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1. Nets Fret Over Women in Catholic Church, Give Platform to Liberal The night before the Catholic Cardinals were to begin their conclave to choose a new Pope, the U.S. broadcast network evening newscasts painted the role of women as the most important issue and gave a platform to left-wing church activist Joan Chittister. "The future of the church is now in the hands of 115 men. Some Catholic women find that offensive," ABC's David Wright asserted Sunday night in leading into a Chittister soundbite. Wright proceeded to showcase a woman upset that her unborn daughter cannot become a priest, before concluding: "Men and women may be equal in the eyes of God, but many Catholics say in the eyes of the church, there's still a long way to go." Wright gave a soundbite to a church defender, but not CBS's John Roberts who sandwiched two denunciation from Chittister around touting how "a new CBS News poll finds the majority of Catholics think the next Pope should admit women into the priesthood, let priests marry, and allow birth control." Plus, "52 percent of American Catholics think the church is out of touch." 2. Tom DeLay's Quip at NRA Convention Appalls CBS's Bob Schieffer CBS's Bob Schieffer doesn't have much of a sense of humor, judging by his reaction to quip from House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. All the Sunday interview shows devoted segments to DeLay's ethical troubles, but only Schieffer was appalled by how DeLay had told the NRA convention in Houston on Saturday night that "when a man is in trouble or is in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed." On Face the Nation, Schieffer read the quote to Republican Congressman David Dreier and demanded: "Well, don't you find that rather inflammatory?" Schieffer soon pressed Dreier to affirm that "you're disassociating yourself from these kinds of remarks." 3. CNN Picks Up Gimmicky Attacks on DeLay, Uncle Sam Whacking Head File under it doesn't take much to get onto CNN's Inside Politics. On Friday, anchor Candy Crowley devoted a segment to a round-up of attacks on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, starting with a left-wing group which built a contraption on a trailer in which Uncle Sam whacks a DeLay figure on the head. Crowley moved on to how the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a DeLay-bashing Web site, but she didn't point out how CNN's video showed their own James Carville, co-host of Crossfire, in front of a banner which proclaimed: "Tom DeLay's House of Scandal." Crowley then touted how "the New York Times reports ten former Republicans members of Congress" criticized DeLay, but even Washington insiders would be hard-pressed to recollect any of the names. Finally, Crowley trumpeted how "the conservative-leaning publication The Economist is editorializing that it's time for DeLay to go." 4. CBS Ignores Unprecedented Use of Filibuster to Block Judges In a Friday night look at the so-called "nuclear option" considered by Republicans to block the organized filibustering by Democrats of several of Bush's judicial nominees, the CBS Evening News managed to ignore a major Republican argument: The unprecedented nature of the Senate's minority party using the filibuster to block not bills, but individual judicial nominees who have majority support. Instead, Gloria Borger touted how Democrats see the judicial filibuster "as their constitutional responsibility to provide checks and balances." After noting how Christian conservatives are pressing Republicans to get the confirmations, Borger relayed how "Democrats say mixing faith and politics is dangerous." She concluded by highlighting how the media's favorite Republican, John McCain, is amongst the "traditionalists" who say "this could boomerang on the Republicans if" they are again in the minority. 5. Mitchell's Promise of a GOP Scandal Over Oil-for-Food Falls Apart Just a few weeks before last year's presidential election, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell predicted Republicans would be embarrassed by a "huge scandal" over "Texas oilmen who were involved in that Oil-for-Food scandal." But when on Thursday's NBC Nightly News Mitchell reported on the first arrest of a Texas oilman for allegedly conspiring with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Mitchell neglected to associate him or his accomplices with either political party. Perhaps that's because the man arrested, David Chalmers, who heads BayOil USA, is listed as a donor to Democratic campaign efforts. 6. Not Even Tim Russert Is Aware of Good News and Normalcy in Iraq If NBC News and the rest of the media are putting much emphasis on news from Iraq beyond violence it would be hard to tell from a question Tim Russert, who you'd have to consider a heavy news consumer, posed, on Sunday's Meet the Press, to New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins, who is just back from Baghdad. Russert wondered about the life of the average Iraqi: "Are they going to work? Is the city functioning? Are kids going school? Are the markets open?" Filkins informed Russert that "on most days, Baghdad is a very normal, Middle Eastern city" and "the amount of car traffic has, you know, quadrupled or possibly more. The traffic, the streets are jammed, the schools are open. There's lots of commerce." Nets Fret Over Women in Catholic Church, Give Platform to Liberal The night before the Catholic Cardinals were to begin their conclave to choose a new Pope, the U.S. broadcast network evening newscasts painted the role of women as the most important issue and gave a platform to left-wing church activist Joan Chittister. "The future of the church is now in the hands of 115 men. Some Catholic women find that offensive," ABC's David Wright asserted Sunday night in leading into a Chittister soundbite. Wright proceeded to showcase a woman upset that her unborn daughter cannot become a priest, before concluding: "Men and women may be equal in the eyes of God, but many Catholics say in the eyes of the church, there's still a long way to go." Wright gave a soundbite to a church defender, but not CBS's John Roberts who sandwiched two denunciation from Chittister around touting how "a new CBS News poll finds the majority of Catholics think the next Pope should admit women into the priesthood, let priests marry, and allow birth control." Plus, "52 percent of American Catholics think the church is out of touch."
