President Clinton’s meeting with the Russian President on Thursday, May 31, the evening news on CBS and NBC that night all but nuked the proposal, one casting it as a "high risk program on a fast track."

Can the Pundits Predict Presidential Elections?
MRC’s Free Market Project compares the role of the economy – and the media’s reporting on it – in presidential elections.

Couric Gently Grills Rosie on Gun Hypocrisy
On the June 1 edition of NBC’s Today, co-host Katie Couric asked "Million Mom March" emcee Rosie O’Donnell why it would not be hypocritical to have an armed guard protect her own children.

What’s the Latest Scandal Development the TV News Skipped?
Check out the MRC’s current Media Reality Check fax newsletter.

Two Newsmags Conclude Gore on Defensive over Missile Defense
In their June 5 editions, both U.S. News & World Report and Time report George W. Bush has the upper hand on this one, as missile defense is an idea "whose time has come."

Only U.S. News Covers Latest National Security Lapses
In its June 5 issue, U.S. News & World Report’s Angie Cannon details serious security lapses in "supersecure" government buildings.

Gloria Borger Scorns Clinton Disbarment Defense
In a refreshing change of pace, U.S. News columnist Gloria Borger, after running down the Clinton legal team’s tired arguments, suggests: "maybe the reason the Clinton legal team never released the full text of its 87-page brief is that it was just too embarrassing for them".

Time’s Back Page Longs for Clinton the Casanova
In its June 5 issue, Time turned over its back page essay to novelist Mark Leyner, whose work the magazine previously reviewed as "hard-edged irrelevance."

Of All Sunday Shows, Only Fox Covered Cursing at Clinton "Tribute"
On the Sunday interview shows, only Fox News Sunday touched on entertainer Robin Williams’ foul-mouthed performance honoring the Commander in Chief. FNS panelist Fred Barnes’ comment may explain why.

Newsweek’s Clift On Disbarment
No surprise, on the McLaughlin Group Eleanor Clift revealed she believes disbarment would be too tough a punishment for President Clinton’s lying under oath.

C-SPAN Carries Vulgarity-Laced "Tribute"
Pity the public affairs cable channel for dutifully covering the Wednesday, May 24 Presidential "tribute" only to have it deteriorate—on live TV—into an X-rated comedy routine.

Disbarment? What Disbarment?
All of the Big Three led their evening news on Monday, May 22 with word that President Clinton has been recommended for disbarment. For a textbook example of how network news divisions ignore stories they don’t like, read the latest MRC fax newsletter tracing coverage of this story as it unfolded.

Letterman’s Top Ten Things That Will Get You Disbarred in Arkansas
... from The Late Show’s Web page.

Any Conflict of Interest at CNN?
Since it’s a presidential election year, Ted Turner’s baby, the Cable News Network, is gearing up as is his Turner Foundation. But so far, no one has investigated potential conflict of interest between CNN and the controversial groups funded by the Turner Foundation and reported on by CNN....

Big Three Ignore Corroboration on Threat to Reno’s Job
Only Fox News Channel reported that at a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, May 24, a top Justice Department official corroborated FBI Director Louis Freeh’s recollection that the White House made clear that if Attorney General Reno wanted to keep her job, she couldn’t pursue an independent counsel for fundraising abuses.

Brokaw’s Missive on Missiles
On the May 23 NBC Nightly News, the anchor found G.W. Bush’s proposed missile cut a big yawn, but his missile defense a real shocker.

Newsweek Suggests Marching Moms Against Bush
While Time compares the NRA to the KKK, Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff and Pat Wingert claim in the May 22 issue that with friends like the NRA, George W. Bush "could make more than a few moms his enemy."

Time Finds Evil Dealings "in George W. Bush’s Texas"
Launching a direct assault on the governor and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Time reports on what it calls "a case study of politics, policy and money."

