National Public Radio
Survey: NPR
CEO Made 1.3 Million Bucks a Year. The public-broadcasting-insider newspaper Current passed along a survey
from The Chronicle of Philanthropy on executive compensation at large nonprofits in 2008. The salaries can be higher
than the current presidential salary of $400,000 (and the current congressional salary of $174,000). The list includes
national executives and leaders at large stations like WNET (New York), WETA (Washington), WTTW (Chicago), and
KCET (Los Angeles.) ... It's always worth remembering these numbers at pledge-drive time.
Is NPR
Skipping Over the Murder of Private William Long? Just like audio offered on the National Public Radio
website, NPR transcripts in Nexis do not include top-of-the-hour newscasts. But a quick Nexis search finds there is
no mention of the Monday shooting of Private William Long at a Little Rock recruiting station by a Muslim
convert. ... Meanwhile, Nexis lists NPR has aired seven full stories or interview segments on the Sunday
shooting of late-term abortionist George Tiller.
We are all Marxists
now. National Public Radio's Juan Williams, appearing on Fox News Sunday, insisted repeatedly
that "supply is at an eight year high" as proof that the oil companies are cheating us. He kept
repeating the phrase, as if that would make it a more sensible statement. It didn't. … Frustrated
by his inability to convince others of his nonsense, Williams then insisted that there is no connection
between supply and demand.
Further Proof
NPR Caters to Extreme Left: Even when they try to go a little toward the conservative side of the debate,
they get lambasted by their audience, angered that they had the temerity to air conservative views. Of course, the
only reason they would get such a rude reception from their own audience is because they have garnered only a far left
listenership as a result of their far left programming. After all, if they had a balanced listenership they wouldn't
get deluged by angry emails when they aired conservative content.
PBS, Pay
your own way. My cable company made me a remarkable offer: They want
to add a new channel to my cable subscription — and you will pay for it. The channel
will have liberal news, highbrow entertainment and a variety of educational programming. Sounds
insane, and yet the channel isn't new. It's called PBS. Public broadcasting is
a classic example of welfare for the well-off. … I enjoy PBS, but it hardly seems fair
that the government demands you buy it for me.
Public
Broadcasting: Time to Halt the Taxpayer-Funded Gravy Train. For
years, the government-owned Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and in
turn National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) have
been the recipients of large public handouts. Tax dollars from wealthy, middle-income,
and lower-income Americans have gone to subsidize programming whose audience is
disproportionately upper-income.
The age of the State-Owned Mainstream Media is
upon us. The biggest winner within the SOMSM realm has been NPR. Not only does public radio
get a steady stream of government revenue, but it also gets lots of tax-deductible cash. Most profoundly,
the $200 million that NPR received from the estate of Joan Kroc has enabled public radio to play in the
big media leagues. "We're probably the only major national news organization on a growth curve," says
spokeswoman Andi Sporkin. "We're on a hiring binge, expanding bureaus, expanding beats."
Saving
public broadcasting: Public broadcasting has been so successful and popular
that it's now ready to spread its wings and fly on its own. … Let's be clear about
some of the figures that have been tossed about. In 2003, CPB received a $363 million
dollar federal appropriation which was a 45 percent increase in just four years. The
2006 budget calls for $400 million.
Movement
Grows to Push "Public" Broadcasting off the Taxpayers' Dole: Americans
who have long resented having their hard-earned dollars confiscated
to fund the trashing of their values on "public" broadcasting could get relief.
The Other Liberal Radio Network. The
stories about the bankruptcy of Air America, the liberal radio network, usually tried to compare its success,
or lack thereof, to the ability of conservatives to get on hundreds of radio stations. Air America has
89 affiliates, compared to Limbaugh being on 550 stations and Hannity on 515. But the left-leaning
National Public Radio has 800 affiliates and claims an audience of 26 million. It, of course, is
federally-financed.
More Bias from Public Broadcasting.
While conservative radio hosts are on hundreds of radio stations, taxpayer-supported public radio has 800
affiliates. Its bias, usually presented as objectve journalism, has a real impact on people. Its
recent treatment of the controversy over the launch of Al-Jazeera English is a case study of how the bias is
displayed on a daily basis.
NPR
and PBS are Too Conservative, Say Liberal Lawmakers: Wednesday
House hearing on federal funding for the taxpayer-run Public Broadcasting
Service and National Public Radio turned into a debate between subcommittee Republicans
and Democrats about news reporting and overall programming bias.
Editor's Note: If
you stand far enough to the left, everybody will appear to be on your
right. If everybody appears to be too conservative, you must be
a liberal extremist.
The Case for De-Funding Public
Broadcasting: There was a time when non-commercial public broadcasting may have
offered an alternative that people couldn't find elsewhere. With the rise of cable
television and talk radio, however, U.S. taxpayer underwriting of television and radio is
no longer needed. The public should not have to subsidize public broadcasting through
tax dollars or tax breaks. People have access to hundreds of cable channels and radio
stations and networks. Also, satellite television and radio are available. There's
no need to force taxpayers to pay for programming they do not want or enjoy.
NPR
Repeatedly Describes Far-Left Islamists as "Conservative". When
it comes to ideological labeling, the media standard is to presume that the bad guys
are the conservatives or the ones on the right. How else to explain "hard right"
and "conservative" communists when communism is on the far left?
A
Battle Over Programming at National Public Radio. Executives at National
Public Radio are increasingly at odds with the Bush appointees who lead the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting. In one of several points of conflict in recent months, the chairman
of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which allocates federal funds for public radio and television,
is considering a plan to monitor Middle East coverage on NPR news programs for evidence of bias,
a corporation spokesman said on Friday [5/13/2005].
National
Public Radio Criticized in Congressional Hearing: Members of Congress Thursday [2/28/2002]
demanded that the president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting explain questionable reporting practices
by National Public Radio.
NPR Bigots Ignore Sharpton's
Candidacy: The Democrat party establishment would rather ignore the embarrassing White House
wannabe Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton. So would its media stooges, including the taxpayer-funded leftist
drones at NPR.
Time
for National Private Radio. Congress has tried before to tamper with the subsidy
to federally funded radio. The attempt stands as one of the signature failures of the fabled
Republican-revolution-that-wasn't, away back there in the dreamy days following the election
of 1994. "If the Corporation for Public Broadcasting still exists in two years," Newt
Gingrich said then, referring to the government agency that funds public radio, "then we will
have failed." Ten years later, Gingrich is gone but NPR survives. … A chief reason
for the failure was the bureaucratic flow chart of public radio — a system of funding
that would have puzzled Rube Goldberg. … The intricacies and indirections of the system might
lead a skeptic to think they were designed precisely to frustrate any congressional attempt at
privatization.
