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Harken,
Halliburton and Hype
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A Review of
Recent Business Coverage
Bankruptcies,
corporate misdeeds and a tumbling stock market have led to another media
overreaction. Big business is bad, the media have decided, and more
government regulation is needed to tame the beast and protect the “little
guy.”
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It's all Cheney's fault. CBS's Joie Chen: "Anxious small investors
pin the blame for the falling stock market on Mr. Cheney."
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This simplistic spin
has influenced almost every corporate corruption story since Independence
Day and the business-bashing media frenzy has even expanded to include the
past business operations of both the President and the Vice President.
The following
Spotlight is a compilation of MRC’s documentation and analysis of the
coverage. The links and articles start in early July when President George
W. Bush’s Harken Energy stock sale became a major news story.
Bush and Harken
Energy
Cheney and Halliburton
Judicial Watch Transformed
Congress and Corporate Corruption
Could Clinton be to Blame?
Against the Grain
1
President Bush and Harken Energy
A Closed 12-Year Old Investigation Suddenly Becomes News
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The story breaks. Bush
described as “partner-in-chief with big business,” by CBS News’
Wyatt Andrews and ABC’s Claire Shipman claimed the Bush
administration’s “decidedly pro-business stance on tax issues and
regulatory issues” led to questions about the decade-old Harken Energy
stock sale.
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The crux of the issue: Bush
was cleared of wrongdoing in the Harken Energy stock sale by a 1990
Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, but
that’s not important. “Never mind that Mr. Bush was
cleared,” CBS’s Andrews told viewers. “His opponents will charge
this champion of personal responsibility once failed that standard
himself.”
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A chance to push for more
government regulation of business. A Media Reality Check described how
the media used the Harken Energy controversy to encourage Bush to
increase regulatory controls over business.
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The media’s favorite United
States Senator, John McCain of Arizona, weighed in on corporate corruption
and CBS rushed to cover it. At the same time, ABC’s Peter Jennings
highlighted how Bush has been accused of taking part in “the same
corporate excesses that he is now condemning.” But ABC also ran a story
about how an expert believes the loans from 15 years ago “were
completely legal and proper.”
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Actually, there’s nothing
there in either case but it is causing political trouble. ABC’s
Nightline conceded there was nothing wrong in either the Harken or
Halliburton case but maintained that it was a legitimate political problem
for the President.
2
The Blame Game
The Media Focus on Dick Cheney’s Days at Halliburton
3
The Transformation of Judicial Watch
Former “Conservative”
Group Filed Suit Against Vice President Cheney and Halliburton and Becomes
Credible News Source
4
Let’s Have Congress Fix Corporate Corruption!
Senate Bill on Corporate Corruption Will Have to be Reconciled with the
“Weaker” House Bill and the Networks Expressed Concern
5
Could Clinton be to Blame?
Some Journalists
Asked if the Former President was Responsible While Others Blamed
Republicans
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Against the Grain
Media Reports That Provided Contrary Views
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