ABC, CBS, NBC Ignore Gore’s Previous Support for Bush-Type SS Proposal
The Bush campaign found video of Al Gore supporting the idea of a portion of Social Security money being privately invested, but on May 16, only CNN’s Inside Politics and FNC’s Special Report with Brit Hume found the Veep’s hypocrisy newsworthy.

Dan Rather Decries "Mockery of Reforms Advocated by the McCain Campaign"
On CBS’s May 16 broadcast, the anchor focused on the Republican Majority Issues Committee, with only a passing nod to the Sierra Club – and of course, citing a dollar figure only for the conservative group.

CBS Anchor Dismisses Bush’s Lead in CBS Poll as Unreliable
... funny, in 1996 CBS’s Dan Rather didn’t make the same claim about similar polls that showed Bill Clinton ahead of Bob Dole.

U.S. News, Newsweek Relay Claim About a Republican "Political Version of Murder, Inc."
Both magazines’ May 15 issues give significant play to the controversial racketeering lawsuit filed by some Democrats against Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). U.S. News writer Marianne Lavelle used the old "Newt, Inc." to gossip that Democrats call DeLay’s fundraising "the political version of Murder, Inc." but also fairly reported the Democrats’ motive in filing the suit was to distract from Gore fundraising scandals.

Newsweek: Bush "Trying to Explain His Friendship" with the NRA
In their May 15 issues, all three major newsmagazines were in lockstep with the "Million Mom March," portraying its sophisticated organizer as a "neophyte" and intoning Bush must explain why he would have dealings with an organization of 3.5 million Americans engaged in lawful activity.

Time, Newsweek Ask if Coelho’s Troubles Have Traction
After months of giving Gore campaign manager Tony Coelho’s legal troubles little more than a brief aside, both magazines in their May 15 issues commiserate with liberals that government investigations have entered "more ominous"phases.

Network News on Bush’s SS Plan: Risky Scheme, Risky Politics
Read how the three broadcast networks handled George W. Bush’s Social Security plan on the Monday, 5/15 broadcasts.

NBC’s Lisa Myers Dismisses Bush’s Praise for "Million Mom March"
On the 5/15 Nightly News, Myers discusses the "apolitical" march that seeks to be a "political movement" that "challenges the gun lobby" and laments "there is no evidence that the march softened" conservative resistance to undermining the Second Amendment.

Gore the Conservative?
After she let Al Gore trash George Bush’s proposal to reform Social Security on the May 1 Nightly News, NBC’s Claire Shipman labeled the Veep’s own plan as "costly but conservative."

ABC, NBC Cast McCain’s Endorsement as Grudging
On the Tuesday 5/9 nightly news, two networks framed McCain’s Bush endorsement as either akin to a shotgun wedding, or mere party housekeeping, while CBS led with weather.

Letterman’s "Top Ten Reasons John McCain Endorsed George W. Bush"
... from the comic’s May 9 show.

20/20 Persists in Pushing GWB as "Far Right"
On the Friday, 5/5 edition of ABC’s prime time newsmag, Barbara Walters suggests to presumptive Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush that his economic plan is worse than the Reagan one his father dismissed as "voodoo" economics.

Boston Globe Official Admits "Momentum is Against" Reporting Gore Scandals
On the 5/5 broadcast of PBS’s Washington Week In Review, David Shribman, Washington Bureau Chief for The Boston Globe, was asked to predict whether, if elected president, Al Gore would be subject to "lengthy and costly" investigations like Clinton. The short answer? Not if Shribman has his way.

Kudos to GMA for E-Mail Coverage
ABC’s Good Morning America was the only morning news show to cover Thursday’s congressional testimony of White House lawyers regarding "missing" WH e-mails subject to subpoena, testimony marked by frightening forgetfulness.

Brokaw Minimizes Own Poll Showing Bush Ahead
On the 5/3 NBC Nightly News, Tom Brokaw relays the findings of an NBC News//Wall Street Journal poll showing Bush leading Al Gore nationally, then used two correspondents and his own comments to undermine the network’s own poll.