Privatize PBS and NPR. PBS
became the object of outraged citizens when it broadcast a blatantly anti-Boy Scout documentary called "A
Scout's Honor" in 2001. And last December, "Mohammed: Legacy of a Prophet" was more an infomercial
for Islam than an objective documentary. To a greater extent even than PBS, NPR has become a mouthpiece
for the radical left. Conservatives have their talk radio and Christian stations while liberals occupy
the mainstream media. But the radical Left has found its home at NPR.
NPR's
Kroc-pot bubbles over: National Public Radio is not only a broadcast
boutique operated by and for liberals, it's now flooded with more cash than it could
possibly ever need, thanks to a liberal philanthropist.
Rep. DeLay Condemns
NPR for Anti-Christian Smear: A high-ranking House leader Thursday led a series of
attacks on National Public Radio for slandering a Christian group. While five lawmakers raised
the issue on the House floor, a congressional subcommittee confronted NPR's top brass. Some of
the congressmen questioned whether the taxpayers should continue to subsidize NPR's
left-wing propaganda.
Public air
wars: The hearing's purpose was to grill Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Corporation
for Public Broadcasting president, about hiring two consultants in his campaign
against liberal bias on the airwaves.
In praise of honest
liberals: I almost drove off the road when I heard it, the shock was so great. I
really should have known better than to be listening to the "news" on National Propaganda Radio
instead of the classical music station.
Obama, Justice Thomas and
Col. West: On Morality. A white liberal friend of mine is sure in his own mind that Justice Clarence
Thomas is an intellectual lightweight. Why? Has he read any of Thomas' Supreme Court opinions?
No. He's never bothered. But he's heard about Justice Thomas on NPR.
This ... I Disbelieve. Whoever runs
NPR, aka National Platitudinous Radio, can't have read Walker Percy's The Moviegoer. Or if they have,
they must have missed the definitive dissection he performed on an old radio program called This I Believe, an
Edward R. Murrow special that NPR recently revived.
Back to the top of the page
The Public Broadcasting Service
More than fifty years ago, the FCC set aside certain television channels for noncommercial educational
television. Perhaps the hope was that something good would come from television, even if
all the other channels degenerated into endless streams of soap operas, game shows and sitcoms. But
in the last several years FCC rules have been relaxed, and these "noncommercial" stations run "enhanced
endorsements" which are actually just TV commercials. Many PBS stations also run self-serving
telethons to raise money by guilt-tripping their gullible local viewers, even though there is plenty of money coming from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Here's an interesting tidbit of information: PBS has 26 stations in the top six television
markets, and a total of 216 stations in the top 100
markets.*
The justification and rationale for this number of PBS affiliates is left to the reader
as an exercise. If you can't understand the need, perhaps your Congressman could provide an
answer. When you inquire, you might remind him or her that running a television station isn't
cheap. The electric bill alone amounts to a small fortune every month. And since
PBS stations are ostensibly non-commercial, they rely on taxpayers to pick up the tab.
Tavis
Smiley of PBS: 'We're All Working For Barack Obama'. Chris Matthews won't be working
alone. Back in November, the Hardball host said it was his job to make Barack Obama's presidency a
success. Today, another TV journalist expressed a similar sentiment. Tavis Smiley has declared
that "we're all working for Barack Obama" and that "we have to help make Obama a great president."
PBS Wages War
On Pro-Lifers. The Public Broadcasting Service recently announced it will not allow new
religious programming on their taxpayer-subsidized airwaves. The handful of stations that have shown a
Catholic Mass or Mormon devotions will be allowed to continue, but the other 300-plus stations have been
instructed to avoid any kind of evangelism. Welcome to Barack Obama's new world order.
PBS board approves compromise on
religious programs. The board of the Public Broadcasting Service says the handful of PBS
stations that carry religious services or devotionals can continue showing them, but cannot add new programs
defined as sectarian — that is, "placing one religion above all others."
Why
Should So Many Americans Feel Threatened by Business? [Television] has offered several decades
worth full of negative stereotypes and sleazy plot twists involving businessmen. As long ago as 1987, a
controversial PBS documentary called "Hollywood's Favorite Heavy: Businessmen on Prime Time TV" (hosted
by movie legend Eli Wallach) pointed to the tendency of major networks to portray corporate executives as
felonious, ruthless, blackmailing, violent, lecherous, unfaithful, greedy and, frequently, murderous.
The program cited studies at the time showing that on fictional network series (including dramas, soap operas,
and even comedies), no occupational group so frequently committed major crimes so frequently as wealthy
business leaders.
PBS, Bill Moyers, and AIG.
[Scroll down] Well, as of today, the hounds are loosed. In the world of Barney [Frank] and Andy [Cuomo]
everyone has a right to know who gets public money of any kind and how much. So, what's up with PBS, NPR and
its parent Corporation for Public Broadcasting? Are they the AIG of the media?
New PBS outrage.
Our federally-funded propaganda broadcaster is dispensing with any pretense of nonpartisanship in a new
documentary.
KBYU
may lose its PBS affiliation. A handful of Public Broadcast Service television stations —
including Brigham Young University's KBYU-TV — face the possibility of losing their affiliation if
PBS votes this summer to punish those whose programming includes religious shows. In KBYU's case, the
continued broadcast of BYU devotionals could result in the loss of signature PBS fare like "Sesame Street,"
"Barney," "NewsHour" and "This Old House."
Wright Speaks
for the Left. The Rev. Wright's decision to allow himself to be interviewed by Bill Moyers was,
from his perspective, an excellent one. It is difficult to imagine a less challenging, more fawning,
interview. How bad was it? Given that one of the most egregious of the Rev. Wright's statements
was his charge that the American government developed the AIDS virus and inflicted it on black Americans, one
assumed that the first major reporter to interview Wright since the comments were made public would ask him
about it. Not Bill Moyers.
The PBS Foundation: These days, "PBS" often
stands for "Pretty Bland Stuff" … Yet the rap against PBS has always been its biased public affairs programming.
Aside from the nightly "News Hour" with Jim Lehrer, most PBS news programs are little more than left-wing agitprop. The
ominous sound track on the PBS series "Frontline" typically signals yet another tale of corporate malfeasance and political
intrigue. The human interest stories on "Independent Lens" and "P.O.V." are politically correct lamentations on
social oppression or celebrations of "diversity."
How Taxpayer-Funded
Broadcasting Is "Surging" Left Under Democrats. The Democratic takeover of Congress in 2007
quickly made one definitive change in the national media infrastructure. ... In previous years with Democratic
control of Congress, PBS has played a more activist role within the media, dragging the rest of the national
media further to the left and spurring more aggression and ill will against conservative and Republican
leaders. Just as 2007 has been a year for a "surge" of troops in Iraq, it's also been a year
of "surging" activism within PBS.
