Clipmarks | n2sooners's 'msm' clips

Chris Matthews' Russert Eulogy: Like a Belch in Church

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:58:52 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: In an uncharacteristic moment of staggering truth, Mr. Olbermann then paraphrased news doyen Barbara Walters in noting, "This is a loss for the country. This is a loss in terms of the ability to get information from an honest broker -- someone who managed a neutrality that the rest of us dream of, perhaps. How big is that gap that we have now seen opened today...How big is the loss, and how on earth is the American public going to fill it in terms of getting the information it needs for the vital choices ahead?"

Mr. Matthews wisely dodged the query, perhaps because the answer is painfully obvious. Having the Olbermann-Matthews dynamic duo discuss this valid question would qualify as satire of the highest order.

Clip Source: scottott.blogtownhall.com

Asked by a justifiably teary-eyed Keith Olbermann to reflect on the sudden death, Mr. Matthews professed his love and admiration, calling Mr. Russert "everyman", a "true patriot", "Mr. America" -- by which he meant that the Meet the Press moderator had supported the Iraq invasion because of the trumped-up threat of nukes.

In other words, Mr. Matthews clearly implied, Tim Russert was like the rest of you rubes who were suckered by Bush.

Less than two minutes into his fond memories of his departed colleague, Mr. Matthews called Mr. Russert's privately-expressed concern about atomic terrorists "the essence of what was wrong with the whole case for the war."

It's hard to fathom a soul so craven that he would use a eulogy to resurrect his timeworn attack on the stagecraft of the Bush administration.

In a nutshell, we're all just a bunch of hard-working dopes like Tim Russert.

"Tim was...us, the American people," said Mr. Matthews.

Of course, by 'us' he doesn't mean 'me and you', just 'you'.

Tags: olbermann, russert, matthews, msm, media, bias, politics

Couric honored in DC

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:31:33 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.mediabistro.com

Yesterday, CBS' Katie Couric was honored by the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum at their Alice Award Luncheon Gala.

Some thoughts from Couric at the event:

However you feel about her politics, I feel that Sen. Clinton received some of the most unfair, hostile coverage I've ever seen.

Couric went on to say that latent sexism contributed, in part, to Hillary's defeat.

She referred to one "prominent member of the commentariat" who said he "found it hard to be objective when it came to Obama."

"That's your job," she remembers thinking when hearing this, before suggesting that he "find another line of work." (Was it Chris Matthews? Or was it Lee Cowan?)

Channel 4's Barbara Harrison, the emcee and a longtime friend, said, "Katie, you're a real fighter, and I'm watching where you're going next." (Does she know something we don't?!?)

Tags: couric, media, msm, clinton, bias, politics

Media bias in election coverage

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:38:07 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.rasmussenreports.com

Just 17% of voters nationwide believe that most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage of election campaigns

The perception that reporters are advocates rather than observers is held by 82% of Republicans, 56% of Democrats, and 69% of voters not affiliated with either major party

76% of voters believe the media has too much power and influence over elections

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Republicans believe the media has too much influence along with 80% of unaffiliated voters and 65% of Democrats.

Voters have little doubt as to who is benefitting from the media coverage this year—Barack Obama

(54%) say Obama

(22%) say McCain

14% say that Hillary got the best treatment

44% believe most reporters will try to help Obama while only 13% believe that most will try to help McCain

Even Democrats tend to believe their candidate will receive better treatment—27% of those in Obama’s party believe most reporters will try to help him win while only 16% believe they will help McCain

Tags: media, msm, bias, election, obama, clinton, mccain, politics

Typical Obama Fan

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:28:02 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.daybydaycartoon.com

06/02/2008

Tags: obama, politics, msm, media, bias, humor

How the media feels about Obama

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 06:20:05 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waits to speak in Aberdeen, South Dakota May 31, 2008. Obama said on Saturday he quit his Chicago church in the aftermath of inflammatory sermons that could become a lightning rod in the November election.

Tags: obama, media, msm, bias, politics

Depends on the meaning of "all"

Fri, 30 May 2008 07:50:07 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks:

For Kurtz and the rest of the MSM, then, the concept of “tell-all” has little to do with the amount of actual information revealed, or its quality. The key, instead, is the amount of vitriol directed at (in this case) a president the MSM dislikes.

Clip Source: www.powerlineblog.com

Kurtz refers to McClellan’s book as an example of the “tell-all” genre.

whether this amounts to a “tell-all” depends on how much McClellan actually knows, and this is the subject of considerable doubt. Though I haven’t read his book, I do know that it is devoid of footnotes, endnotes, and supporting documentation.

