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1. CBS Evening News Touts AP Poll on How Catholics Want Changes Network evening newscasts rarely cite polls other than their own, but on Monday's CBS Evening News Bob Schieffer touted an AP/Ipsos poll which, he reported, found that "American Catholics hope whoever succeeds the Pope will make some changes in the church." Schieffer proceeded to cite majority support for allowing priests to marry and the ordaining of women as priests. 2. Gibson's Pal "Bitterly Disagrees" with Pope "On So Many Issues" ABC's Charles Gibson admitted, during ABC's live coverage Monday of the moving of the late Pope's body to St. Peter's Basilica, that "I know of a woman who bitterly disagrees with him on so many issues, an American woman," but "when she saw him in St. Peter's Square burst into tears because she was so moved." Reflecting an emerging media theme that Catholics personally liked the late John Paul II despite his positions, Gibson asserted that "even for so many American Catholics who disagree with his positions on so many issues," the Pope had "a magnetism and a charisma that has transcended, really, positions that he has taken on issues." 3. Some Tag Papal Candidates as "Extreme" and "Ultra-Conservative" The ideological labeling of a potential new Pope has begun. On Monday's Good Morning America, ABC's Charles Gibson asserted that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger holds "extreme conservative views." CNN's Paula Zahn didn't even wait until the Pope had died before speculating about his replacement. On Friday night, before warning that it's "very likely that the next Pope will share Pope John Paul II's conservative stances on issues like abortion and the role of women in the church," she tagged Cardinal Francis Arinze as a "staunch conservative" and reported that "Cardinal Tettamanzi, the Archbishop of Milan, is also close to Opus Dei, the ultra-conservative Catholic group." 4. NBC's Holt on Pope: "Alienated," "Marginalized" and "Divided" Hours before Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, NBC's Today devoted a segment to condemning his tenure for alienating, maginalizing and dividing the Catholic church in the U.S. Co-host Lester Holt charged that "some believe his unyielding stand," in refusing "to even discuss" opening the priesthood to married men and women, "alienated American Catholics." Holt insisted that "within the hierarchy, more progressive voices have been marginalized" and argued: "Pope John Paul II's legacy in the world's most powerful country may be that of a house divided. A man who changed the world, but in many ways, was unwilling to change his church." 5. Matthews Goes Into Rant About What New Pope Will "Have To" Do MSNBC's Chris Matthews launched a rant Saturday night from Rome about how the Catholic church must approve of using condoms. Citing the affliction of AIDS in Africa, Matthew proposed: "I'm telling you, a new Pope is going to have to grab that one and grab it hard, and he's got to get to people and say, 'You may not like condoms, they may not be, but they're a lot better than HIV AIDS.'" Matthews acknowledged that "I'm not speaking as a journalist, I guess, for a second," as if it were unusual for him to offer a personal opinion, as he added that "I shouldn't be giving editorials." On Fox News Sunday, NPR's Juan Williams echoed Matthews: "There's one deficit in what John Paul II did, in terms of his legacy, you'd have to come back to this idea that in an age of AIDS, he was very slow to respond on the issue of condoms, on the issues of what rights gays should have in society." 6. Welch Shoots Down Couric's Admiration for European Work Ethic Katie Couric's admiration for Europe shot down by Jack Welch. During an interview on Monday's Today with former GE Chairman Jack Welch, on to plug his new book, Winning, Couric complained that Americans are overworked and asked: "I mean is there something wrong with this picture? Are we too obsessed with work because the Europeans sure have a very different attitude don't they?" Welch retorted: "And their economy is some trouble. And I don't think people are obsessed with this in China right now and, and you just came back from China. You, you didn't see a lack of work ethic there, I'm sure." CBS Evening News Touts AP Poll on How Catholics Want Changes Network evening newscasts rarely cite polls other than their own, but on Monday's CBS Evening News Bob Schieffer touted an AP/Ipsos poll which, he reported, found that "American Catholics hope whoever succeeds the Pope will make some changes in the church." Schieffer proceeded to cite majority support for allowing priests to marry and the ordaining of women as priests. Schieffer announced on the April 4 CBS Evening News, over graphics displaying the three poll numbers he cited: "American Catholics hope whoever succeeds the Pope will make some changes in the church. An Associated Press poll out today says that 63 percent of American Catholics say the new Pope should give lay people a greater say in running the church; 60 percent say the new Pope should allow priests to marry; the same number support ordaining women as priests."
For the AP's story on the poll: story.news.yahoo.com
There have been notable exceptions, and some of those are the stories and interviews cited in CyberAlert on Monday and today. As time passes and the networks, broadcast and cable, focus more on critic's analysis of John Paul II's record and the picking of the next Pope, the media's attitude will surely turn more critical and negative as they emphasize the concerns and spin of those who think the Catholic church is too conservative.
Gibson's Pal "Bitterly Disagrees" with Pope "On So Many Issues" ABC's Charles Gibson admitted, during ABC's live coverage Monday of the moving of the late Pope's body to St. Peter's Basilica, that "I know of a woman who bitterly disagrees with him on so many issues, an American woman," but "when she saw him in St. Peter's Square burst into tears because she was so moved." Reflecting an emerging media theme that Catholics personally liked the Late John Paul II despite his positions, Gibson asserted that "even for so many American Catholics who disagree with his positions on so many issues," the Pope had "a magnetism and a charisma that has transcended, really, positions that he has taken on issues."