Honoring Independence at PBS: The potentates who
run the taxpayer-subsidized Corporation for Public Broadcasting have an exquisite sense of timing. To honor America's
232nd birthday, PBS is bracketing our nation's anniversary with a three-part documentary on the horrors of warfare in the
20th century. Regrettably, nearly two-thirds of the series is a dubious assessment of American motives and methods
during and after World War II.
A John Edwards
infomercial via PBS. The nebulous project is a transparent pretext to maintain the ex-senator's
entourage (and his face on TV free-of-charge) while he plans his next political move. Edwards invokes
the usual saccharine platitudes and failed public-policy prescriptions, albeit superficially acknowledging
some of the shortcomings of past governmental "Wars on Poverty". Notably absent is any indication of a
selfless charitable donation from the Edward's own considerable wealth.
House retains
public broadcasting funds. The House Wednesday evening [7/18/2007] overwhelmingly rejected
President Bush's plan to eliminate the $420 million federal subsidy for the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting. The move to kill subsidies for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which make
up about 15 percent of its budget, was launched by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo.
PBS Chief Denies Public TV is
Liberal. It is another case of the liberals not admitting to what they really are: a
bunch of liberals promoting a liberal agenda. They call their liberal media "mainstream" in denial
of their true nature.
Back
to Bias Basics at PBS. [Kenneth] Tomlinson is long gone, and Democrats now control Congress.
But another step was necessary for the re-emergence of classic PBS propaganda: the return of Bill Moyers.
He was back to full-time fulminating duties on April 25, with a special titled "Buying the War." The
entire thesis of this 90-minute taxpayer-funded lecture? The national media were willing cogs in the
neoconservative machine that took America to war.
PBS
Telling Teachers to Violate First Amendment, Group Says. A packet for educators issued by
the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in conjunction with the NOVA program "Judgment Day: Intelligent
Design on Trial" encourages teaching practices that are probably unconstitutional, a conservative organization
stated on Tuesday [11/13/2007].
Moderate and Radical
Muslims: the Confused PBS View. In 2006, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
commissioned Islam vs. Islamism for a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series, "America at the
Crossroads" — with a $675,000, taxpayer-funded grant. But in February, Washington D.C. PBS
affiliate WETA, discarded the documentary as too "alarmist," effectively declaring it inappropriate for the
entire PBS network — and taxpaying viewers nationwide. It is troubling that a single PBS
affiliate can control a decision with such significant national import.
Too
Fine for PBS. I have to admit the first thing that attracted me to Martyn Burke's "Islam vs.
Islamists" was that PBS had suppressed it. … PBS's initial explanation was that the film was
not good enough, aesthetically.
Politicizing
PBS. Isn't it time to take the "public" out of the Public Broadcasting System? For years,
PBS has been a politi cal football -- thanks primarily to the fact that the bulk of the network's cash comes
not from "the support of viewers like you" but from the federal budget.
The Dark Side of PBS: The Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS) has reminded us again of why we don't want our tax dollars going into this
left-wing outfit. Its Frontline documentary about the events leading up to the war in Iraq was an
absolute model of liberal media bias. From the absurd title, "The Dark Side," to the dour images
of Vice President Cheney and the other villains of the piece, to the complete one-sided nature of the
arguments and the cast of characters. It made the argument for an end to taxpayer funding of PBS.
The Dark Side of PBS, Part 2. The
PBS Frontline documentary, "The Dark Side," about the events leading up to the war in Iraq, was guilty of some
of the same charges it leveled against Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
These officials were accused of manipulating information in order to get us involved in Iraq. But PBS
itself manipulated information to make the administration look bad, even dishonest.
The Case for De-Funding Public
Broadcasting: There was a time when non-commercial public broadcasting may have
offered an alternative that people couldn't find elsewhere. With the rise of cable
television and talk radio, however, U.S. taxpayer underwriting of television and radio is
no longer needed. The public should not have to subsidize public broadcasting through
tax dollars or tax breaks. People have access to hundreds of cable channels and radio
stations and networks. Also, satellite television and radio are available. There's
no need to force taxpayers to pay for programming they do not want or enjoy.
What public broadcasting
is and isn't: [PBS is] liberal. It just is. To say it isn't is just plain
batty. The shows we associate most with PBS are run by liberals … and they tend to
tackle questions from a liberal perspective. The people who run PBS are liberals. The
decision-makers are liberals, and — contrary to funhouse logic of PBS's left-wing
critics — the fact that these executives sometimes opt to put conservatives on the
air doesn't change that fact.
The film PBS doesn't want you to see. The
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and its flagship stations (including Washington's WETA) have frequently allowed the public
airwaves to be used to promote a variety of agendas with which as much as half the population strongly disagreed. These
have included many hour-long documentaries and other programs featuring vitriolic critiques of our government and its leaders,
disparaging portrayals of our country's policies and values and flattering portrayals, if not effusive endorsements, of those
who share such sentiments.
Climate of Fear: From Nuclear
Winter to Global Warming. This year is the 25th anniversary of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series
on public television, a landmark in the public's awareness and interest in science issues. Sagan achieved
a degree of celebrity few if any scientists today enjoy, particularly among the bon pensants who tend to
treat anything produced by PBS as holy writ. It is a fitting time to look back at the genesis of today's
climate debates, for Sagan became one of the first politicizers of fear of catastrophic climate change.
PBS Gets
Religion. Ronald Reagan used to say that he didn't leave the Democratic Party; the party left
him. Apparently that's how lots of liberals feel about PBS. … One viewer gripes that the network
is "validating the new Right Wing Evangelical perspective that has become oppressive in this country."
Another wants the shows banned because "schools and governments are prohibited from promulgating
superstitious dogma."
Public TV Does Not Belong In the
Minnesota Constitution. "This proposed Amendment is absurd," said David Strom,
President of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. "Putting the arts, zoos, and public television
into the Constitution doesn't make any sense at all." "Essentially we are creating a Constitutional
right to Public TV. Is this the 'Elmo and petting zoo' right that our Founding Fathers fought so
hard for? The 'interpretive dance and performance art' right?"
Wither Public TV? There's
really nothing on PBS that you can't imagine on any number of cable networks, such as Bravo or A&E or
Discovery or the National Geographic Channel. … PBS is at this point basically an upscale,
government-funded, highbrow version of the mindset behind pretty much every major television network
except for Fox News.
AIM Denounces Public Broadcasting for
Breaking Federal Law. Accuracy in Media (AIM) editor Cliff Kincaid has urged
Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), to open an
immediate investigation into how public broadcasting engaged in illegal lobbying against
the proposed $100 million cut in federal funding of public TV and radio. Mr. Kincaid cited
31 USC § 1352,
which prohibits the use of federal funds to engage in lobbying activities.