Feith’s book stands in sharp contrast. First, unlike McClellan, Feith was at the center of the policy-making at issue. Second, his book provides detailed accounts of key meetings based on contemporaneous notes. And it includes more than 30 pages of original source material plus almost 90 pages of endnotes. Readers can thus determine for themselves whether the author is providing a reliable account or merely settling scores and/or trying to make a buck (Feith, by the way, is donating all proceeds from his book to help Iraq war veterans). Yet the MSM is breathless over McClellan’s book, while it continues studiously to ignore Feith's.

Tags: media, msm, bias, mcclellan, feith, iraq, war on terror, politics

Iraq media coverage drops 92% in one year

Thu, 29 May 2008 20:35:35 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: gatewaypundit.blogspot.com

Democracy Project analyzes a recent report published at the American Journalism Review titled: "Whatever Happened to Iraq?"

In a media shocker...

This past year Iraq has disappeared from the front pages of the nation's newspapers and from the nightly network newscasts.

Network news devoted to Iraq dropped from 23% to 3% (92% decline) compared to last year:

Cable news dedicated to Iraq dropped even further from 24% to 1% over last year:

Print news dedicated to Iraq dropped 70% over last year.

Related... Don't expect to see this on the American networks:
The following is a translation by Iraqi-American Haider Ajina from the Iraqi Buratha News:

Baghdad Parks & Recreation department Invites families to visit Abu-Nawass Gardens

Tags: media, msm, bias, iraq, war on terror, surge, politics

Media coverage of candidates

Thu, 29 May 2008 20:06:40 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: What I find interesting is that even though McCain's coverage has been getting more positive and Obama's more negative, there is still nearly twice as much negative coverage of McCain as there is of Obama. And McCain has historically been one of the media's favorite republicans. Can you imagine the difference if the republicans those a candidate the media didn't like?

Clip Source: www.journalism.org

From January 1, just before the Iowa caucuses, through March 9, following the Texas and Ohio contests, the height of the primary season, the dominant personal narratives in the media about Obama and Clinton were almost identical in tone, and were both twice as positive as negative

The trajectory of the coverage, however, began to turn against Obama, and did so well before questions surfaced about his pastor Jeremiah Wright.

an additional analysis of more general campaign topics suggests the Obama narrative became even more negative later in March, April and May.

On the Republican side, John McCain, the candidate who quickly clinched his party’s nomination, has had a harder time controlling his message in the press. Fully 57% of the narratives studied about him were critical in nature, though a look back through 2007 reveals the storyline about the Republican nominee has steadily improved with time.

Tags: mccain, clinton, obama, media, msm, election, politics

Media 'racist against whites' says frmr dem VP candidate

Thu, 29 May 2008 08:10:05 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: gatewaypundit.blogspot.com

The former Democratic VP Candidate says she does not know if she will vote for Barack Obama in the fall. She says like Michelle Obama she will make up her mind when the time comes.

"I intend to do precisely what Michelle Obama said when she was asked that exact same question if Hillary were the nominee. I intend to think about it and I'm going to look at a whole bunch of issues... And, obviously the Democratic Party felt that was a good idea because nobody objected to her saying that in February."

I think the press has been absolutely, unbelievably sexist and in some instances racist; not racist against blacks but in some instances racist against whites; picking up everything that was said and running with it as if it's true; attacking people for speaking up.

I hear people... they come up to me and say they're worried. They're worried about what the future has because anytime anyone who speaks up who's white, it's a problem... Again, I don't think it's racism, it's racial resentment.

[Video]

Tags: democrats, media, msm, race, racism, politics

Reporter spins for Obama by defending Hitler

Sat, 17 May 2008 05:38:34 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: littlegreenfootballs.com

Seattle Times editorial writer Bruce Ramsey, in an effort to defend Barack Obama against President Bush’s “appeasement” speech, actually ends up defending Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, and the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria): Bush, and His Use of ‘Appeasement’.

Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.

What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.

Tags: obama, hitler, politics, msm, bias

"57 states" versus "potatoe"

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:48:51 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: newsbusters.org

During the 1992 presidential campaign, when incumbent Vice President Dan Quayle made a spelling mistake, the New York Times was all over it.

On Friday, Barack Obama

told an Oregon audience that "I've been in 57 states, (with) I think one left to go."

Searches at the Times

But a Times search on "Quayle potato" (not in quotes) from June 10 to November 10, 1992 shows that the Old Gray Lady's reporters, columnists, writers, and editorialists went back to the story another 38 times

Washington Post

The Associated Press? Surely you jest (here and here).