The MRC's Jessica Barnes caught this comment from Gibson from about 11:15am EDT during ABC's hour-long 11am EDT coverage of the ceremony in which the late Pope's body was moved:
Some Tag Papal Candidates as "Extreme" and "Ultra-Conservative" The ideological labeling of a potential new Pope has begun. On Monday's Good Morning America, ABC's Charles Gibson asserted that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger holds "extreme conservative views." CNN's Paula Zahn didn't even wait until the Pope had died before speculating about his replacement. On Friday night, before warning that it's "very likely that the next Pope will share Pope John Paul II's conservative stances on issues like abortion and the role of women in the church," she tagged Cardinal Francis Arinze as a "staunch conservative" and reported that "Cardinal Tettamanzi, the Archbishop of Milan, is also close to Opus Dei, the ultra-conservative Catholic group." From Rome, during the 7am half hour of the April 4 Good Morning America, Charles Gibson reviewed possible papal candidates in the College of Cardinals. His comment on one of them: "German-born Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is also mentioned, but his extreme conservative views and his age might be his undoing when votes are cast in the Sistine Chapel."
On the April 1 Paula Zahn Now Friday night on CNN, the MRC's Ken Shepherd noticed, Zahn applied some ideological labeling when previewing potential papal candidates:
NBC's Holt on Pope: "Alienated," "Marginalized" and "Divided" Hours before Pope John Paul II died on Saturday, NBC's Today devoted a segment to condemning his tenure for alienating, maginalizing and dividing the Catholic church in the U.S. Co-host Lester Holt charged that "some believe his unyielding stand," in refusing "to even discuss" opening the priesthood to married men and women, "alienated American Catholics." Holt insisted that "within the hierarchy, more progressive voices have been marginalized" and argued: "Pope John Paul II's legacy in the world's most powerful country may be that of a house divided. A man who changed the world, but in many ways, was unwilling to change his church." The MRC's Ken Shepherd caught the piece from Holt which aired during the fourth half hour, 8:30am EST in most markets, on the April 2 Today on Saturday which he co-hosted with Katie Couric. He read his opening and closing live as he stood outside a Catholic church in Manhattan. Couric, putting in some weekend time, introduced Holt's story: "The American Catholic Church has been severely tested in recent years. And while Catholics around the world are united today, praying for their leader, the future is not altogether clear. NBC's Lester Holt has more on the state of the Catholic Church in America. Lester, good morning."
Holt began from streetside with a church in the background: "Good morning, again, Katie. And one of those often-mentioned issues of course: a shortage of priests. There are 66 million Catholics in this country, fewer than 45,000 priests to minister to them. Many of those priests are over the age of 55. Now under this Pope, two often-mentioned solutions -- admitting women to the priesthood and married men -- have proven to be non-starters." For NBC's picture and bio of Holt: www.msnbc.msn.com
Matthews Goes Into Rant About What New Pope Will "Have To" Do MSNBC's Chris Matthews launched a rant Saturday night from Rome about how the Catholic church must approve of using condoms. Citing the affliction of AIDS in Africa, Matthew proposed: "I'm telling you, a new Pope is going to have to grab that one and grab it hard, and he's got to get to people and say, 'You may not like condoms, they may not be, but they're a lot better than HIV AIDS.'" Matthews acknowledged that "I'm not speaking as a journalist, I guess, for a second," as if it were unusual for him to offer a personal opinion, as he added that "I shouldn't be giving editorials." On Fox News Sunday, NPR's Juan Williams echoed Matthews: "There's one deficit in what John Paul II did, in terms of his legacy, you'd have to come back to this idea that in an age of AIDS, he was very slow to respond on the issue of condoms, on the issues of what rights gays should have in society." Matthews also predicted: "I think the church will lean to the left in the new papacy on issues like Third World debt, and all I can say is look out, Paul Wolfowitz, because not only is the church not neo-con and not pro-war and certainly didn't support the war in Iraq, but they're coming for the scalps of people who believe that the rich countries of the world can practice democratic capitalism and not really look out for the poor countries."
Matthews co-hosted MSNBC's Saturday night, April 2, coverage from Rome from 6-9pm EST with Keith Olbermann holding down the duties from New Jersey. At 8:13pm EST, with a dark Rome behind him, Matthews launched this rant, as corrected against the closed-captioning by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth:
Juan Williams: "On this point, though, this culture of life point, if there's one deficit in what John Paul II did, in terms of his legacy, you'd have to come back to this idea that in an age of AIDS, he was very slow to respond on the issue of condoms, on the issues of what rights gays should have in society. And I think women around the world, but especially here in the United States, will have questions in their mind about the fact that he was so strongly opposed to their ordination, while that issue really, in the rest of the Christian church, has become something more, more welcoming."
Welch Shoots Down Couric's Admiration for European Work Ethic Katie Couric's admiration for Europe shot down by Jack Welch. During an interview on Monday's Today with former GE Chairman Jack Welch, on to plug his new book, Winning, Couric complained that Americans are overworked and asked: "I mean is there something wrong with this picture? Are we too obsessed with work because the Europeans sure have a very different attitude don't they?" Welch retorted: "And, and their economy is some trouble. And I don't think people are obsessed with this in China right now and, and you just came back from China. You, you didn't see a lack of work ethic there, I'm sure." The MRC's Geoff Dickens caught the exchange from the in-studio session which was aired during the 7:30 half hour of the April 4 Today:
Couric: "Let's talk about the work/life balance because as you mention a lot of people, when you speak, I mean I get that question all the time. How do you balance it all? A family and demanding job. What is your best advice in this department? I'm just curious because I've been doing some pieces on Overworked In America. The fact that so many Americans feel overworked and I have, what, I have a statistic 30 percent do not take their full vacation. I mean is there something wrong with this picture? Are we too obsessed with work because the Europeans sure have a very different attitude don't they?" For Amazon.com's page on Welch's new book, Winning, go to: www.amazon.com -- Brent Baker
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