In a less politically-charged story about woman wanting a greater role in the Catholic Church, NBC's Rosiland Jordan couldn't resist slipping Chittister into her Nightly News story: "As 115 men prepare to elect the next Pope, Sister Mary Chittister is in Rome leading the charge for women. She's been campaigning for years to expand the priesthood." A full rundown of the April 17 ABC and CBS reports:
-- ABC's World News Tonight/Sunday. From Rome, reporter David Wright asserted:
Tom DeLay's Quip at NRA Convention Appalls CBS's Bob Schieffer CBS's Bob Schieffer doesn't have much of a sense of humor, judging by his reaction to quip from House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. All the Sunday interview shows devoted segments to DeLay's ethical troubles, but only Schieffer was appalled by how DeLay had told the NRA convention in Houston on Saturday night that "when a man is in trouble or is in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed." On Face the Nation, Schieffer read the quote to Republican Congressman David Dreier and demanded: "Well, don't you find that rather inflammatory?" Schieffer soon pressed Dreier to affirm that "you're disassociating yourself from these kinds of remarks." Schieffer devoted most of the April 17 Face the Nation to DeLay with in-studio guest Dreier and, from New York City, Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel. The exchange:
Schieffer: "Let me ask you about something, and I want to get Congressman Rangel's view on this. You know, obviously, earlier this year, earlier this month, there was some controversy over the remarks that Congressman DeLay made about the federal judges in saying they would face retribution for their behavior. This was in conjunction with the Terri Schiavo case. Last night, speaking to the National Rifle Association, Congressman DeLay said, and I'm quoting here an Associated Press account [text on screen]: 'When a man is in trouble or is in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed. So I feel ["really" in on-screen text] good.' What is your reaction to that, Congressman?"
CNN Picks Up Gimmicky Attacks on DeLay, Uncle Sam Whacking Head File under it doesn't take much to get onto CNN's Inside Politics. On Friday, anchor Candy Crowley devoted a segment to a round-up of attacks on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, starting with a left-wing group which built a contraption on a trailer in which Uncle Sam whacks a DeLay figure on the head. Crowley moved on to how the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a DeLay-bashing Web site, but she didn't point out how CNN's video showed their own James Carville, co-host of Crossfire, in front of a banner which proclaimed: "Tom DeLay's House of Scandal." Crowley then touted how "the New York Times reports ten former Republicans members of Congress" criticized DeLay, but even Washington insiders would be hard-pressed to recollect any of the names. Finally, Crowley trumpeted how "the conservative-leaning publication The Economist is editorializing that it's time for DeLay to go."
Crowley announced about five minutes into the April 15 Inside Politics on CNN: Check out the posted version of this item for a picture of what CNN showed of the Uncle Sam figure hitting DeLay's head.