Public
Broadcasting: Time to Halt the Taxpayer-Funded Gravy Train. For
years, the government-owned Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and in
turn National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) have
been the recipients of large public handouts. Tax dollars from wealthy, middle-income,
and lower-income Americans have gone to subsidize programming whose audience is
disproportionately upper-income.
TVC Condemns PBS For Tax-Payer Funded
Attack Against Boy Scouts: "If a heterosexual young man wanted to be a Girl Scout or
Brownie leader, most people would be concerned about his sexual intentions," said TVC Chairman Rev.
Louis P. Sheldon. "We should have an equal concern for homosexuals when they indicate a
desire to be Boy Scout leaders. Men who wish to have sex with men should not have access to
young boys."
Saving
public broadcasting: Public broadcasting has been so successful and popular
that it's now ready to spread its wings and fly on its own. … Let's be clear about
some of the figures that have been tossed about. In 2003, CPB received a $363 million
dollar federal appropriation which was a 45 percent increase in just four years. The
2006 budget calls for $400 million.
Squelching Public
Broadcasting. Any network in existence would happily fund Sesame
Street. Why should we?
A Liberal Boss For
Liberal PBS: The ultra-liberal Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has a new boss, and
the head of the tax-funded network is a perfect choice for the left-leaning network — she's
a certified member of America's ultra-liberal elite.
It's time for
public broadcasting to go private. "Sesame Street" is one of the most popular
children's programs in history — so popular that licensing fees from "Sesame Street" dolls,
toys, clothing and other merchandise are the main source of income for the organization that produces
the show. … Children's programming that has an audience does not need taxpayer subsidies.
PBS jousting: The
question of a left-wing tilt in public television is in the news again, this time posed by the man who
runs the federal agency that funds public broadcasting. Veteran journalist Ken Tomlinson, board
chairman at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has raised the ire of public television executives
by having the temerity to suggest some of the documentary and other news programs aired on PBS are
often lopsidedly liberal.
PBS, Recruiting for Islam. What would be the
best way to convert lots of Americans to Islam? Forget print, go to film. Put together a handsome
documentary with an original musical score that presents Islam's prophet Muhammad in the most glowing manner,
indeed, as a model of perfection. Round up Muslim and non-Muslim enthusiasts to endorse the nobility and
truth of his message. Splice in vignettes of winsome American Muslims testifying to the justice and
beauty of their Islamic faith. Then get the U.S. taxpayer to help pay for it.
PBS Analysts Ridicule Eminent Domain
Concerns of Conservatives. During PBS's coverage Wednesday [9/14/2005] of the Senate
hearing with Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, analysts ridiculed the concern of some conservative
Senators over the Supreme Court's recent eminent domain ruling and mocked the role of naive talk
radio hosts.
PBS
Peddles New Online Leftist Indoctrination to Children. Built with your tax dollars, EekoWorld
is a whole complex of games, cartoons, and narrated stories aimed at young children on the "PBS Kids"
website. "PBSkids.org" is so heavily promoted during children's programming on PBS, that it was among
the first complex word sets that my son learned to speak. Whenever the third parent, I mean "the
television," would sing the PBS Kids jingle, "P-B-S Kids!" my little internet junkie would quickly add "dot
org!" Keep in mind that this was before Buster the Rabbit decided to teach the PBS kids about Lesbian
couples making children and maple syrup in the mountains of Vermont, so I didn't think anything about letting
the boy, now 4 years old, watch unlimited PBS, which I figure I've paid for already anyway.
Bear Lobby Mauls
First Amendment. One of the arguments in favor of public broadcasting
was that public TV would be independent and willing to take risks. But New Jersey public
television has yanked a documentary because it upset the animal rights movement. The film,
titled, "Bears: Too Close for Comfort," could possibly have saved lives by alerting people
in New Jersey to the very real threat posed by black bears, some weighing 500 pounds, on
the prowl for food. Marauding black bears in the state are attacking
people, including young children.
Public
Broadcasting: Your Tax Dollars Fund Liberal Bias. When President Lyndon
Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the bill included language insisting that
fairness and objectivity should be observed in "all programming of a controversial
nature." These words were routinely ignored on PBS television broadcasts and NPR
news programming. In 1992, Congress toughened that language, and public broadcasters
still ignored it. How have PBS and NPR displayed a liberal tilt over the
years? [Numerous examples included.]
"Alleged" tilt
at PBS: PBS is still a liberal monstrosity transforming the hard-earned dollars
of many Bush-loving taxpayers into fire-breathing Bush-loathing programming.
The
PBS Attack on Wal-Mart: PBS's Frontline spent most of its Tuesday night November 16
program attacking Wal-Mart and blaming it for killing American jobs, contributing to the trade deficit
and helping put Rubbermaid out of business. The program titled "Is Wal-Mart good for
America?" featured correspondent Hedrick Smith saying the U.S. is "like a third-world country"
because we import so many goods from China compared to what we ship them. ... The bottom line
on taxpayer-funded PBS was that Frontline was out to get Wal-Mart.
Is
Wal-Mart good for America? On Tuesday [11/16/2004], the Public Broadcasting
Service ran a scathing attack on Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, on its "Frontline"
series. ... In short, "Frontline" presented a one-sided hit piece disguised as objective
news reporting. Everyone responsible for it should be embarrassed for this
grotesquely unfair case of taxpayer-financed liberal propaganda.
DOE Director
Calls PBS to Account for Pro-Homosexual Cartoon. The new U.S. Secretary of
Education [has] denounced the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for spending public money
on a cartoon with homosexual characters. Although the episode, which has not yet
aired, focuses on an animated bunny named Buster and a visit to a maple sugar farm
in Vermont, it also features a lesbian couple and their children.
Big Bird Doesn't
Deserve Big Bucks From Uncle Sam. A spokesman for a media watchdog organization
says it is hard to justify why the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, two
very liberal media outlets, continue to need federal tax dollars to stay on the air while other
broadcasters have to compete in the marketplace.
Excellent!
PBS
is no longer relevant — if it ever was — so cut it off. PBS
and National Public Radio are, of course, relevant to their small but well-educated and affluent
coterie of viewers and listeners, and they are certainly relevant to those who produce their
shows, take their money or use them to promote their invariably politically correct causes, but
their wider relevance in today's world is questionable at best.
Moyers Ends With a Silly Whimper,
Not a Bang. Bill Moyers is retiring from his subsidized perch at PBS, most recently on the weekly
liberal hour known as Now. To mark the occasion, Moyers told the AP that he will end by uncovering
the major story of our time, the media's conservative bias: "We have an ideological press that's
interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom
line." Ridiculous.
FCC Fines Worry
Broadcasters. Worried about big fines from the government, PBS is carefully monitoring the
content of its shows for profanity, nudity or anything that may be deemed indecent, the nonprofit network's
chief says.
