Many media outlets — radio, television and print — regularly feature MRC guests on their programs, quote MRC spokespeople in their articles, and cite MRC research in their stories. Below is a sampling of MRC making news in the news media. Links are provided when available, and were active when posted.

Agape Press
“Media Watchdog: Don't Expect Bias to Follow Rather Out the Door,” by Chad Groening
November 30

…Rather says he agreed with CBS executives last summer that the right time for him to leave would be after the November elections. But Tim Graham of the Media Research Center does not buy that explanation.

"I don't think there's anybody on the plus-side of [age] 12 who thinks this is just Dan retiring because it's time," Graham says. "I think that CBS is trying to figure its way out of this problem, and they figured that they're going to lead with Rather stepping down."…

…The Media Research Center has long criticized Rather for his inclination to inject his liberal bent into news reporting. MRC president Brent Bozell says Rather has "often misled the American people time and again with biased reporting on a wide variety of issues." But he does not expect biased reporting to disappear with Rather gone. …

See Story

Washington Times
Inside Politics, by Jennifer Harper 
November 30

... Fans of the Media Research Center say no: An online poll from the Alexandria-based conservative watchdog group finds that 91 percent of its readers say Mr. Rather's resignation will have "no effect" on liberal bias in the news media.

See Story

U.S. Newswire (press release)
“NLPC Files Shareholder Proposal To End PepsiCo's Support of Jesse Jackson,” (no byline)
November 29

... partners and customers. Jackson accused President Bush of pursuing the "ideology of the Confederacy." (CNSNews.com, Oct. 14, 2004 ...

See Story

Chattanooga Times Free Press
“Dan Rather Blinks” (Free Press Editorial- Cal Thomas)
November 29

…Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center and a frequent critic of Rather, observed: "Mr. Rather's bias is part of an institutional problem throughout the national 'news' media -- identified by former longtime CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg -- which is the arrogant notion that their point of view is always accurate and always relevant to any story in which they choose to inject it." …

The story also ran in the following papers:

The Augusta Chronicle, November 28.

The Wichita Eagle, November 28.

The State
“Rather to step down, but is CBS still blind?” by Cal Thomas
November 29

…Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center and a frequent critic of Rather, observed: “Mr. Rather’s bias is part of an institutional problem throughout the national ‘news’ media — identified by former longtime CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg — which is the arrogant notion that their point of view is always accurate and always relevant to any story in which they choose to inject it.” …

See Story

Christina Post
ADF Launches 'Christmas Project' to Protect Right to Religious Expression, by Susan Wong
November 29

... from the American Civil Liberties Union, Paul Silva, responded to ADF, commenting on the "many misstatements" in the ADF pamphlet to CNSNews.com. ...

See Story

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Media Monday,” (no byline)
November 29

Here are some outrageous, even humorous, quotes from or about the media in post-election ramblings compiled by the Media Research Center: ...

See Story

NewsMax.com
“Brokaw: Rather Made 'a Very Big Mistake'” (no byline)
November 28

... The NBC anchor singled out the Media Research Center's L. Brent Bozell, who he said was "doing as much damage as he can, and I choose that word carefully, to ... 

See Story

The Union Leader
“So long, Dan: We are rather glad you're going,” (no byline)
November 28

... As groups like the Media Research Center documented Rather's liberal bias over the years, Rather dug in, refusing to admit the obvious. ...

See Story

Newsmax.com
“Blair to Europe: Work With Bush,” (no byline)
November 27

... According to a round-up of headlines compiled by CNSNews.com, the French tabloid, Le Parisien, ran the headline, "Bush Re-elected, the French Disappointed.". ...

See Story

Washington Times
“Inside Politics,” by Greg Pierce
November 26

... A new study by the conservative Media Research Center's Free Market Project found that network news has consistently skewed its reporting of global warming. ...

See Story

Contacto Magazine
November 25

“Clinton and Bush in the US News Media,”... circumstances, according to the a study by The Free Market Project, a division ... year, came out the month following their survey date.) FMP researchers analyzed ...

See Story

Quad City Times
“Rather Will Surrender Anchor Chair,” by Howard Kurtz
November 24

…Brent Bozell, who runs the conservative Media Research Center, attributed Rather’s departure to “the loss of credibility” over the National Guard story. “What made it worse was the 10 days of denial by Dan Rather. He was starting to look bizarre toward the end.” While the anchor was flagrantly biased against conservatives, Bozell said, “Dan Rather is a fierce patriot who loves his country and no one can take that away from him.” …

See Story

The story also ran in the following journal:

Winston-Salem Journal (NC),
November 24.

Human Events
“Greatest Danger Is Kyoto Protocol, Not Global Warming,” by Herman Cain and Dan Gainor
November 24

... A new study by the Media Research Center's Free Market Project looked at how all five major news shows -- the three broadcast channels as well the Fox News ...

See Story

The story also ran in the following paper:

Investor’s Business Daily
November 23.

The Washington Times
“Dan Rather to retire as CBS News anchorman,” by Jennifer Harper
November 24

…"Today's announcement ratifies that there was a scandal at CBS, but Dan Rather is not really resigning, he's being reassigned," said Tim Graham of the Media Research Center. "But all of this should not distract the public from asking what went wrong. This resignation sounds like propaganda from a publicist to me. CBS is trying to get out of a mess, trying to take the scent off the investigation of their own wrongdoing." …

See Story

The Boston Globe
“24-Year Anchor Rather to Depart,” by Mark Jurkowitz and Renee Graham Globe Staff
November 24

…Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog group Media Research Center, said part of Rather's persona that made him a lightning rod was "the oddball personality. You watched CBS to see what this guy would do next."

Rather often found himself a target of conservative media critics including the Media Research Center and the RatherBiased.com website who accused him of liberal bias. Yet at times he could be unabashedly and emotionally patriotic, as was the case when he appeared on David Letterman's first post-9/11 show and choked up on several occasions. Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11" features a clip of Rather hoping for a US victory that is intended to illustrate Moore's concerns about the jingoism of the media in wartime.

The New York Times
“A Reporter-Anchor Who Blazed a Trail of His Own,” by Jim Rutenberg; Jacques Steinberg and Bill Carter contributed reporting for this article
November 24

…Mr. Rather's disputes with President Nixon and Vice President George H.W. Bush won him plaudits from peers and the continuing ire of conservatives. 

''He came to symbolize the liberal media agenda that he was out front on,'' said Brent Baker, vice president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group that monitors the news media for perceived liberal bias.

But Mr. Rather and his colleagues have often worn that scorn as an honor badge, portraying it as the price of his hard-charging reporting. …

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Rather Stepping down;
Anchor’s Decision to Leave CBS Follows Uproar over Guard Memos,” by Mackenzie Carpenter
November 24

…The way CBS -- and Rather -- reacted to that criticism made things worse, added Brent Bozell, director of the Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group. Moreover, CBS's "enormous credibility problems" would not end with Rather's departure.