ABC, CBS, NBC News Devote Zero Seconds to Hill Testimony on WH E-Mail Scandal
Network news skipped Charles LaBella’s Tuesday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on administrative oversight and the courts. CNN dedicated 27 seconds, while only FNC’s Special Report with Brit Hume ran a full story.

NBC Reports Gore Breaks with Boss Over Elian Raid
On the 4/25 NBC Nightly News, Andrea Mitchell reported those critical of the government’s raid "gained two unlikely allies"... one of which was the Vice President.

GMA Breaks Month-Long Silence on WH E-Mail Scandal
ABC’s Good Morning America was the only network morning show that covered the newest White House scandal 4 ½ weeks ago (albeit devoting only 17 seconds to the story). But on 4/25, GMA revisited the story, which has taken a serious legal turn since then.

Time on Ralph Nader, Candidate and American Icon
Writer Matthew Cooper polishes Nader’s resume as the nation’s best-known regulator launches a Green Party run for President.

GW Bush "Cares about Real People, Just like the Democrats"
This "compliment" from Time magazine, which questioned Bush’s "credibility" while Newsweek focused on Bush’s meeting with gays and highlighted "new doubts" about Christian Conservatives.

NBC's Jay Leno Attends Posh Gore Fundraiser 
Seeking to transfer his Hollywood popularity onto Vice President Gore, Bill Clinton chose a Saturday night $2.8 million fundraiser in Beverly Hills to make his first joint campaign appearance in over a month. In addition to NBC funny man Leno, see which celebs ponyed up.

ABC Questions Bush’s Health Care Record
Monday brought another Gore "exaggeration" story on ABCNews.com, followed by a front page Boston Globe article, "Record Shows Gore Long Embellishing Truth," but ABC's TV news broadcasts ignored both. Instead, ABC focuses on how George W. Bush's "record as Governor raises questions about his commitment" to spending enough taxpayer money on government health care programs.

Cybill Shepherd "Serious"
NBC Today show co-host Matt Lauer asks the actress, "why did you think you’d be a good candidate" for president.

Only FNC Reports on Second Freeh Memo Requesting I.C. for Gore
The sitting Veep may have provided the FBI with false testimony about campaign fundraising activities, there’s not one but two official memos requesting appointment of an Independent Counsel, and broadcast news misses the story completely?

Two of Three Newsmags Find Clinton Breaking Fed. Law Not News
Only U.S. News devotes space to the story. The mag goes on to cover the missing WH e-mail and disbarment hearing stories too, which merits not only kudos to U.S. News but demerits to its competition, too, especially Time.

"Slight Edge on Education"... to George W. Bush?
In a stunner, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter concludes Gore will suffer with voters until he embraces charter schools.

It’s Not Bias, It’s Scandal Fatigue
The media’s reluctance to pursue the White House e-mail scandal is the top issue in Howard Kurtz’s "Media Notes" column in Monday’s Washington Post. On the down side, he ends up attributing this blackout to mere "Clinton scandal fatigue."

GWB as Mute as Networks on Coelho
Fox News Channel’s Carl Cameron highlights how George W. Bush won’t take on the new Gore scandals.

Letterman’s Top Ten
The Late Show host’s latest on GWB.

Media Stars Nominate Bush Running Mate
Read picks for Veep for Bush by Time’s Margaret Carlson and CBS’s Bryant Gumbel.

Gumbel Pushes Gore
Despite the fact that McCain demanded an investigation of Gore’s 1996 fundraising, CBS’s Early Show co-host Bryant Gumbel pushed McCain into agreeing Gore is more campaign finance "reform"-minded than Bush.

U.S. News: Gore and Bush Compete for Top Underachiever?
The media template that Bush is dumb now extends to Gore, as U.S. News reporter Roger Simon grades both men’s collegiate transcripts as mediocre.