Unplug Moyers, PBS.
This is a guy who is wrong about everything. Even when he's right, he's wrong because of his evil
motivations. Who is this man? It's Bill Moyers, the political activist masquerading as a
journalist and living the comfortable, taxpayer-subsidized life at PBS.
Another Pro-Gay PBS
Summer: Some things in life you can count on. The sun will come up. The Washington
Redskins think they have another winning team this year. And in those lazy, hazy days of summer, PBS will
take your tax dollars and air another offensive agitprop film promoting the righteousness of homosexuality.
Talk is expensive when it comes to
Bill Moyers: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR, has an annual
budget of about $2.2 billion. More than $300 million of that comes from the American taxpayer,
according to the CPB Web site (www.cpb.org). Moyers' production company, Public Affairs Television, gets
paid by PBS, but it is unclear how much since PBS will not say.
PBS Under Threat From Competition:
Critics say that PBS has compromised its mission over the last 30 years, squandering taxpayer dollars with
little thought to viewer accountability and becoming slaves to corporate underwriters and political correctness.
Close Sesame? A
Review of "PBS: Behind the Screen". As a hybrid government-foundation fiefdom, PBS may have
helped to correct some of the banality of Minow's "vast wasteland." Certainly it has broadcast fine
cultural and educational offerings. But many of its programs have carried a liberal bias. Even its
nature specials often take a particular environmentalist slant, without providing countervailing views.
Inevitably, PBS became an ideological combatant in the cultural war.
Congressional Testimony of Tim Graham,
Director of Media Analysis, Media Research Center. Contrary to the assertions of congressional staff, this
left-leaning image of PBS and NPR is not a "myth," but an image that is both well-earned and well-documented.
CPB Exposed:
By law, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is required to insure balance in all "programming of a
controversial nature," but CPB refused to undergo a study of its content. A study released by the Center
for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) shows why: there is no balance on PBS.
PBS And The 'Remarkable' Ted
Turner: Al Gore went to Harvard with Erich Segal, the author of "Love Story," so he knows that
being in love with the planet Earth means never having to say you're sorry when your doomsday pitches are
massively, dreadfully wrong. But shouldn't PBS and other media outlets be held accountable when
doomsday predictions they've facilitated from 15 or 20 years ago fail to materialize?
Liberalism is so impressed with its own brilliance that results apparently don't matter.
Taxpayer-financed
Journalist: Arrest Bush! "Lying" about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, holding detainees at
Gitmo, and prosecuting the saintly matron of all things domestic, Martha Stewart. Those are just three
reasons taxpayer-financed journalist Bonnie Erbe finds for filing criminal charges on outgoing President
George W. Bush and his dastardly underlings.
PBS's latest infomercial.
In May I reported that PBS stations were airing medical programs that weren't adequately reviewed or vetted
by either the local station or parent PBS corporation. My concern was that publicly funded stations
were broadcasting questionable medical claims, made by Daniel Amen, M.D., about unproven methods for the
prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, without properly warning viewers the information was
controversial.
FCC's Chief Diversity Officer Wants Private
Broadcasters to Fund Public Broadcasting. Mark Lloyd, newly appointed Chief Diversity
Officer of the Federal Communications Commission, has called for making private broadcasting companies
pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend
the same on their operations as the private companies do.
Dan Rather
Be sure to see my page about the CBS
Memo Controversy, which includes additional commentary about Dan Rather and CBS.
Anita Dunn — Pots and Kettles.
On April 16, 2000, viewers of CBS' 60 Minutes saw Dan Rather interviewing Elian Gonzalez' father, Juan Miguel
Gonzalez. ... Here's what America didn't see: "Most of the questions Dan Rather was asking Elian's father during
that 60 Minutes interview were being handed to him by Gregory Craig," recalls Pedro Porro, who served as
Rather's in-studio translator during the taping of the famous interview.
How Dan Rather Was Duped by the KGB:
Rather reported in a newscast on March 30, 1987, that a Soviet publication had charged that an American
military laboratory had developed the virus that caused the AIDS epidemic. He did not accompany this
charge with any comment from the Pentagon or the State Department. … Eventually, the communists
themselves admitted it was false.
Dan Rather Nods Through Clinton
Whoppers. Nobody expected Dan Rather to be as tough as Tim Russert in his 60 Minutes
interview with Bill Clinton, but he sat idly through a series of Clinton whoppers and forwarded them without
objection to the audience at home. Some of Clinton's personal claims could have used less gullibility
from Rather.
For Clinton, Dan Rather is Putty in
His Hands. The CBS Anchorman has a long track record of cheerleading and softball questions for
President Clinton.
Danny Pearl's Widow Condemns
Dan Rather: The wife of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl slammed "CBS Evening
News" anchorman Dan Rather for his network's decision Tuesday night to air excerpts of a grisly video
showing her husband's death.
Dan Rather Touts Hillary for
President: "CBS Evening News" anchorman Dan Rather predicted Thursday morning [2/7/2002] that
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton could win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2004 if former
Vice President Al Gore decides not to run, explaining that no one else in the party could generate
enough enthusiasm to mount a credible challenge to President Bush.
Does Dan Rather Have No
Shame? Dan Rather did it again tonight [1/29/2002], leaving a key factor embarrassing to
Democrats out of a major story. In a segment on "CBS Evening News" dealing with the massive
bankruptcy of fiber-optic cable company Global Crossing, Rather totally ignored Democrat National
Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe's involvement in what could be as big a scandal as the collapse
of Enron.
Dan
"Ammo" Rather Cleans Up at Media Awards Roast: Hundreds of self-professed members of the
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy turned out to roast some of America's most notable newscasters by awarding
them "Dishonors Awards" for their documented bias in journalism.
Related story:
Vast left wing
conspiracy? The other night I attended a dinner gathering of the "Vast Right-Wing
Conspiracy." I dined and laughed with nearly a thousand nicely dressed, politely behaved honest
overachievers who came at the invitation of Brent Bozell. We were at his Media Research Center's
"Dishonors Awards" where we would "Roast the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters of the Year!"
Another leftist double standard:
You remember Dan Rather, don't you? You know, the impartial CBS News anchorman who recently
spoke at a fundraiser for the Democrat Party of Texas ...the guy who recently stated that willful liar
Bill Clinton is an "honest man"?
Studies Show Dan Rather's Leftist
Bias.
In praise of bias: Journalists
have been accused for years of marching in liberal ideological lockstep. They faced
such charges even before CBS talking head Dan Rather turned up at a Democratic Party
fundraiser, then awkwardly explained that he didn't know it was a partisan event until he
got there and it ... ummm ... would have been rude to leave.