Google News search on the first of the two terms returned 27 results, only four of which could be considered Old Media

a Reuters blog

Bloomberg "Campaign Notebook" item carried at the Houston Chronicle

Los Angeles Times blog

MSNBC "First Read" blog entry

The others buried it

a Google News Archive Search on "Quayle potato" for the period from June 10 to November 10, 1992

over 850 items

Tags: msm, media, bias, obama, quayle, politics

NYT shuns the Constitution

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:11:19 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: newsbusters.org

At least they're open about it: the New York Times disdains Supreme Court justices who hew to the principles upon which this country was founded. The Times's admission came in the course of an editorial calling on Obama and Clinton to put aside their bickering and focus on beating John McCain. That is vital, in the Times's view, given McCain's pledge to nominate Supreme Court justices in the mold of John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Writes the Times [emphasis added]:

Mr. McCain predictably criticized liberal judges, vowed strict adherence to the Founders’ views and promised to appoint more judges in the mold of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. That is just what the country does not need.

So in the Gray Lady's mind, "strict adherence to the Founders’ views" is "just what the country does not need." Not that this comes as a surprise. Still, it's stunning to see in black and white that, as far as the Times is concerned, the Constitution really shouldn't stand for too much.

Tags: nytimes, media, msm, bias, constitution, politics

CNN puts liberals desires above reporting news

Mon, 05 May 2008 21:48:24 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: minx.cc

Funny how the networks are quick to accede to the political desires of liberals, without worrying too much about "pandering" or subcontracting their own highly-trained sense of news-value to the lay public, so long as that lay public can be used as a pretext to do what what the liberals in the newsroom want to do anyway.

Imagine if FoxNews announced "We're going to have Wright updates every half hour, because that's what our viewers want."

I imagine they'd be castigated for deferring to their bitter, gun-clinging audiences' wishes.

Because CNN has a better audience, of course. It's liberal, and, as such, can be trusted to help make the big news-judgment decisions.

Because ultimately it's not a J-school credential that empowers one to decide what should and should not be in the national debate -- it's an adherence to the liberal political philosophy.

Tags: cnn, media, bias, msm, obama, wright, news, politics, liberals

Reporters 'hate Hillary' and swoon over Obama

Mon, 05 May 2008 03:52:59 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: newsbusters.org

Here's something you don't see every day: a liberal, female editor of a leading liberal online magazine stating with cameras rolling that most press members "Hate, hate Hillary Clinton."

Salon's editor-in-chief Joan Walsh spoke some truths about the media's love affair with Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama, as well as their disdain for the former first lady

I was struck when I got to Iowa and New Hampshire in January by how our media colleagues were just swooning over Barack Obama. That is not too strong a word. They were swooning.

The downside though is that they hate, hate Hillary Clinton, most of them. Hate is not too strong a word.

concerning Hagee's connection to McCain:

It is a different relationship. Hagee deserves a lot of criticism. But, you know, he's gotten it. McCain deserves more criticism for embracing Hagee and going after his endorsement, but he is not his pastor. So, I really don't think it's comparable.

Tags: msm, media, hillary, obama, bias, politics

The Obama double standard

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:45:26 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: Do you think that if those moderating a debate asked the GOP candidate about these relationships for the first time, after 22 previous debates had been held, that other journalists would become apoplectic at the moderators for merely asking about the relationships? Not only would there be a near-universal consensus that those questions should be asked; there would be a moral urgency in pressing for answers. We would, I predict, be seeing an unprecedented media “feeding frenzy.”

The truth is that a close relationship with a white supremacist pastor and a friendly relationship with an abortion clinic bomber would, by themselves, torpedo a conservative candidate running for president. There is an enormous double standard at play here, one rooted in the fawning regard many journalists have for Barack Obama....The reaction to Stephanopoulos and Gibson is a revealing and depressing glimpse into the state of modern journalism.

Clip Source: www.commentarymagazine.com

Assume that a conservative candidate for the GOP nomination spent two decades at a church whose senior pastor was a white supremacist who uttered ugly racial (as well as anti-American) epithets from the pulpit. Assume, too, that this minister wasn’t just the candidate’s pastor but also a close friend, the man who married the candidate and his wife, baptized his two daughters, and inspired the title of his best-selling book.

In addition, assume that this GOP candidate, in preparing for his entry into politics, attended an early organizing meeting at the home of a man who, years before, was involved in blowing up multiple abortion clinics and today was unrepentant, stating his wish that he had bombed even more clinics. And let’s say that the GOP candidate’s press spokesman described the relationship between the two men as “friendly.”

Tags: obama, media, msm, liberal, bias, politics