"We have always felt the liberal bias problem that permeates that network goes far beyond Mr. Rather," he said in a statement. …

The Washington Post
“Dan Rather to Step Down at CBS; Anchor's Decision Comes Amid Probe of Flawed Bush Report,” by Howard Kurtz
November 24

…Brent Bozell, who runs the conservative Media Research Center, attributed Rather's departure to "the loss of credibility" over the National Guard story. "What made it worse was the 10 days of denial by Dan Rather. He was starting to look bizarre toward the end." While the anchor was flagrantly biased against conservatives, Bozell said, "Dan Rather is a fierce patriot who loves his country, and no one can take that away from him." …

The Washington Times
“Dan Rather to Retire as CBS News Anchorman,” by Jennifer Harper
November 24

…"Today's announcement ratifies that there was a scandal at CBS, but Dan Rather is not really resigning, he's being reassigned," said Tim Graham of the Media Research Center. "But all of this should not distract the public from asking what went wrong. This resignation sounds like propaganda from a publicist to me. CBS is trying to get out of a mess, trying to take the scent off the investigation of their own wrongdoing." …

CNN
“Paula Zahn Now- 8:00 PM” with Tom Foreman, Paula Zahn, Jamie McIntyre, Jeanne Moos, guests: Howard Stringer, Jerry Falwell, Barry Lynn, David Gergen, Kristen Breitweiser, Joan Molinaro
November 23

HIGHLIGHT: 

Dan Rather decides to step down from the CBS anchor desk. Video games that reward violence, sexually charged television shows, and shock jocks thumbing their noses at the FCC are under attack, but also profitable. The president hits a roadblock on intelligence reform and finds the barricades manned by fellow Republicans.

BODY:
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening and welcome to PRIME TIME POLITICS. Glad to have you with us tonight.

With the post-election concern over values, consider this. Video games that reward violence, sexually charged television shows, and shock jocks thumbing their noses at the FCC, all of them are under attack, but all of them are extremely popular and extremely profitable. Go figure. That's exactly what we plan to do tonight.

Also tonight, the second-term surprise. The president hits a roadblock on intelligence reform and finds the barricades manned by fellow Republicans. 

And the end of another era on TV, Dan Rather ultimately stepping down from the anchor desk.

We start tonight, though, with that contradiction. A brand new poll says a majority of Americans, 56 percent, say they are optimistic about the next four years. But in that same poll, 70 percent say popular culture is lowering the country's moral standards. So are we optimistic or pessimistic?

As Tom Foreman reports, if you judge by what's on our TVs, radios and computers, we're just plain contrary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: So meet me at the motel in an hour?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The paradox of American TV viewers is easy to see on "Desperate Housewives." Full of sexy lines and flashing skin, it has rocketed up the ratings. But when one of the stars went on "Monday Night Football" doing the same routine, media watchdogs exploded.

BRENT BOZELL, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: There was no reason to do that. There was no demand for anything along those lines. But they wanted to be offensive, and they succeeded, because they wanted folks like CNN to be talking about it and folks like Brent Bozell to be criticizing it the next day. It's all publicity.

FOREMAN: The entertainment industry has angered plenty of people this year, with bawdy behavior at the Super Bowl, movies about what some call deviant sex.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIAM NEESON, ACTOR: Stimulation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

See Story

CNN
“Crossfire” with Tucker Carlson, Donna Brazile, Judy Woodruff, guests: Rich Noyes, Bob Garfield
November 23

HIGHLIGHT: 
CBS News anchor Dan Rather announces he's leaving the anchor chair. Just how liberal is the news media at large?

BODY:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala; on the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson.

In the CROSSFIRE: For many, he's the personification of the -- quote -- "liberal media," CBS News anchor Dan Rather. Now he's leaving the anchor chair. His critics says he has an agenda and point to examples such as this election year's controversial story questioning President Bush's National Guard record. Dan Rather's story turned out to be based on documents that couldn't be authenticated. 

Is Dan Rather too liberal? And just how liberal is the news media at large?

Today on CROSSFIRE.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

ANNOUNCER: Live from the Georgia Washington University, Donna Brazile sitting in on the left and Tucker Carlson.

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST: Welcome to CROSSFIRE.

Weeks after he disgraced his network in a scandal over phony documents, Dan Rather has announced he's leaving the anchor chair at CBS News after almost a quarter of century of subverting the news. His legacy? Millions of viewers who believe the rest of the media are as liberal as Dan Rather is. Are those millions of viewers right? That's our debate.

James Carville and Paul Begala have taken the day off today. They're with Barbra Streisand at Whole Foods shopping for tofurkey.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Sitting in on the left, one of our all-time favorites, former Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile.

And now the best political briefing in television, our CROSSFIRE "Political Alert."

DONNA BRAZILE, GUEST HOST: Well, Tucker, unlike the election four years ago, this time around George W. Bush didn't have to rely on partisan election officials in Florida and a conservative Supreme Court to put him in office.

Republicans immediately began to claim that this meant he had a mandate to pursue an ultra-conservative agenda. Not so fast. According to a new poll "The New York Times" CBS News, nearly two- thirds of voters, including 1 percent of Republicans, believe that -- 51 percent of Republicans -- believe it's more important to reduce the deficit than to cut taxes. And check this out.

A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows that more than twice as many Americans say that Mr. Bush does not have a mandate to advance the Republican agenda. Hopefully, these findings will serve to humble Mr. Bush and the far right cronies. But guess what? Don't hold your breath.

CARLSON: You know, the good thing about Bush is, agree or disagree, he's pretty straightforward. If you voted for it, you pretty much knew what you were getting. And that's probably what we're going to get.

Moreover, I think history judges presidents better when they kind of govern out of what they really believe in and do bold things, rather than get-along-go-along-type presidents. I bet Bush will be probably pretty aggressive in this second term.

BRAZILE: Well, let's see if we get an intelligence bill. Let's see if we can reduce the deficit. Let's see if we can find those jobs that have been missing now for the last four years.

CARLSON: I'm not sure that is what he ran on. I think he ran on like privatizing Social Security and seeing through Iraq to the end.

(BELL RINGING)

BRAZILE: Oh, well, I don't think he'll get a lot of support that way.

CARLSON: All right.

Well, Howard Dean once dreamed of lobbing Capitol Hill from his residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Alas, he never got there. But these days, he's begging for votes to succeed Terry McAuliffe as the head of the Democratic National Committee. Yesterday, we learned that Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and former Clinton Labor Secretary Alexis Herman were pulling their names out of the running for that job.

Today, "The New York Sun" reports that Dr. Dean is lobbying congressional member who supported his presidential bid to weigh in on his behalf. Dean argues that he is just the man who the pick the Democratic Party up out of the doldrums and that he has proven his fund-raising prowess. And he's right on all counts, of course. Dean is just the person to lead a directionless party. Democrats, heed the scream. Howard Dean is your man. No apologies. Howard Dean for DNC chair.

Don't you agree, Donna? BRAZILE: Well, Dean is a doctor. And what ails a Democrat? Perhaps we do need a doctor. But I think we need more than a doctor, a mechanic or a cook. We need even more than a quarterback. We need a whole team, so that the Democratic Party can come fighting back.

CARLSON: You need someone with limited self-control, an unattractive personality and a really loud voice. And Howard Dean is all of those things.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Howard Dean is the physical embodiment of the values of the Democratic Party.

BRAZILE: I thought you were describing Rush Limbaugh.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: No, no, I'm serious. I'm serious. Howard Dean is just your man. Howard Dean is, again, the physical embodiment. He's Mr. Democrat.

(BELL RINGING)

BRAZILE: If this was based on physical characteristics, Howard Dean would be a great chairman. But, look, we have a deep bench and we'll see what happens.

CARLSON: I hope he gets it. I'm praying for it every night.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: I know you are.

CARLSON: Yes, the whole thing.

BRAZILE: You couldn't wait. You can't wait.

(LAUGHTER)

BRAZILE: It's no secret that AM talk radio thrives on being outrageous and controversial, but the recent comments by a Wisconsin radio host about Dr. Condoleezza Rice were over the top under any standards.

