"Dazzled" by "Candid" Clinton; Bush Vacationing 42% of Time; CNN Chief Exploring How to Attract Alienated Conservative Viewers
1) ABC and NBC led Monday night with Bill Clinton’s book
deal. "Last week he dazzled Harlem, today Park Avenue publisher
Knopf," trumpeted ABC’s Jackie Judd who relayed how the publisher
promised "the book ‘will be a thorough and candid telling of his
life.’" And "dignified" too. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell
celebrated: "The self-declared ‘comeback kid,’ a hero to his new
office neighbors in Harlem, now breaking a world record, signing the
biggest non-fiction book deal in history..."
2) Meanwhile, the current President is less impressive.
NBC’s David Gregory relayed how "the Washington Post has actually
crunched some of the numbers" and calculated that Bush "has
spent enough days between vacation or traveling to vacation spots...to
account for 42 percent of his young presidency."
3) On CNN’s Capital Gang liberal columnist Mark Shields
pointed out Bush’s peril in making the press corps suffer in a hot Texas
town. Shields recalled that Carter and Johnson, who forced reporters to
endure "Dixie summers," were "punished" by the press.
4) Roll Call: "In an effort to improve his network's
image with conservative leaders, new CNN chief Walter Isaacson huddled
with House and Senate GOP leaders last week to seek advice on how to
attract more right-leaning viewers to the sagging network."
1
"Last
week he dazzled Harlem, today Park Avenue publisher Knopf," trumpeted
ABC’s Jackie Judd as both Monday’s World News Tonight and the NBC
Nightly News led with the news of Bill Clinton earning the highest price
ever for a non-fiction book, if that isn’t an oxymoron. "He’s
been out of office six months now," ABC anchor Charles Gibson noted
before showing how Clinton continues to "dazzle" the media too
as he boasted of how "Bill Clinton is just as fascinating as
ever."
Judd assured viewers that the publisher
promised "the book ‘will be a thorough and candid telling of his
life,’ before reporting that Clinton "plans to model his book on
the memoir of the late Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham"
who wrote about her husband’s suicide in a telling, but dignified way,
and that will be Mr. Clinton’s aim."
"Candid"? "Dignified"? Are
we talking about the same guy who was just President?
Over on the NBC Nightly News, in a piece which
also ran on MSNBC’s The News with Brian Williams, Andrea Mitchell
applauded: "The self-declared ‘comeback kid,’ a hero to his new
office neighbors in Harlem, now breaking a world record, signing the
biggest non-fiction book deal in history, bigger than the
Pope’s..." After admiring how Clinton is "a man who even drew
a crowd at a funeral," Mitchell concluded with rather positive
summary of the Clinton presidential years: "It is a tale of politics,
historic world events, economic growth, and impeachment, and now a
record-shattering book deal to tell his side of the story."
The CBS Evening News held itself to a short
item read by anchor John Roberts, though like ABC and NBC, he noted the
publisher’s promise of a "thorough and candid" book and that
Clinton himself would really write it.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Reports led with news of
a plan to clone humans, but made Clinton’s book deal its second story.
Eileen O’Connor concentrated on speculation about how much new the book
might reveal as she passed along how "aides view this book as part of
a political re-entry strategy." She concluded that
"everyone" is "hoping" that the book will not be
boring: "A tell-all could also hurt another political career, that of
his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton. Still, Mr. Clinton’s penchant for
doing the unexpected will keep everyone hoping, and his publishing company
betting, that this will be anything but boring."
Now, more about the ABC and NBC/MSNBC stories
aired Monday night, August 6:
-- ABC’s World News Tonight. Anchor Charles
Gibson announced at the top of the newscast: "Good evening. He’s
been out of office six months now, but Bill Clinton is just as fascinating
as ever. At least that’s what the book industry is betting. The former
President has struck what is said to be the largest non-fiction book deal
in the history of publishing to write his memoirs. The exact dollar value
of the deal is not known yet, but ABC News has learned Mr. Clinton will
receive in excess of $12 million from the Alfred Knopf Publishing Company.