ABC Laments Gore’s Shady Fundraising Past Will Be Mentioned
In reporting on Al Gore's attempt to get in front of the campaign finance reform issue by making his own proposal, ABC's World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings assured viewers that "whenever the subject comes up Mr. Gore's fundraising in the past comes up as well." But ABC did not bring it up Monday night, nor has World News Tonight mentioned convicted Gore fundraiser Maria Hsia since March 2 (when the show spent a 19 seconds on the story) or even cited the LaBella memo critical of Clinton-Gore fundraising in 1996.

ABC’s Jack Ford on McCain’s Possible Endorsement of Bush: How Could you?
In a taped interview of John McCain on ABC’s Good Morning America, correspondent Jack Ford is aghast that the Straight Talk Express maverick might endorse a candidate who "some have said... mortgaged his soul... to the right wing conservatives."

NBC's Maria Shriver Cheers as Wright-Edelman Attacks Clinton-Gore from the Left
Today show substitute co-host Maria Shriver accepts all claims, statistics and conclusions of Children’s Defense Fund head Marian Wright-Edelman without once inquiring into their validity.

ABC and CNN Seize Another Opportunity to Remind Voters of Bob Jones U
If George W. Bush can’t shake the "anti-Catholic issue," it’s only because the media will not let him, even managing to tie the announcement of a new House Chaplain to the Bush appearance at BJU to keep up anti-Catholic drumbeat going.

To MSNBC, 3-Year Old Ramsey Case Rates Higher than House Hearing on New WH Scandal
The latest White House-related scandal, missing e-mails that were subject to subpoena, didn’t generate much interest among ABC, MSNBC or NBC. ABC’s World News Tonight ignored the House hearing but gave the Justice Department announcement 20 seconds. Ditto for NBC Nightly News which managed to squeeze the announcement into 16 seconds.

Newsmags Get Good Grades on Education Stories
Both Time and Newsweek tackled the education issue, which is ranked high among voter concerns this year, in their 3/27 editions.

How The Media Spun the GOP Tax Debate Against George W.
Read the Free Market Project’s new Special Report.

Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter Says Bradley Aims Higher
On MSNBC, following Bradley’s acknowledgment that his campaign for the Democratic nomination failed, Jonathan Alter mourned the loss of the man who, he said, would "have us do better."

Early Show’s Jane Clayson Tosses Softballs to Gore
ABC’s Good Morning America pressed Gore on campaign fundraising some, but over at CBS’s The Early Show, all co-host Jane Clayson could muster was to ask Gore whether he was being "contradictory" in calling for campaign finance "reform."

Brokaw Declares Bush a "Pat Robertson Republican"
Using the newly-minted phrase, Tom Brokaw explained to David Letterman that George W. had moved even "harder-right."

MRC Report on Right/Left Labeling in Bush-McCain Race
Study found TV evening news couldn’t find a left turn on the Republican campaign steering wheel.

MSNBC’s Williams Shocked at Media Darling McCain’s Media Rebuke
MSNBC anchor Brian Williams was visibly taken aback when, during live Super Tuesday coverage, John McCain pointedly refused to speak with Williams’ colleague, NBC’s Maria Shriver.

Time and U.S. News Contend After Win, Bush Scrambling
In the 3/13 issues, Time and U.S. News contended Gore was successful in not moving too far to the left (Al Sharpton notwithstanding) while pitying Bush, who the writers claimed is scrambling to distance himself from the media-hyped Bob Jones University "issue."

Newsweek’s Alter Praises McCain "Agents of Intolerance" as Milestone
According to Alter, thanks to McCain, the Republican Party has split into Bush’s "Death Wish Republicans" and "McCain Republicans." Guess who he’s rooting for.

ABC News’s Top Story is Candidate McCain’s Top Gripe
The Arizona Senator’s complaint about a ad running against him is the top story on the Friday, 3/3 edition of ABC’s World News Tonight.