Juanita Broaddrick: Dan
Rather's Comments 'Sickened Me'
Dan Rather's
Alleged "Liberal Bias" Triggers Sponsor Boycott.
Jeremiah Wright's Controversial AIDS
Charge. [Jeremiah] Wright isn't the first public figure to repeat the claim that AIDS is a U.S. weapon to
kill people. The claim that AIDS was manufactured by the United States was reported by CBS Evening News anchor Dan
Rather on a March 30, 1987, broadcast. Rather was widely criticized for playing into a Soviet KGB disinformation
campaign. The charge had appeared in a number of Soviet and Third World publications before Rather picked it up.
"Media Reform" Targets Conservatives.
Ironically, [Dan] Rather is appearing on a panel at the National Conference for Media Reform that is supposed to unveil a
"Big Media Hall of Shame." Presumably, the inductees will be conservative media voices.
Back to School for Dan Rather. Some
might have thought that the 2004 election scandal would have ruined the career of Dan Rather. Instead, he was given his
own show at HDNet. Now, four years later, Rather's show, Dan Rather Reports, offers viewers a glimpse into what the
former CBS news anchor considers good reporting: not citing sources, overlooking conflicts of interest, and sensationalizing
material to promote marxist class-warfare perspectives. All this is touted as news, even when Rather relies solely on
anecdotes and ignores publicly-available statistics.
Dan
Rather in Panic Mode: Move Inauguration to December 1. Appearing on Friday's "Morning Joe," former CBS anchor
Dan Rather chided President Bush for not doing enough during his lame duck period and argued for moving Inauguration Day up
to December 1.
Update: Dan Rather Fights Back
The
return of Rathergate? Dan Rather is back and he has another "scandal" based on
a source that is questionable. You might not have noticed Dan's return to "journalism"
because he is on a channel called HDNet, obscure enough that Comcast, the nation's largest
cable provider, has chosen not to offer it.
CBS
Is Sued by Rather Over Ouster. Mr. Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract
by giving him insufficient airtime on "60 Minutes" after forcing him to step down as anchor of the "CBS Evening
News" in March 2005. He also contends that the network committed fraud by commissioning a "biased" and
incomplete investigation of the flawed National Guard broadcast in order to "pacify the White House."
I'm Rather Grateful. Dan Rather
seems divinely inspired to crash more times than a Kennedy driving home from an office party. The
multimillionaire semi-retired newsman is suing for $70 million, $1 million for every year he's been
alive since he was five years old. Which is fitting, because that's what he sounds like. The gist
of his lawsuit is that CBS used him as a "scapegoat" in the Memogate story to "pacify the White House."
The swelled-headed former anchor, who used to brag incessantly about his toughness and independence, also
whines in his suit that the network forced him to apologize under duress when "no apology from him was
warranted," and that the former managing editor of CBS News "was not responsible for any such errors."
Dan Rather is going to win. I
don't know if he's going to get the 70 million bucks he's demanding from CBS. But I bet he gets close
to that. Not because he deserves it... I'm not here to speak to that. But because CBS, in its media
heart of hearts, can't be bothered with it. "It" is that nasty little National Guard piece on President
Bush. The piece with the forged documents and the sloppy editorial chain of command.
On the other hand...
CBS Can and Should Beat Dan Rather.
The suit involves how Rather was treated before, during and after the scandal that badly damaged the network
back in 2004 and 2005 when it made explosive but false charges, based on phony documents, against President
Bush just two months before the presidential election. The story backfired on the network, reconfirming
to millions of people the existence of a liberal media bias.
Return to Rathergate:
Rather, the former anchor of the CBS Evening News, is still really, really mad about losing his job in the wake of
the George W. Bush/Air National Guard/phony documents story. And now he is telling his version of
events in the form of a $70 million lawsuit against his former employers.
Dan
Vs. CBS. Does Dan really think he can win this suit? Or is he just hoping for a big cash
settlement on grounds CBS doesn't need more bad press? Was he canned to "pacify the White House?" Hate
to believe that. Not the way I feel about CBS and its traditions even now, 20 years after
I left.
Rather's Revenge:
I assume that 75 year old Dan Rather doesn't play golf or collect stamps or knit. Because, obviously, if
he had a hobby, he wouldn't have decided to spend a major portion of his golden years pursuing even more gold
than he already has.
CBS
"Mystified" by Dan Rather's "Bizarre Allegations". Today [11/16/2007], in New York Supreme Court, in
response to Dan Rather's civil lawsuit, CBS filed a lengthy 30-page motion to dismiss the case. CBS
executives also released a statement today, noting that they are "mystified" by Rather's "bizarre
allegations" but will "vigorously" defend themselves in court if need be.
Dan Rather's Last Big Story Is Himself.
If he weren't famous, he'd be mistaken for a veteran of a long-ago war: khaki safari shirt on his
back, scuffed combat boots on his feet, that wiry crest of a brow, rheumy eyes under heavy lids, lower
lip jutting out like an ornery fish resisting a hook.
Rather Lawsuit Moves
Forward. It looks like former CBS News anchor Dan Rather will indeed get his day in court.
On Wednesday evening [1/9/2008] Justice Ira Gammerman of the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan made a
preliminary ruling denying the TV network's motion to dismiss Rather's $70 million lawsuit.
Setback
For Dan Rather Lawsuit Against CBS. Rather's last months at CBS News were clouded by a disputed
story on President Bush's Vietnam-era military service. Rather says his employers made him a "scapegoat"
to placate the White House after questions arose about the story.
Parts
of Rather's Suit Against CBS Dismissed. The ruling enabled both sides to claim partial victories
in a case that focuses on the fallout over a September 2004 report on the weeknight edition of "60 Minutes,"
narrated by Mr. Rather, that raised questions about favoritism regarding President Bush's National Guard
service during the Vietnam War. CBS later said that it could not verify the documents on which the report
had been based, and Mr. Rather was forced to step down as anchor of the "CBS Evening News" in March 2005, a
year earlier than he had planned.
Dan
Mad Over His Net Loss. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the former CBS Evening News
anchor says his reliance on the network's false promises that it would defend him after making him a scapegoat
for a controversial news report cost him several high-profile jobs — and some lower-profile ones as
well. While he was once a hot property coveted by CNN to be its "face," the fallout from his report on
President Bush's Air National Guard service resulted in him being turned away from even part-time jobs at CNN,
ABC, NBC, Fox, HBO, the History Channel, A&E, Discovery and National Geographic channels, the filing says.
NY judge
lets part of Rather's CBS lawsuit proceed. A New York City judge says news anchor Dan Rather
can proceed with his $70 million lawsuit accusing CBS of violating its contract with him when the
network fired him. Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman dismissed a fraud complaint against CBS
Corp. on Monday [9/22/2008] and a business interference complaint against CBS and former parent company Viacom Inc.