ABC’s Jackie Judd is in Washington."
Judd maintained: "Charlie, we’re also
being told Mr. Clinton will write this himself -- no help from a
ghostwriter, and the book will be in bookstores in 2003. It’s a good
time [over video of Harlem celebration with singing of Stand By Me],
probably the best of Mr. Clinton’s post-presidency. Last week he dazzled
Harlem, today Park Avenue publisher Knopf."
Bob Barnett, Clinton lawyer: "He’s written
a book in his head and now he’ll begin the process of putting it on
paper."
Judd: "Mr. Clinton’s multi-million dollar
advance far exceeds the then record-breaking advance’s given to the
Pope, Mrs. Clinton and to GE Chairman Jack Welch. Knopf says in a
statement the book ‘will be a thorough and candid telling of his life,
with a primary focus on the White House years.’ Sources close to the
ex-President say he will address his impeachment. It is less apparent how
far he will go in describing personal relationship, including with Monica
Lewinsky. Publishing sources say Mr. Clinton plans to model his book on
the memoir of the late Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham. She
wrote about her husband’s suicide in a telling, but dignified way, and
that will be Mr. Clinton’s aim."
Sara Nelson, Book Editor of Inside.com: "I
would imagine that he will talk about the pain of going through that
impeachment and maybe conversations within his family about it and then
the sort of events and emotions surrounding the scandals rather than about
the specifics of the scandals themselves."
Judd: "Even before this deal was finalized
the idea of Mr. Clinton telling all had become the object of late night
humor."
Jay Leno on the Tonight Show: "Clinton
getting $8 million for his memoirs. Isn’t that amazing? Hillary got $8
million for her memoirs. That’s $16 million for two people who for eight
years couldn’t remember anything."
Judd concluded: "Well, now that it turns out
to be a lot more than $8 million for Mr. Clinton, and with the publishing
house and editor he had wanted, it is the former President who tonight has
the last laugh."
-- NBC Nightly News. Katie Couric, putting in
a tour as anchor, excitedly announced: "Good evening everybody. Get
ready for Bill Clinton -- author. The former President has just signed the
most lucrative book deal in history for a non-fiction work, an
autobiography that reportedly he plans to write himself. Just how much
money was one publishing house willing to fork over? The answer from
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell."
Mitchell lionized Clinton’s popularity, as
transcribed by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth: "The self-declared
‘comeback kid,’ a hero to his new office neighbors in Harlem, now
breaking a world record, signing the biggest nonfiction book deal in
history, bigger than the Pope’s, bigger than Hillary Clinton’s.
Sources say as much as $12 million, depending on what the publisher now
gets for selling foreign rights where Clinton is mobbed on his lucrative
speaking tours. For that kind of money, will he be willing to tell
all?"
Robert Barnett, Clinton attorney: "The
President has told me that he plans to write a comprehensive and candid
book, and, in terms of what specifically is in it, people will have to buy
it, read it, and then they’ll find out."
Mitchell: "The deal is so big, Clinton will
be able to pay off his lawyers, still owed almost $4 million, after
raising more than $8 million in a legal defense fund. And he’ll even
have money left over for the mortgages on his two luxury homes -- the $2.8
million Washington mansion and the $1.7 million house in Chappaqua. The
publishing world stunned at the size of the advance, which could require
selling an astonishing 3 million books in order to make a profit, and
experts say readers will want a lot more scandal and personal detail than
either Clinton wants to deliver."
Nora Rawlinson, Publisher’s Weekly: "So
while they may reveal a nugget or two that we don’t already know, I
think it’s unlikely they’re going to go whole hog and really reveal
what was going on during those times."
Mitchell: "But the publisher is betting on
Clinton, a man who even drew a crowd at a funeral, the recent services for
Katharine Graham. Like Graham, Clinton plans to write his book himself
with the same editor she used, former New Yorker editor Robert Gotlieb."