The host used a term "Aunt Jemima" to describe Rice and went on to indicate that she's unqualified to get the job that she's getting. And because she's black, of course, he thought he could use that racial epithet. Well, not only are those comments appallingly racist. They're also wrong. Even if you disagree with Dr. Rice politically -- and I object to some of her views -- there's no question that she's smart, brilliant, and eminently qualified for the job. CARLSON: I agree. And I think you might want to point out that the radio show host in Madison, Wisconsin, who attacked her is a left- winger and a good friend of Senator Russia Feingold.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: And that's why Kweisi Mfume went after him, I went after him and a number of others went after him.

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: Then I wish Kweisi Mfume and the rest, including you, would go after the critics of Justice Clarence Thomas who refer to him as an Uncle Tom, who make racially disparaging remarks from the left at him constantly and have for 13 years and no one has said anything about it. Actually, the race-baiting is on the left, isn't it?

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: Let's go after all of the race-baiting on the right as well. What I'm saying is, race-baiting should be wrong on both sides of the aisle.

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: Well, good for you for pointing it out.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: But I will say, seriously, black Americans who are conservatives who deviate from the Democratic Party line tend to be attacked on racial grounds by liberals.

(BELL RINGING)

CARLSON: And it's disgusting. And I'm glad you pointed it out.

BRAZILE: Well, liberals who stand their ground are also demonized by right-wingers as well.

CARLSON: Not that I've noticed, but I would denounce it if I did.

Well, just about everyone agrees that George W. Bush won the election three weeks ago at least in part because he won the debate over values. A lot of voters, it turns out, seem to think that liberals are hostile to organized religion. The question is, wherever did they get that impression? Well, maybe from the Democratic stronghold of Maryland, possibly the most liberal state in America, where schoolchildren have been forbidden to learn about God.

We're not making this up. According to this morning's "Washington Times," Maryland public school teachers are required to teach the history of Thanksgiving without talking about religion. The only problem is, Thanksgiving started as a religious holiday. The Pilgrims were a religious minority. When they gathered to give thanks for the first time, they gave thanks to God, not to the State Central Committee or to the American Civil Liberties Union or even to the benevolent and peaceful Native Americans, who showered them with love, not arrows, but instead to the highest power. This is history.

Maryland schoolchildren ought to know it. But because of liberal censorship, they don't. And I'll tell you what, Donna. The first Democratic presidential candidate who denounces silliness like this, who denounces political correctness, who embraces a balanced conversation about religion will win.

BRAZILE: Well, look, praise the lord.

I mean, look, I'm a liberal. I just said it. So guess what? No one struck me down. I don't think there's a problem with teaching not only religion, but also the truth about how this holiday came about.

CARLSON: Well, that may be because you're from Louisiana, which is not at all a mainstream Democratic state. But in Massachusetts and Maryland and California and like liberal strongholds, no, verboten to talk about God.

BRAZILE: Well, that's just a stereotype, that liberals are somehow or another godless. And that's not true.

CARLSON: They're just annoying, not godless.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Well, what is the impact of Dan Rather's departure from the anchor desk? He was known for being folksy and in some cases very liberal. Did Dan Rather have a political agenda? Of course he did. And just how liberal is the media in general?

Also, so many celebrities, so little inspiration. Who has been chosen as the least intriguing and least inspiring of all celebrities in Hollywood? We have the answer. We'll tell you later.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.

Today marked the end of an era at CBS News and informal celebrations around the country, as Dan Rather announced he's leaving as anchor of the evening news. He's long been seen as a standard bearer for the traditional liberal media. So could his departure be more than just a changing of the guard?

Joining us is Bob Garfield, host of National Public Radio's "On the Media." He's in our Washington bureau. Here on the set, Rich Noyes of the Media Research Center.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Thanks for joining us. Bob Garfield, Dan Rather -- when the people talk about the liberal media, a lot of times, they're really talking literally about Dan Rather the man. I could give you 1,000 examples. I just want to give you my absolute favorite example of Dan Rather's political feelings coming through on the air. This is from a broadcast, "CBS Evening News," March 16, 1995, at the very beginning of kind of the Republican revolution in Congress.

This is how he led the broadcast -- quote -- "The new Republican majority in Congress took a big step today on its legislative agenda to demolish or damage government aid programs, many of them designed to help children and the poor."

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: Now, do you think that's a straight news lead or does it sound a lot more like a political ad?

BOB GARFIELD, HOST, "ON THE MEDIA": It sounds like a Republican push poll, to tell you the truth.

But, you know, I hope we're not going to go into indict Dan Rather and all of the media for, let's say, one infelicitous phrasing in one lead. He has become the poster child for the liberal media. The media are by and large liberal. But there's a huge difference between a person's political position somewhere left of center and flogging that ideology in the news, which I'm pretty sure that Dan Rather and the rest of the so-called liberal media seldom do.

This is opposed to, for example, Fox News Channel, which does it for a living.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Well, that's actually, I think a thoughtful point. One of the reasons people watch Fox is because they believe the rest of the media are liberal. And one of the reasons they believe that is because of Dan Rather, who clearly is liberal. Isn't that a problem itself, the perception?

Just to back it up, I could give you, again, many examples of his colleagues calling him liberal. Andy Rooney recently on this network, on "LARRY KING LIVE," said, I think Dan is -- quote -- "transparently liberal." Everyone knows he's liberal. Doesn't that hurt the rest of us in the press?

GARFIELD: The rest of us? You're lumping yourself in?

Tucker, Tucker...

CARLSON: Yes, I am, because I think it devalues the...

GARFIELD: Look, of course, the answer is yes.

CARLSON: ... the notion of objective news. And that hurts everyone who works for a news organization. GARFIELD: You know what? Here's the thing. And it's such a simple concept and yet apparently so difficult for so many people to grasp.

The values -- and that's a popular word these days -- the values of journalism happen to overlap the values of liberalism, suspicion of authority, distrust of government, seeking reform, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable when in transparency in our political process. They happen to overlap. So that's why it's natural that people in journalism also happen to be arrayed for the most part on the political left.

But once again, that is not an indictment of journalism.

CARLSON: That may be the most arrogant thing I've ever heard.

GARFIELD: I'm sorry?

BRAZILE: Well, Bob, thank you for redefining not only liberalism, but what journalism is all about.

Look, Mr. Noyes, it is so true that the way many of us liberals see the news media right now is that there's no such thing as a liberal bias. Instead, what you have are anchors or reporters trying to get the best story out possible. Your organization has made its name, its reputation on attacking people like Dan Rather, attacking the so-called liberal bias. Now that Dan Rather is stepping down, who's next?

RICH NOYES, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: Probably whoever he picks because there's an awful lot of liberals inside CBS. John Roberts, who has been named as somebody who might replace Rather, is somebody who's got a length of quotes almost as long as Dan Rather. His career isn't as long, but he's almost as liberal.

BRAZILE: So if you're quoted as saying something that seems to be attacking the president or attacking a conservative, attacking a Republican, you're liberal. You're biased.

NOYES: No, you're not. It's when you do that and then, when it comes to a Democrat, you offer supportive coverage, defensive coverage, coverage that tries to play the part of dismissing any attacks on them and you give two different standards for coverage, one for Republicans, one for Democrats.

Mr. Garfield just taught about how journalists are supposed to comfort the afflicted. Well, one of the big scandals this year has been the oil-for-food scandal at the U.N. "CBS Evening News" with Dan Rather has not dug into that at all. He may be supposed to comfort the afflicted, but he's not really digging into that one at all.