No causes of action remain in the lawsuit against Viacom.
Appeals
Court Rules in Favor of CBS. An appellate division of the New York Supreme Court ruled
today [9/29/2009] in favor of CBS over Dan Rather, dismissing Mr. Rather's $70 million suit against his former
employers in its entirety.
Dan Rather loses
$70 million lawsuit against CBS. A New York state appeals court on Tuesday dismissed
former TV newsman Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS Corp in which Rather claimed he was made a scapegoat
in a scandal over a 2004 report on then-President George W. Bush's military record.
Dan
Rather Lawsuit Tossed Out, Former 'Evening News' Anchor Vows Appeal. The New York State
Supreme Court's Appellate Division has thrown out Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against his
former employer, CBS Corp. "We find the complaint must be dismissed in its entirety," reads the
decision.
Back to the top of the page
Walter Cronkite
The eunuchs are
whining: Walter Cronkite, better known as president of the Ho Chi Minh Veneration
Society, has compared the Rev. Jerry Falwell to the Taliban. In response to Falwell's comment
that gay marriage and abortion on demand may not have warmed the heart of the Almighty, Cronkite proclaimed
it "the most abominable thing I've ever heard."
Walter Cronkite wants standing U.N.
army: In a new fund-raising letter for the World Federalist Association, former CBS anchorman
Walter Cronkite, known for a generation as "the most trusted man in America," calls for the creation of a
standing United Nations army and U.S. Senate ratification of the International Criminal Court.
Walter Cronkite endorses Campaign to Force
Christianity out of U.S. Public Life. A new campaign to force Christian influence out of the
public sphere was launched last week in San Jose, California, in response to what is seen as a returning
strength of religious organizations in American society.
Egregious leftism:
Former CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite, Oct. 29, [2004] on CNN's "Larry King Live":
I have a feeling that (Osama bin Laden's new videotape) could tilt the
election a bit. In fact, I'm a little inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political
manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, that he probably set up
bin Laden to this thing.
Good-Bye Walter Cronkite. Walker Cronkite
threw away his "most trusted man in American" title when, on Tuesday night, March 18, 2003 the retired Evening
News Anchor used his celebrity status to publicly issue a blistering dissent to President Bush's decision to
wage war with Iraq. He made that public stand on the campus of Dew University were he, himself, arrogantly
ripped the so-called "arrogance" of our President just days before military hostility began.
And That's the Way It Is.
To my great surprise, I received a form letter from Walter Cronkite inviting me to contribute to the
Campaign for Global Change, sponsored by the World Federalist Association. Walter Cronkite has long
since identified himself as a liberal, but I didn't know until this letter that he was so committed
to plunging America into world government.
Video: Hillary Clinton and
Walter Cronkite at the World Federalist Association meeting, 1999, where Mr. Crokite was
awarded the Norman Cousins Global Governance Award.
The Editor says...
This is a rather alarming piece of video, in which Walter Crokite mocks the idea of a world government
ruled by Jesus Christ, and then actually says, "Join me. I'm glad to sit here at the right hand
of Satan."
Walter Cronkite receives
"Global Governance Award" from WFA. October 19, 1999; Walter Cronkite receives award from the
World Federalist Association. The award is the "Norman Cousins Global Governance Award." Through
a closed-circuit hook-up, Hillary Clinton commends Cronkite for his promotion of a fascist one-world
government.
Walter Cronkite, flack for global
elite. Walter Cronkite prides himself on being the consummate newsman. Yet, in his
retirement years, he's become little more than a poster boy and PR man for a new global political
order — one that even he admits would deprive Americans of their sovereign rights and
independence.
Walter Cronkite — world
federalist. The man once described as the "most trusted in America" has come out firmly,
boldly, explicitly — and stupidly — for the formulation of a global government at the
expense of U.S. national sovereignty. And, somehow, Walter Cronkite did this at the
United Nations [in October, 1999] in near total media blackout.
'Old media' and its power to sap the
nation's resolve. When the Viet Cong were destroyed in the Tet offensive, Walter Cronkite didn't
report our total victory. Rather he came back from Vietnam and told us our troops were hopelessly mired
down — all was lost. I remember this. Back then there were no alternative media. Just the
networks and the same old print media we have now. There was no talk radio either. Cronkite turned
the tide of public opinion.
Walter Cronkite: Media Profits
Threaten Freedom. Pressures by media companies to generate ever-greater profits are threatening
the very freedom the nation was built upon, former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite warned Thursday
[2/8/2007]. ... As broadcasters cut budgets and air time for news, he said, "we're all left with a
sound bite culture that turns political campaigns into political theater."
[Wrong on two points, Walter. Media profits don't threaten freedom, they result
from freedom. And believe it or not, Mr. Cronkite, there is more to journalism than
political news.]
Cronkite opposes religious influence.
Friday's event included an appearance by newsman Walter Cronkite, who endorsed the new national campaign called
First Amendment First. It calls for houses of worship to stop endorsing political candidates and for
states' tax dollars not to go to any charity that discriminates in its hiring or requires people hold a certain
faith to receive services. It also says science and health policies should be based on scientific data,
"not religious doctrine," and that schools shouldn't promote any religious preference.
Post mortem:
Celebrating Cronkite while ignoring
what he did. Tellingly, his most celebrated and significant moment ... was when he stood up
and announced that Americans shouldn't trust the statements being made about the war by the U.S. Government
and military, and that the specific claims they were making were almost certainly false. In other words,
Cronkite's best moment was when he did exactly that which the modern journalist today insists they must not
ever do — directly contradict claims from government and military officials and suggest that such
claims should not be believed. These days, our leading media outlets won't even use words that are
disapproved of by the Government.
Walter Cronkite
Has Blood on His Hands. Walter Cronkite was called the most trusted man in America. He
abused that trust, peddling his own opinion (hope?) — steeped in anti-American ideology —
as fact. The Killing Fields were fertilized with this man's lies. So speak to me not of this
newsman's great legacy — it lays buried under a mountain of skulls in South East Asia.
The Cronkite Tragedy.
Walter Cronkite will be remembered for two things: a career that spanned six decades, during which he
personified the 20th-century journalistic ideal of the newsman as an objective and authoritative purveyor of
facts; and an incident in which he departed from that ideal, with far-reaching consequences for the country
and the news business.
Walter Cronkite Without Tears.
After the eulogies, the fact remains that "the most trusted man in America" betrayed that trust. He helped
snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Vietnam and tried hard to do the same in Iraq.
Cronkite records destroyed by FBI.
The FBI destroyed its files on former CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite two years ago under a policy that
has been criticized by researchers for allowing potentially valuable records to be wiped out.