Lisa Caputo, Former Hillary Clinton Press
Secretary: "These will be his words, and there’s nothing more
powerful than a President’s words telling his story."
Mitchell: "And there’s so much to talk
about, a presidency with historic highs [video of South Lawn treaty
signing with the Israeli Prime Minister and Arafat] and lows."
Clinton in January 1998: "I did not have
sexual relations with that woman."
Mitchell concluded: "It is a tale of
politics, historic world events, economic growth, and impeachment, and now
a record-shattering book deal to tell his side of the story."
That "historic high" treaty with
Arafat has worked out so well.
2
After
hearing of Bill Clinton’s triumph, NBC Nightly News viewers learned of
the current President’s laziness as David Gregory relayed disputed
numbers about how George Bush has spent 42 percent of his presidency
vacationing.
Neither ABC or CBS aired any update from
Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, but on Monday night NBC checked in with
Gregory who noted how Bush’s planned 30 day respite ties the
"modern record" for a President set by Richard Nixon, though
Ronald Reagan came close with a 28 day vacation.
Gregory volunteered: "The Washington Post
has actually crunched some of the numbers on their Web site today,
calculating that in fact the President has spent enough days between
vacation or traveling to vacation spots, including his folks’ place up
in Kennepunkport, to account for 42 percent of his young presidency so
far. The White House bristles at the numbers being counted that way. They
say look, this is his home out here, it’s his base of operations, he’s
even going to take some trips from here to promote his fall agenda, so
it’s not all play out here."
But it is hot, which leads to item #3 below...
3
A real
warning disguised by humor? For his "Outrage of the Week" on
CNN’s Capital Gang on Saturday night, liberal columnist Mark Shields
pointed out Bush’s peril in making the press corps suffer in a hot Texas
town. While Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan vacationed near the sea and avoided
angering journalists, Shields recalled, Carter and Johnson, who forced
reporters to endure "Dixie summers," were "denied second
terms."
Shields suggested on the August 4 edition of
the CNN show:
"Phil Sheridan said once, quote: ‘If I
owned Texas and hell, I would rent out Texas and live in hell,’ end
quote. That's why President Bush may have made a major political mistake
by deciding to spend August on his ranch in broiling, parched Crawford,
Texas. The press corps likes a cool ocean breeze and maybe even a cold
beer. Presidents Reagan, Kennedy, and Clinton all vacationed near the sea,
and thus spared themselves a churlish press corps. But Jimmy Carter and
LBJ punished the press with Dixie summers and were denied second terms. A
full month of Texas dust, heat, and alcohol-free meals could spell big
trouble for George W."
There’s probably a lot of truth to that.
4
With the
Fox News Channel attracting more viewers than CNN in households which can
watch both channels, last week Walter Isaacson, CNN’s new President,
spent time on Capitol Hill trying to learn why conservatives and
Republicans see CNN as biased to the left.
This week’s "Washington Whispers"
column in U.S. News and National Review’s Washington Bulletin last week
noted the meetings, but Monday’s Roll Call, a twice-weekly newspaper
covering Capitol Hill, offered the most complete report, so it is
excerpted below. Under the headline in the August 6 Roll Call, "CNN
Chief Courts GOP," reporters John Bresnahan and Mark Preston
revealed:
In an effort to improve his network's image with conservative leaders,
new CNN chief Walter Isaacson huddled with House and Senate GOP leaders
last week to seek advice on how to attract more right-leaning viewers to
the sagging network.
Isaacson met with Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Senate Minority
Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), House GOP Conference Chairman J.C. Watts
(Okla.), Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to talk
about CNN's image with conservatives and how it can be improved.
Isaacson confirmed that he also reached out to senior White House
officials, but he denied that he was seeking counsel on how to boost CNN's
ratings with conservative viewers.
"I was trying to reach out to a lot of Republicans who feel that
CNN has not been as open covering Republicans, and I wanted to hear their
concerns," Isaacson said in an interview Friday.