CARLSON: Isn't that a big point, Mr. Garfield? You just said a second ago that it's natural a lot of journalists are liberal, because liberalism and journalism share a lot of the same values. I would argue that libertarianism shares a lot of the values that you just enumerated. But one of the values you mentioned was an instinctive distrust of authority. The problem with Dan Rather was, he sucked up to authority when he agreed with it. For instance, 1993, May 27, he had the following exchange with then President Bill Clinton, who was -- congratulated Rather on his partnership with Connie Chung.

Rather said -- quote -- "Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. If we would be 100th as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been together in the White House, we would take it right now and walk away winners."

That's not comforting the afflicted. That's sucking up to power. That's throne-sniffing.

GARFIELD: Look, Tucker, you can't argue by anecdote. That's silly.

But if you want that anecdote, I'll give you another one. And that's Dan Rather on the David Letterman show in tears vowing to support the president in any way in the fight against terrorism. The man wears his emotions on the sleeve.

And, listen, I'm not arguing that Dan Rather should not have made this decision. It appears -- and, again, we can only presume -- it appears that an unflattering report about the way this "60 Minutes II" story was produced is going to bring a whole heap of unhappiness on the CBS News division, and that Dan Rather is right in front -- or right in the middle of the problem. And maybe this was the right decision.

But, you know, he has been made -- let me put it to you this way. Rich just a moment ago talked about, there's a whole lot of liberals in CBS News, like Joe McCarthy talking about a list of communist in the State Department.

CARLSON: Oh, come on.

(CROSSTALK)

GARFIELD: Since when does liberalism -- is that some sort of indictment on a person's integrity?

CARLSON: Let's just back up here a second. You dismissed -- you dismissed the phony document scandal as -- by referring to -- quote -- "an unflattering report."

It's not clear to me how can you even imply a defense of Rather's action in that. He allowed a document whose providence he didn't know -- they didn't know where the document came from. They don't claim to ever have known where it came from, that was, according to a number of experts they consulted and paid for, probably false. He put it on the air anyway. That's evidence he's not simply liberal. He's a lousy journalist. Doesn't that bother you?

GARFIELD: I didn't say it doesn't bother me. And I'm very unhappy about many aspects of that story, first, the way CBS handled it, and, secondly, by the way, the way this Dan Rather-gate got in the way of the larger story, which was whether the president did or did not evade service during the Vietnam era.

That story has been entirely lost in the fuss, maybe all Dan Rather's fault, but, nonetheless, the fuss of whether this was shoddy journalism or not. I think that's most unfortunate. And if the man has to fall on his sword, he has to do so. But, once again, this does not indict the media. Dan Rather's -- his excesses or his failings, does not indict the media as some sort of negative force in America.

(CROSSTALK)

GARFIELD: I want just want to remind you that one of the values that the media reflexively support is civil liberties and distrust of government, which was just part of the founders' whole idea. This is not the Marxist manifesto we're talking about. We're talking about the Bill of Rights.

(APPLAUSE)

BRAZILE: Bob, you're so on point, but I have to go back to Mr. Noyes about this whole issue of bias.

And I think the point of Memogate was lost because of the so- called forged documents. But the actual stories behind the document, I didn't hear anything different on the cable news or on the other network news. Everyone was going after those documents, but not the truth behind the story itself.

NOYES: Well, but the story that Rather was trying to push with those forged memos -- and it would have been a one-sided, biased story if there hadn't been any forgery involved -- was a...

BRAZILE: What's the bias?

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: What's the bias when there's a...

(CROSSTALK)

GARFIELD: That's preposterous.

NOYES: They put together a news magazine story that was based only on the testimony of Democratic partisan Ben Barnes, a former lieutenant governor of Texas who had it in for Bush. That was his entire premise of the story, plus these documents.

BRAZILE: So when Democrats speak out, it's biased.

NOYES: There was that story.

Then there was a story of what John Kerry did in the Vietnam War. CBS didn't touch the Kerry story or defended Kerry. They decided to spend four years going after George Bush. There's a huge difference there. It shows they had an agenda to go after Bush and an agenda to protect Kerry. If that's not bias, I don't know what is.

(CROSSTALK)

GARFIELD: You have special powers.

CARLSON: Hold on. You just said a second ago that most journalists distrust government. Is that's true, then why does every survey done show that the vast majority of journalists support liberal Democrats, who, of course, favor an increase in the size and power of government? Those two concepts don't go together.

GARFIELD: Now, hold it a second. Now you're playing with words.

Government that you're talking about is federalism, the ability of the government to create social services and programs to help its people. That's government in that sense. Then there's government in the sense of elected officials running our country for us and making important decisions for us for reasons that are not necessarily transparent.

CARLSON: That's a distinction without a difference.

GARFIELD: In that sense, of course we are suspicious of authority. And you're playing very -- word games there, Tucker.

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: It's not a word game. Actually, it's a pretty simple concept. Let me repeat it, so maybe you will get it this time.

(LAUGHTER)

CARLSON: It is that, if journalists are suspicious of misuse of the power of the federal government, why, by their votes, do they support giving more power to the federal government? Simple question.

GARFIELD: Once again, you're conflating two -- the same word, but dissimilar ideas.

Yes, people -- liberals want to -- typically want to have more federalism, not less. That's true. At the same time -- and try to hold two ideas in your head at the same time that, at the same time, they want to make sure...

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: All right.

GARFIELD: They want to make sure that the government is spending their tax dollars properly, that they're not abusing their authority, and they're not...

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: I'm sorry to cut you off. What you're saying bears no resemblance to the liberals in my neighborhood. But we can talk about it in just a second when we come back after a commercial break.

BRAZILE: It's called transparency. You probably haven't heard of that word either.

CARLSON: Next, in "Rapid Fire," Dan Rather is not the only liberal in the media. We'll ask if some reporters are showing their stripes with their political donations.

And what is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying about accusations he has been fighting passage of the intelligence reform bill? Judy Woodruff has the latest right after this.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Judy Woodruff reporting from Washington.

Coming up at the top of the hour, Dan Rather stepping down as anchor of "The Cbs Evening News." What's behind his announcement?

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld says he supports intelligence reform, but the Joint Chiefs can speak for themselves.

And Oliver Stone talks with us about his new movie about Alexander the Great.

All those stories and much more just minutes away on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."

Now back to CROSSFIRE.

CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE. Time for "Rapid Fire," where we ask questions a lot faster than Dan Rather bothers to apologize for airing a phony news report.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Joining us again from our Washington bureau, Bob Garfield, co-host of NPR's "On the Media." With us here in Washington, Rich Noyes of the Media Research Center.

BRAZILE: Well, contents still matter. First Brokaw, now Rather. What is the future of network news?

NOYES: Oh, I think it's declining ratings. I think we learned over this election cycle that people found cable to be their primary source of news. Fox News Channel, which is not a conservative network, but simply a nonliberal network, actually won the ratings for the conventions and for election night. And it -- you know, I think more and more people are going to go to cable because news is there 24/7 when they want it.

CARLSON: Bob, you work at NPR, obviously a pretty liberal network. Does it bother you that all of the political donations given in this last cycle went to Democrats, not one to Republican? And if you really care about diversity, why don't you hire some Republican donors, too?

GARFIELD: Now, I always freeze up during the lightning round, but I really have no idea what you're talking about. There are two NPR...

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

GARFIELD: I think two NPR employees, one of them in the news division, gave a personal donation.

CARLSON: Six.

(CROSSTALK)

GARFIELD: OK, so it's six. But this is an organization with I don't know how many thousands of employees.

CARLSON: It doesn't bother you?

GARFIELD: I'll give you a no on that.

CARLSON: You're supposed to be representing America. Shouldn't there be some Republicans? Fifty-one percent of the country voted for Bush.