An April 15 New York Times headline proclaimed: "10 Ex-G.O.P. Lawmakers Attack Changes in Ethics Rules." Reporters Philip Shenon and Sheryl Gay Stolberg began: For the New York Times story in full: www.nytimes.com
CBS Ignores Unprecedented Use of Filibuster to Block Judges In a Friday night look at the so-called "nuclear option" considered by Republicans to block the organized filibustering by Democrats of several of Bush's judicial nominees, the CBS Evening News managed to ignore a major Republican argument: The unprecedented nature of the Senate's minority party using the filibuster to block not bills, but individual judicial nominees who have majority support. Instead, Gloria Borger touted how Democrats see the judicial filibuster "as their constitutional responsibility to provide checks and balances." After noting how Christian conservatives are pressing Republicans to get the confirmations, Borger relayed how "Democrats say mixing faith and politics is dangerous." She concluded by highlighting how the media's favorite Republican, John McCain, is amongst the "traditionalists" who say "this could boomerang on the Republicans if" they are again in the minority.
CBS Evening News anchor John Roberts set up the April 15 segment, as corrected against the closed-captioning by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth:
Mitchell's Promise of a GOP Scandal Over Oil-for-Food Falls Apart Just a few weeks before last year's presidential election, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell predicted Republicans would be embarrassed by a "huge scandal" over "Texas oilmen who were involved in that Oil-for-Food scandal." But when on Thursday's NBC Nightly News Mitchell reported on the first arrest of a Texas oilman for allegedly conspiring with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Mitchell neglected to associate him or his accomplices with either political party. Perhaps that's because the man arrested, David Chalmers, who heads BayOil USA, is listed as a donor to Democratic campaign efforts. [The MRC's Rich Noyes recognized the Mitchell contrast and submitted this item for CyberAlert.] A search of the Center for Responsive Politics online database at opensecrets.org shows only one political contribution by Chalmers in the past six years, a $1,000 gift to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on June 22, 2000, at a time when New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli was heading up the committee.
On the October 10, 2004 Chris Matthews Show, Mitchell offered this tantalizing pre-election insight. Referring to a just-released report by Iraqi weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, a report which also detailed ways in which Saddam Hussein avoided international sanctions in order to finance his weapons buildup, Mitchell predicted: The "huge scandal" for Republicans that Mitchell foresaw did not materialize before the election, probably to her chagrin. Fast forward to the April 14 NBC Nightly News. It fell to Mitchell to provide the details of the arrest of David Chalmers, the head of a small Houston-based oil company, BayOil USA, and two of his oil traders. Mitchell scrupulously avoided mentioning Chalmers' political leanings as she summarized the U.S. government's case against him: "U.S. prosecutors say while George Bush was challenging Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator was being propped up by millions of dollars in secret kickbacks from a Texas oilman and his partners, money that was intended to feed hungry Iraqi children under a U.N. program." NBC then showed FBI agent John Klochan, speaking at press conference: "Motivated by greed, they flouted the law, made a mockery of the stated aims of the Oil-for-Food program, and willingly conspired with a foreign government, with whom our country was on the brink of war."
Mitchell picked up the story: "The indictment charges David Chalmers and his company, BayOil, headquartered in Houston, and two traders the government says helped Chalmers cut his deal with Saddam." Mitchell added: "Chalmers' attorney said he and his company will vigorously fight the charges."
Not Even Tim Russert Is Aware of Good News and Normalcy in Iraq If NBC News and the rest of the media are putting much emphasis on news from Iraq beyond violence it would be hard to tell from a question Tim Russert, who you'd have to consider a heavy news consumer, posed, on Sunday's Meet the Press, to New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins, who is just back from Baghdad. Russert wondered about the life of the average Iraqi: "Are they going to work? Is the city functioning? Are kids going school? Are the markets open?" Filkins informed Russert that "on most days, Baghdad is a very normal, Middle Eastern city" and "the amount of car traffic has, you know, quadrupled or possibly more. The traffic, the streets are jammed, the schools are open. There's lots of commerce."
Russert devoted the first half of the April 17 Meet the Press to the Tom DeLay situation. Then he brought aboard NBC News reporter Jim Miklaszewski and Filkins, both just back from Iraq. Most of the segment stuck to problems in Iraq, but at one point Russert wondered:
-- Brent Baker
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