"I definitely did not say, 'How do we attract the conservative
viewer?'" said Isaacson, who stressed that his message was, "Let
me hear what you think of CNN, and I am here to introduce myself."
To Republicans, Isaacson's presence on Capitol Hill is a sign of
weakness and shows how much Fox News Channel, founded just under five
years ago, has eroded CNN's lead as the top cable option for political
news.
But Isaacson, the former editorial director of Time Inc., disputed
assertions that he was on a mission to keep up with Fox.
"It really doesn't have to do with any other network,"
Isaacson said. "It wasn't some programming strategy or our
relationship with Fox or anything like that."...
Democrats...weren't pleased by the spectacle of Isaacson courting
Republicans.
"That is a byzantine thing for the head of a news organization to
come up to meet with one political party to ask what can we do or how do
we make things better," groused a senior Democratic Senator....
Isaacson deflected the criticism by saying that he's planning a
September visit to Capitol Hill in which he will "meet with Democrats
and more Republicans."...
It also demonstrates to GOP strategists that their unrelenting attacks
on the media, in which television and newspaper reporters are accused of
being biased against Republicans and conservatives, are beginning to hit
home with those who decide what gets aired on the nightly news.
"[Isaacson] is panicked that he's losing conservative
viewers," said a top aide to one of the GOP lawmakers who met with
Isaacson.
"He said, 'Give us some guidance on how to attract conservatives.'
He said he 'wanted to change the culture' at CNN. I think he perceived
that they have a problem, and they do have a problem."
[Tom] DeLay has been particularly vocal in his criticism of the
Atlanta-based news organization.
"DeLay is on a jihad against CNN," claimed another GOP aide,
who said the Texan believes that CNN's coverage of issues clearly favors
liberal Democrats over conservative Republicans.
In a telephone interview on Friday, DeLay himself said he "won't
go on CNN. They have such a liberal bias. It's quite evident to
everyone."...
Fox News has cut into CNN's once overwhelming lead in recent months.
For example, an average of 140,000 people were watching Fox news at any
given time between Jan. 1 and Aug. 1, 2000, according to Nielsen Media
Research. During the same time period this year, 282,000 people were tuned
into Rupert Murdoch's news network.
In contrast, 308,000 viewers watched CNN between Jan. 1 and Aug. 1,
2000. During the first seven months of 2001, viewership climbed to
321,000. CNN is seen in 82 million homes, while Fox News is available in
67 million homes, according to Nielsen....
END Excerpt
To read the entire story, go to:
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2001/08/news0806b.html
It is encouraging to hear of a network news
boss who acknowledges conservatives don’t see his network as balanced
and, with both Ted Turner and Clinton buddy Rick Kaplan now gone from CNN,
maybe there’s real hope for improvement.
In many ways CNN only looks liberal when
compared to FNC, which showed conservatives what a real alternative
network could provide. CNN certainly is less biased to the left than ABC,
CBS and NBC, with reporters such as John King being models of fairness
compared to John Roberts or Terry Moran.
But while much of its day-to-day reporting is
more balanced than that offered on the broadcast networks, its news
judgment usually follows the liberal agenda with conservatives relegated
to reacting to it. Join that with prime time stars who are liberals (Larry
King and Greta Van Susteren) and its memorable history of liberal advocacy
in specials (recall the Lewinsky-era focus on media overkill of the
subject, concerns about fairness to Clinton, tirades against Ken Starr for
going too far; the Cold War series; the Tailwind fiasco; and presidential
campaign year specials on the need for government intervention in health
care), and you realize why many conservatives have such a negative image
of CNN. Plus, there’s the history of global warming fear-mongering
fueled by Jane Fonda and Ted Turner’s since-disbanded environmental
reporting unit.
A further extrapolation of the perspective in
the above paragraph, complete with examples of CNN’s bias pulled from
the MRC’s archives, may be a good August project for us.