GARFIELD: I don't even work for NPR. They distribute our show. I'm not going to presume to speak for that organization. But I don't think that's an important question, so my inability to answer probably won't hurt.

CARLSON: Or an answerable one, obviously.

BRAZILE: They're probably giving secret donations. We just don't know, like most Republicans.

(APPLAUSE)

BRAZILE: Mr. Rather, you wished him well. In your press release, you wished him well in his perhaps new gig with "60 Minutes."

(BELL RINGING)

BRAZILE: What do you hope to see him cover on those shows?

NOYES: Maybe he can keep trying to track down who the ultimate forger of these documents was. "60 Minutes" is where he actually committed the worst transgression of his career. And that's going to be the resting ground for retirement? That's an odd place.

CARLSON: He's going to find the real killers.

NOYES: Yes.

CARLSON: Rich Noyes, Bob Garfield, thanks a lot for joining us. We appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Well, celebrities exist to be intriguing, apparently. What if you're a celebrity who has been named least intriguing of them all? We'll tell you who won that dubious honor next.

We'll be right back.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.

You might have thought that, if there was one place left in America where filmmaker Michael Moore still actually had some credibility left, it would be Hollywood, but no. Sorry, Mr. Moore. It turns out that, even in Hollywood, he is a joke. Moore tops FilmThreat.com's "Frigid 50," an annual list of Hollywood's -- quote -- "least inspiring, least intriguing celebrities."

The editors advise Moore -- quote -- "Lose the chip on your shoulder" and suggests that he support a Republican in the next presidential election. It would take a gesture that dramatic to make Michael Moore interesting again. Even then, I would not be interested.

BRAZILE: Well, Abe Lincoln is dead. I don't know what other Republican he could support. And I'm sure right now he's laughing his ugly, unpopular butt all the way to the bank.

From the left...

CARLSON: That's true. You know what? I'm glad you admitted it's all about money. You're an honest woman, Donna. That's why I like you.

(LAUGHTER)

BRAZILE: Happy Thanksgiving.

CARLSON: Happy Thanksgiving.

BRAZILE: From the left, I'm Donna Brazile. That's it for CROSSFIRE today.

CARLSON: And from the right, I'm Tucker Carlson. Join us again next time -- I think after Thanksgiving -- for yet more CROSSFIRE.

"WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" starts right now. Have a great night.

(APPLAUSE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

Fox News Network
“The Big Story with John Gibson” with John Gibson and guests: Brent Bozell, Ellis Henican
November 23

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY ROONEY, CBS NEWS: I think it's, he's probably ready to do it. I think it's a good thing to do. He's about 15 years after Cronkite stepped down, that much older, so he's had a good run, and it's been great.

(END VIDEO CLIP) 

GIBSON: "60 Minutes" commentator discussing Dan Rather's departure from the helm of CBS News. Did you hear that? He's quitting as of March.

And that's not all Rooney's been talking about. When he opens his mouth, the CBS curmudgeon is an equal opportunity offender. His latest rant, saying Christian fundamentalism is a result of, quote, "a lack of education."

Joining me now for more on Andy's recent ramblings, in Washington, Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, and here in New York, "Newsday" columnist and Fox News contributor Ellis Henican.

Hey, listen, I think I got to pull rank with on Andy Rooney. Dan Rather is bigger at CBS than Andy. So let me just, Brent, have, let you you have a go at this. Andy stepped down today, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I mean, excuse me, Dan Rather did. And he's going to leave the anchor chair and "CBS Evening News," you know, March. He will have been there then 24 years. Is it because, as Andy Rooney suggested, about time for him to go, or did he get chased out of Dodge over that phony document issue?

BRENT BOZELL, PRESIDENT, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: Oh, I think it's both, frankly. I think, look, at age 73, sooner or later he was going to be stepping down. But because of the scandal with the National Guard story, with the forged memo, and because of his central role in that scandal, I think it became sooner rather than later.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE) CBS has got a huge credibility problem. And here comes Andy Rooney on the heels of that, insulting tens of millions of Christians. He not only did he call it a lack of education. He also called Christianity nonsense.

GIBSON: Yes, I know he did, and we're going to get to that in just a second.

Ellis, about Dan Rather, so what do you say about the end of a 24-year career in the anchor chair going out like this?

ELLIS HENICAN, "NEWSDAY": Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's not the perfect way to go out. But, you know, Brent and his buddies have been pounding on Rather for years and years and years. There's not one whit of evidence yet that that had anything to do with his departure. The man is 73 years old, John. I mean, by the time you...

(CROSSTALK)

GIBSON: ... don't go for, too far down that road. I mean, there's (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

HENICAN: You're not 73.

GIBSON: There's a report coming that may -- you know, one could think is going to assign some blame. Is Dan Rather getting out of the way of a train headed down the track?

HENICAN: You know, if anything, I would think it has the opposite effect. It makes CBS not want to seem to bow to the Swift Boat zealots and the people who are pounding on the guy. I think they're going to do it on their own term. He's going to get out in March. It's going to be this nice (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

GIBSON: Hey, Brent, you've been, you've been, you've been very kind to sit there without jumping on Ellis.

BOZELL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not laughing.

GIBSON: Well, I mean, but, come on, come on. He acts...

HENICAN: Brent's been trying to do this for 10 years. It didn't work.

BOZELL: Look, look, let's understand something about the National Guard story. Dan Rather, in the face of the national uproar, spent 10 days defending this hoax, and then, after he apologized, he went to "The Chicago Tribune" and he told them he still stood by this as real memo. So the guy's got a huge credibility problem.

But let me say something, and this is important to say this. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Dan Rather isn't Beelzebub. Dan Rather isn't personification of evil. There's also some very good things about Dan Rather. And I'm going to say it. I think he fiercely loves his country. I think he's fiercely patriotic. And that needs to be said.

I also think he's lost his credibility.

GIBSON: OK, enough of that. Rooney.

HENICAN: Rooney.

GIBSON: Rooney, Ellis, goes out and does the thing that somehow (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on just even the slightly left of center side, you can't, you can't give up this obsession with insulting Christians.

HENICAN: No. I mean, he is behaving a little bit like Andy Looney these days, but, you know, I mean, that's the job of a curmudgeon humorist, is to...

GIBSON: Yes, but...

HENICAN: ... go in, it's to stir the pot, it's to make you, everybody mad. I mean...

GIBSON: But (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

HENICAN: ... so what what the guy thinks?

BOZELL: Did I hear the word humorist?

HENICAN: He's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE), listen, a lot of people love him.

BOZELL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the humor, where's the humor...

HENICAN: Lot of people love him.

BOZELL: ... in insulting a majority of Americans who call themselves Christian? Tell me, please, where the humor is in that.

HENICAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), listen, listen, the point is not to be funny (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I'm not defending it. I think it's a mistake anytime to make fun of someone's religion. I mean, I say that as a Catholic boy from Louisiana. My beliefs, I don't try and impose them on anybody. I wish my friends on the religious right would learn that lesson.

But you know what? Let's just let everybody practice their own. What about that?

GIBSON: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BOZELL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), we're talking about (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I mean, it's like Walter Cronkite, the former dean of journalism from CBS, making two television appearances suggesting that Karl Rove was behind the bin Laden video. What is it with the drinking water at CBS?

GIBSON: Hey, Brent, what is going to be the effect of the Rooney comment about, you know, Christians just suffer from a lack of education?

BOZELL: Just more of the same. People are going to look at CBS, they're going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), continue looking at CBS, and they're saying, this network has no credibility.

HENICAN: No impact at all. Lou, Rooney sticks with his beliefs the same way the Christian right, because Rooney's an atheist. He says, I don't believe in all this squat about religion...

GIBSON: You don't think...

HENICAN: ... you know?

GIBSON: You don't think this quote's going to live in infamy at all?

HENICAN: No, there'll be 1,000 e-mails and it will all get stirred up. And you know, people, when he dies, when he retires, they will bring it back. But life will go on, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

GIBSON: Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, Ellis Henican, "Newsday" contrib -- columnist and Fox News contributor, thanks to both of you.

Straight ahead, My Word.

The Washington Times
“Nation, Inside Politics,” by Greg Pierce
November 23

…Angry liberals

"Newsweek's Eleanor Clift and PBS's Bill Moyers launched angry attacks over the weekend at President Bush's wish to elevate Condoleezza Rice to secretary of state," the Media Research Center reports at www.mediaresearch.org.

"Clift charged on the 'McLaughlin Group': 'Rice didn't see terrorism coming; she went out and really lied about what she knew.' Moyers, on Friday night's 'Now' on PBS, denounced how 'we are to have a new secretary of state who dreadfully misjudged the terrorist threat leading up to 9/11 and then misled America and the world about the case for invading Iraq.'

"Adding Bush's national security adviser pick, Stephen J. Hadley, to his targets, Moyers lectured: 'So instead of putting America's foreign policy in the hands of people who might have restored the country's credibility in the world, the president has turned it over to two of the people who helped shred it. Both are known first and foremost for loyalty to the official view of reality, no matter the evidence to the contrary.' " …

The Washington Times
“Nation, Inside Politics,” by Greg Pierce
November 23

…Mind control

If you didn't already suspect, a new Media Research Center study confirms that George W. Bush received twice as much negative press coverage as Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Anybody on Capitol Hill surprised?

"Most Americans now realize that big media - network TV news programs and the largest newspapers and newsmagazines - tried to determine the outcome of the presidential election," said Rep. Lamar Smith, Texas Republican.

"Think what President Bush's margin of victory would have been without the media bias," says the congressman, calling it "a real threat to democracy." …

Men’s News Daily
“Media Myopia,” by Geoff Metcalf
November 22

…There are already assorted groups allegedly doing that. However, most are tainted by some partisan spin or political prejudice. Brent Bozell's Media Research Center is perceived as 'conservative'. Norman Lear's FAIR (which isn't) is perceived as 'liberal'. The big three networks (notwithstanding their recent meeting to discuss the blowback from the election) remain in denial. …

See Story

Human Events
“Media: Ashcroft Was Worse Than Arafat,” by L. Brent Bozell, III
November 22

See Story

Portland Press Herald
Global warming's back, but so are the as-yet-unsilenced skeptics 
November 22

... Asked by the Web-based news service CNSNews.com for comment on the current report on the Arctic, Michaels noted that the region "was warmer 4,000 to 7,000 ...

See Story

Torontofreepress.com
“John McCain's 'Global Warming' Hearings Blasted by Climatologis,” by Marc Morano, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
November 19

Washington (CNSNews.com) - Recent U.S. Senate hearings into alleged global warming, chaired by Arizona Republican John McCain, were among the "most biased" that a noted climatologist has ever seen - "much less balanced than anything I saw in the Clinton administration," he said.

See Story

ChronWatch
“To Liberal Media, Ashcroft Is the Villain, Arafat the Hero,” by Denise Delgado
November 19

Columnist Brent Bozell takes the liberal, mainstream press to task for heaping posthumous praise on one of the world’s most savage and brutal terrorists, Yasser Arafat, while focusing mostly on the negative comments directed toward outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft. Bozell notes that during Ashcroft’s tenure, we have had no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. …

See Story

Los Angeles Times
Obituaries; Reed Irvine, 82; Created Group to Confront Perceived Bias in Media, by Elaine Woo
November 19

"I used to call him the pit bull," L. Brent Bozell III, founder of the Media Research Center, another conservative media watchdog group, told The Times on Thursday. "When Reed deemed something important, he would sink his teeth into it and not let go." "I used to call him the pit bull," L. Brent Bozell III, founder of the Media Research Center, another conservative media watchdog group, told The Times on Thursday. "When Reed deemed something important, he would sink his teeth into it and not let go."

The Washington Times
“Nation; Inside Politics,” by Greg Pierce
November 18

Bias? What bias?

"Tom Brokaw countered claims of liberal bias with how people on Manhattan's West Side maintain the media's 'conservative bias' has aided and abetted George W. Bush," the Media Research Center's Brent Baker reports at www.mediaresearch.org.

"Appearing on Comedy Central's 'Daily Show' with Jon Stewart on Tuesday night, Brokaw recalled how at an event he attended in Houston the night before, 'there were a lot of questions about the liberal bias of the networks and mainstream media, and I said, "Come with me to New York and walk to the West Side and hear what they have to say about the conservative bias of what we're doing." We're the ones who are responsible for the election of George Bush.' "

Mr. Brokaw quoted his interlocutors as saying, "Don't you realize that he stole the election four years ago?" and "How could you allow him to invade Iraq the way that he did?"

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Media watchdog worked hard for the truth,” by Gery J. Steighner
November 18

…Tim Graham, of the Media Research Center, summed Mr. Irvine's contribution: "The entire conservative movement owes Reed Irvine a debt of gratitude." 

See Story

WorldNetDaily
“Reed Irvine: A Lone Ranger is laid to rest,” by Robert Knight
November 18

Before Media Research Center, before WorldNetDaily, before conservative talk radio and thousands of sharp-eyed (and sharp- tongued) bloggers, Reed Irvine set ... 

See Story

Agape Press
“Media Analyst Predicts Ramp-Up in 'Vicious' Media Activity Post-Election,” by Chad Groening
November 17

A conservative media watchdog organization expects President Bush's election victory will undoubtedly cause the liberal media to get even more vicious than before.

According to a spokesman for the Virginia-based Media Research Center, the organization is glad it is not spending the weeks following the election analyzing how the liberal media was successful in getting John Kerry elected to the Oval Office. But MRC spokesman Tim Graham says instead, his group will be busy analyzing the media's post-election vitriol. …

See Story

Media Matters for America
“Conservatives rail against MSNBC's Olbermann for reporting election irregularities,” by J.C.
November 16

... And in his November 10 "Inside Politics" column, Washington Times columnist Greg Pierce quoted the conservative Media Research Center's analysis of Olbermann's ...

See Story

Pittsburgh Tribune Review
“Media Monday” (no byline)
November 15

Here are some of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes from or about the liberal media, courtesy of the Media Research Center: 

Franken in denial: "(President Bush) will hold up the (Electoral College) map and he'll go, 'Look how red, look how red it is!' And it's like, well, first of all, a lot of that is desert. 

A lot of that red is desert. And there's, like, no people there." 
-- Comedian & liberal talk-show host Al Franken on "The Late Show with David Letterman." 

Bush hates people: "The president's a curious pol... one of the few politicians I've studied that, who doesn't like people very much. It's an interesting thing in a politician." 
-- Newsweek managing editor John Meacham on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews. 

Savor the victory? No way!: "You've got the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, out on a victory tour with Republican senators in the South. I wonder if you think that might be the wrong message, that it's not the time for gloating but for real cooperation and reaching out." 
-- NPR's "All Things Considered" co-host Melissa Block to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

KLO – Salt Lake City
November 16

Free Market Project (FMP) Director Dan Gainor discussed FMP’s study/special report on global warming.

Gainor also discussed the study/special report on the follow radio stations and programs:

WCHS – Charleston, WV, November 16

Linda Chavez Show (nationally syndicated), November 16

Chuck Harder Show (nationally syndicated), November 15, 2004

KTSA – San Antonio, TX, November 15, 2004

CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network)
November 15

MRC President Brent Bozell discussed President Bush winning the war against the media.

Michnews.com
“From Florida, 2000 to Ohio, 2004: The Exit Poll Scandal in Context” by Nicholas Stix
November 15

... is going to be worth, collectively, the two of them, that's going to be worth maybe 15 points." (A tip of the hat to the Media Research Center for the ... 

See Story

Opinion Editorials
“Painful Bias,” by Kay Daly
November 13

…The Media Research Center (web site) has studied the problem of media bias for years. Brent Bozell, chairman of the MRC once wrote, "With the political preferences of the press no longer secret, members of the media argued while personally liberal, they are professionally neutral. They argued their opinions do not matter because as professional journalists, they report what they observe without letting their opinions affect their judgment. But being a journalist is not like being a surveillance camera at an ATM, faithfully recording every scene for future playback. Journalists make subjective decisions every minute of their professional lives. They choose what to cover and what not to cover, which sources are credible and which are not, which quotes to use in a story and which to toss out." …

See Story

Christian Networks Journal
November 12

Research Director Rich Noyes discussed the media’s affect on society.

WLW – Cincinnati
November 11

Research Director Rich Noyes discussed the ten worst election distortions.

NRA News
November 9

Research Director Rich Noyes discussed post-election coverage.

Opinion Editorials
“CBS Blasts The Blogs,” by Noel Sheppard
November 12

... In fact, the Media Research Center lists Mr. Engberg as being part of The Starting Line-up of the Pro-Clinton Press Corps [4]. They actually have a whole page [5] at their website dedicated to some of his most scandalous reports during that era. There is also a similar appraisal of his apparent biases dating back some years previous outlined in a MediaWatch column [6] from 1989 that refers to Mr. Engberg as “The Spin Doctor of CBS”. In this piece, all of Mr. Engberg’s reports from July 1, 1988 through June 30, 1989 were scrutinized producing some rather shocking findings.

See Story

National Review
“Bush Is No Hoover,” by Greg Kaza
November 12

The Media Research Center cited several examples in a recent report. On CBS, Dan Rather stressed, ìIt's the first net job loss on a president's watch since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression of the 1930s.î The Washington Post said that Bush has been left ìin the position of being the first president since Herbert Hoover not to have produced job gains during his first term in office.

These claims, made before the release of the October jobs report, appear now in a much different light. Yet the Hoover analogy has always been weak when the economic data is viewed through a nonpartisan lense.

See Story

The Right Balance
November 12

MRC Free Market Project (FMP) Director Dan Gainor discussed FMP’s Special Report, “Destroying America to Save the World.”

Investor’s Business Daily
“Flaky Polls To Delayed Calls, Networks Ran True To Form,” by L. Brent Bozell, III
November 11

Anyone who is a political junkie -- if you stayed up into the wee hours of election night, you qualify -- had a couple of beefs with the national media amidst an otherwise riveting evening.

First, just who were those so-called polling professionals hired to do the exit polls for the networks?

For about six hours on Election Day, the Kerry camp was positively giddy and the Bush folks were forlorn as word spread of exit polls indicating not a Kerry win, but a Kerry landslide. …

The International Herald Tribune
“Fox News Strives to Retain 'Underdog' Edge ; Beating Cable News Rivals, It Wants to Remain A Rebel While Aiming Still Higher,” by Jacques Steinberg
November 9

…And in early October, Fox News reprimanded its chief political correspondent, Carl Cameron, for fabricating several quotes ostensibly uttered by Kerry -- many of them about a manicure -- in a mock article mistakenly posted, briefly, on the Fox News Web site.

Asked if such examples were evidence of a conservative bias, Ailes laughed. "Sometimes our people joke," Ailes said. "Sometimes it gets on the air."

Tim Graham, a representative for the Media Research Center, which labels itself a conservative organization, said that although he thought it was easier to prove liberal bias at the broadcast networks than conservative bias at Fox News, he took issue with Ailes's blanket dismissal of such incidents.

"You can only go so far with the 'that's just humor' defense," Graham said.

"These are the sorts of things that, if we see this with liberals, if someone made fun of Bush for being stupid, we would certainly notice and say, 'Bingo! That's evidence for us! That makes our case," he said.

What seems less debatable is that the audience for Fox News mirrors the majority that re-elected the president. …

The Washington Times
“ Nation; Inside Politics,” by Greg Pierce
November 9

Newsweek's voice-over
Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell III is calling on Newsweek to issue a public apology in its next issue for misinforming the public about television ads produced by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. …

See Story

Chicago Tribune
"When the press misses a story," by John McCormick, deputy editor of the Tribune editorial page
November 9

....Nor is the problem overt bias, although there was some of that in this campaign. CBS behaved like a gullible, even willing, victim in rushing to air with a story about the president's military service that was based on forged documents. More common was the sort of patty-cake treatment that Democrat John Kerry received from many reporters, as when CBS' Rene Syler lovingly asked him: "You called President Bush's foreign policy arrogant, inept and reckless. Give us some specifics." As Tim Graham, a National Review Online contributor, noted last week, "Every anti-Bush angle, however, was explored with great ferocity. Almost every week of 2004 was a bad media week for Bush. There was Paul O'Neill Book Week. There was 9/11 Ads in Bad Taste Week. There was Richard Clarke Book Week. There was Bob Woodward Book Week. There were two weeks of Alabama National Guard Whereabouts Hunt. There were four weeks of Abu Ghraib hype (NBC dedicated 10 times as many stories to prison abuse as they did to Saddam's mass graves). ... The first good media week for Bush all year centered around an event the press could neither control nor ignore: the death of Ronald Reagan."... 

See Story

Lakeland Ledger
Fox News, Media Elite
November 9

... Tim Graham, a representative for the Media Research Center, which labels itself a conservative organization, said that although he thought it was easier to prove liberal bias at the broadcast networks than conservative bias at Fox News, he took issue with Mr. Ailes's blanket dismissal of such incidents. "You can only go so far with the 'that's just humor' defense,'' Mr. Graham said.

See Story

The story also ran in the following paper:

Wilmington Morning Star (NC),
November 8

The Hotline
“Media Monitor” (no byline)
November 8

…However, Tim Graham of the self-described conservative Media Research Center said recent public gaffes by FNC anchors have not helped that perception: "These are the sort of things that, if we see this with liberals, if someone made fun of Bush for being stupid, we would certainly notice and say, 'Bingo! That's evidence for us! That makes our case'" (Steinberg, New York Times, 11/8).

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Media Monday: election edition," no byline
November 8

CBS News anchor and unpaid Democrat operative Dan Rather long has been known for some of the oddest on-air observations in television news. Here's a compilation of some of the wackiest from last Tuesday's election night coverage, courtesy of the Media Research Center:

See Story

Enter Stage Right
“Media stars refuse to concede election," by Nicholas Stix
November 8

... As Clay Waters of Times Watch (of the Republican Media Research Center) reported, on November 3, some Times reporters wrote as if John Kerry, not George Bush

See Story

The New York Times
“Fox News, Media Elite,” by Jacques Steinber
November 8

…Tim Graham, a representative for the Media Research Center, which labels itself a conservative organization, said that although he thought it was easier to prove liberal bias at the broadcast networks than conservative bias at Fox News, he took issue with Mr. Ailes's blanket dismissal of such incidents. "You can only go so far with the 'that's just humor' defense,'' Mr. Graham said. …

See Story

The story also ran in the following paper:

Tuscaloosa News
November 8

Media Matters for America
“Conservatives complained that Swift Boat Vets were ignored; now they tout impact,” by G.W.
November 5

... Several conservative pundits have touted the influence of anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (now officially called Swift Boat Vets and POWs for Truth) on the outcome of the November 2 presidential election. Media Matters for America voluminously documented the group's false and discredited allegations against Senator John Kerry and the intense media coverage the group received, especially in August 2004 following the Democratic National Convention.

On November 3, the group itself issued a statement touting the group's success. Speaking on their behalf, co-founder Admiral Roy Hoffman said: "We are pleased with the fact that we were able to effectively bring attention to our issues and raise questions regarding Senator Kerry's character."

These triumphal pronouncements contrast sharply with complaints during the election by L. Brent Bozell III, founder and president of the conservative Media Research Center. Bozell complained that the news media was ignoring Swift Boat Vets, as MMFA documented here and here.

See Story

FAIR
“Media's Gay Marriage Consensus,” by Julie Hollar
November 5

... While many of these criticisms came from conservatives (eg, Media Research Center, 7/14/04; Weekly Standard, 4/5/04), the centrist New Republic (3/1/04) joined 

See Story

Agape Press
“Mainstream Media's 'Irrelevancy' on Display Post-Election,” by Chad Groening
November 4

A conservative media watchdog group says President Bush's re-election victory demonstrated just how irrelevant the mainstream media has become.

The Media Research Center (MRC) says "media elites" were surprised by the influence of moral issues in the just-completed presidential election. The media watchdog notes that as the election results began to finally indicate that George W. Bush would likely have a second four-year term, two networks -- ABC and NBC -- saw no mandate in the popular vote count and even indicated the president would have to govern from "the center." …

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New York Post
“JOHN KERRY’S BIGGEST GUNS,” (no byline)
November 4

... The Media Research Center has compiled lists of the worst campaign-season distortions by the news media in general and by The New York Times in particular. ...

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National Review Online
“Amazing Loss,” by Tim Graham
November 4 

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Intellectual Conservative
“Media Stars Refuse to Concede Election; Denigrate Evangelicals; Deny Bush a ‘Mandate’,” by Nicholas Stix
November 4

…As Clay Waters of Times Watch (of the Republican Media Research Center) reported, on November 3, some Times reporters wrote as if John Kerry, not George Bush, had won the election. As Waters noted, the Times’ Todd Purdum claimed that President Bush “has made himself not only the most polarizing president since Richard M. Nixon,” and approvingly quoted socialist historian Robert Dallek’s casuistry to argue that Iraq is Vietnam all over again, even if it isn’t. “It's not Vietnam, but it stands in the shadow of Vietnam, and as a consequence, people see this as similar.” “People” meant folks like Robert Dallek and Todd Purdum. (Purdum is the husband of Dee Dee Myers, who served as President Clinton’s press secretary.) …

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Waynesville Smoky Mountain News
“Outing the Media,” by Sarah Kucharski and Becky Johnson
November 3

…“If the media is already liberal and you’re hired there and you aren’t particularly committed to one affiliation, you quickly fall into place,” said Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the Media Research Center, an Arlington, Va., based organization that monitors the media for liberal bias. …

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ChronWatch
“Lessons From Election 2004,” by Noel Sheppard
November 3

... In fact, an organization called Times Watch has a list of ''The Top 10 Distortions by the Times in Campaign 2004.'' Although I agree with all of their favorites, I think potentially one of the key items that they neglected was how the Times and most of the mainstream media continually misrepresented our nation's economic condition in order to impact voter perceptions on this key issue.

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Michnews.com
“Desperate Hours: John Kerry’s October Surprises backfire,” by Doug Schmitz
November 2

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ConWebWatch.com
“Update: What Osama Really Wants,” by Terry Krepel
November 2

The good news: a Nov. 1 CNSNews.com article promoted a group of citizens "taking action to promote civility."

The bad news: While the article, by Kathleen Rhodes, noted an increase in politically related vandalism and other crimes and that "Bush and Kerry supporters alike have been victimized with increasing frequency," Rhodes listed seven examples of vandalism and other crimes -- all of which featured Republicans as victims.

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Sun-Sentinel
“Nation Decides; Bush, Kerry Make Final Pitches in Bid to Get Voters; All Signals Point to a Tight Race,” by William E. Gibson and Rafael Lorente
November 2

…"Viewers should be ready for a long night. Maybe take a nap in the afternoon, or skip the whole thing and wake up to watch the results next morning," advised Richard Noyes, political analyst for The Media Research Center, a non-partisan research group. 

But, of course, most won't wait. Election-night parties promise to be as intense as the campaign.

"People seem so interested, they are going to want to know. The feelings are riding so high," Noyes observed. "The media have an opportunity to help out by making sure people know the process, and by not making miscalls." …

Human Events
“Biased Media Try to Pick a New President,” by L. Brent Bozell, III
November 1

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San Jose Mercury News
“Amid final frenzy of campaigning, uncertainty remains," by William E. Gibson and Rafael Lorente
November 1

"Viewers should be ready for a long night. Maybe take a nap in the afternoon, or skip the whole thing and wake up to watch the results next morning," advised Richard Noyes, political analyst for The Media Research Center, a non-partisan research group.

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Pittsburgh Tribune Review
“Media Monday” (no byline)
November 1

Here are some of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes from or about the liberal media, courtesy of the Media Research Center: 

Stupid & liberal:

Washington Posts' Howard Kurtz: "You've said on the program 'Inside Washington' that because of the portrayal of Kerry and Edwards as 'young and dynamic and optimistic,' that that's worth maybe 15 points." 

Newsweek's Evan Thomas: "Stupid thing to say. It was completely wrong. But I do think that, I do think that the mainstream press -- I'm not talking about the blogs and Rush and all that, but the mainstream press -- favors Kerry. I don't think it's worth 15 points. That was just a stupid thing to say."

Kurtz: "Is it worth five points?" 

Thomas: "Maybe, maybe." 

-- Kurtz and Thomas, in an exchange on CNN's "Reliable Sources." 

Anthony, you're no economist: 

"Is the average American better off now than he or she was four years ago? On average, Americans have more money. But most Americans are, in fact, worse off." 

-- CBS reporter Anthony Mason, citing median household numbers that supposedly show a $30 drop from four years ago. The U.S. Census Bureau statistics show the income number unchanged.

New York Post
“The Media Lies,” (no byline)
November 1

... Moreover, as the Media Research Center notes, CBS didn't mention that the author of the study — who said he "was opposed to the war" and remains so — admitted to the Associated Press that he'd released the story "under the condition that it came out before the election."

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Men's News Daily
“Fresh Qaqaa: The "Missing Weapons" Story and the Spin Wars,” by Nicholas Stix
November 1

... Thanks to the Media Research Center for the tip on the Raddatz/Martinez story.) From the start, undeterred by the story's problems, CBS reporter Jim Axelrod ..

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ConWebWatch.com
“Update:NewsMax Eats Itself,” by Terry Krepel
November 1

Les Kinsolving used an Oct. 30 column in WorldNetDaily to insist that an Oct. 25 NBC News report debunked a New York Times report that nearly 380 tons of high explosives disappeared from the Al Qaqaa military installation in Iraq after U.S. troops took control of the country. Michael Reagan did the same in an Oct. 29 WorldNetDaily column, as did Ed Feulner, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, in an Oct. 29 CNSNews.com commentary. The NBC report stated that an embedded NBC reporter arrived at Al Qaqaa with U.S. troops, which didn't find any of the explosives in question.

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2004 Archive