Saint Cronkite:
Journalism's Twice-Blemished Icon. Cronkite became "a seminal force for transformation" by
abandoning "a careful devotion to the facts." Although prevailing orthodoxy suppresses objective
reporting on the matter, Cronkite was wrong about Vietnam. And by the time he made his famous
"quagmire" utterance, he'd become a political partisan. Though he was, according to one poll, "the
most trusted man in America" during his "Evening News" reign, Cronkite violated that trust in a way that
helped transform journalism, and perhaps the country, but not for the better.
Helen Thomas
Helen
Thomas's Grandmother Clause: Watch any presidential newscast,
and UPI's Helen Thomas generally asks the first question. But there's one
slight problem. Though Thomas spent more than 50 years as a UPI correspondent,
she no longer works for the wire service. And even though she's earned the
respect of colleagues as well as presidents with her dogged questions, she
now works for the Houston Chronicle as a columnist. This makes her an
opinion giver, not a news gatherer and reporter.
Veteran critic of White House
turns on 'gullible' press pack. Helen Thomas … has ruffled presidential feathers and,
since becoming a columnist in 2003, she has made clear her views on some of those incumbents —
including George W. Bush who she has described as the "worst president in all of American history".
Helen Thomas wants
to be cloned. There was quite sharp questioning that night [March 6, 2003], live in
primetime. Indeed, reporters often sounded like they were reading cue cards composed by Howard Dean.
The Democrats' liberal
face: "Esteemed" media figures Bill Moyers and Helen Thomas are the face of modern liberalism,
and that face is firmly affixed to the head of the Democratic Party, as proven by the landslide election of
liberal Nancy Pelosi to the Democratic House leadership position.
Doubting Helen
Thomas. At a screening of a forthcoming HBO documentary honoring liberal journalist Helen Thomas
in Washington, Thomas was asked whether most White House reporters are liberal. "Hell, no!" she
thundered. "I'm dying to find another liberal to open their mouths [sic]. Where are they?"
Is this Grande Dame of Journalism serious? The answer, of course, is yes.
'What
Else Should a Reporter BE' But a Liberal? So what do you get when you mix a Canadian TV hostess
with the venerable Helen Thomas? An admission of bias so strong that it could ward off a vampire. ... On
a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation morning TV interview show called "Sun Day," Thomas was interviewed on how
she felt about presidents past, present what was to be future with the Obama inauguration still then days
away. She was also quizzed on her profession in which Thomas claimed only liberals should be engaged.
And that isn't all. She also said that conservatives are neither thinking nor caring people.
Helen Thomas: Symbol of
Media Decline. If one were to draw a cartoon-like character who embodies all the missteps and bias
of the Washington media, he would have to invent Helen Thomas. ... "Saturday Night Live" or the former Fox News
"Half Hour News Hour" satire could not produce a fictional character who more tellingly parodies the liberal media
than this grand dame of the liberalism that pervades the mainstream media.
Is
There No Place For Aging Propagandists To Go? I watched the Presidential news conference last
night and perhaps the most striking thing I learned was that there is apparently some sort of assisted-care
shortage in America. I figured that out when I saw Helen Thomas there in the front row. I used to
think she was always in the front row as some sort of odd show of respect. It occurred to me last night
that she might never leave her seat. I have come to believe that Helen has been in that seat since
sometime in the Carter administration.
Helen Thomas Cited for Honest Reporting?
Even with the Marxist influence in President Obama's background — and even with the reluctance to raise
his voice against bloodthirsty tyrants such as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — even with all of that, trust Helen
Thomas to find Obama too hard-line with America's enemies and too easy-going with America's friends.
Back to the top of the page
Other high-profile TV
news personalities
A Smattering of Harry Smith's Liberal Smugness.
Over his lengthy career at CBS News, Smith has continually shown his detest for conservative figures and causes, while
at the same time promoting mainstream liberalism. He has praised liberal figures like Barack Obama and Al Gore
in quasi-religious terms, but made little effort to hide his contempt for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W.
Bush. He has championed liberal crusades like global warming, predicting "Manhattan will be underwater by
2050." He condemned the Iraq War, claiming it "didn't make sense," and denounced the Second Amendment as "the
right to deliver instruments of certain death."
Don Hewitt's Biased
Specter Haunts Us. Don Hewitt, who created the popular CBS news show "60 Minutes" and
controlled it for 36 years, died Wednesday at age 86. It is customary in our culture to speak
no ill of the dead, but as William Shakespeare wrote: "The evil that men do lives after them."
CBS' Don Hewitt — Fidel
Castro Enabler. Forty years after his media advance-work helping install a Stalinist regime in Cuba
the legendary Don Hewitt of CBS still seemed proud of his work as a Castro media auxiliary. During that
interim, over 20,000 Cubans were murdered by firing squad and beaten or starved to death in forced labor camps.
Another 70-80 thousand were ripped apart by sharks or drowned in the Florida straits. If Mr Hewitt had
uttered a single word of remorse regarding this bloodbath, I'd find him easier to praise than to bury.
The "Leftmedia Sacrilege" Award:"We
hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, endowed with certain unalienable Rights,
among these Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." --Diane Sawyer quoting the Declaration
of Independence during an ID celebration. We have the utmost confidence that our fellow patriots see the
glaring omission in this statement.
Is Bill Maher the Jane Fonda of the Iraq War? I
don't watch the Bill Maher show on HBO. I haven't thought much about him since he had a show on ABC and implied
that the 9/11 attackers were courageous for flying hijacked planes into buildings and killing 3,000 people. At
the same time, Maher said that the U.S. was cowardly for attacking terrorist bases in Afghanistan by launching
cruise missiles from ships at sea. He is supposed to be a comedian but also tries to come across as
someone who makes serious and thoughtful points about political issues.
New ABC anchors:
Interchangeable parts. During an interview two years ago with "60 Minutes" reporter Lesley Stahl,
I asked her about journalistic bias. She asserted that there were people of differing political
viewpoints at CBS News. Asked to name one, Stahl could not.
Ted Turner:
In addition to giving millions of dollars to leftist causes, Turner has contributed hundreds of
thousands of dollars to such political figures as Cynthia McKinney, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, Paul
Wellstone, Max Cleland, Patty Murray, Bill Clinton, and Barbara Boxer. Turner explains his
generosity to leftist causes and politicians by candidly stating, "I'm a socialist at heart."
Revising history:
Brian Williams, main character of the dark, prime time NBC satire called "Nightly News," is now a finalist,
with Newsweek magazine and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for the title of "Revisionist Historian of The Year."
The honor goes to the creator of the biggest whopper defaming America and/or Americans, for which an apology is
required.
Back to the top of the page
Commercial TV Networks
Patriotic Country Music Songs
Rejected by ABC, PBS. Recently, ABC canceled country music singer Toby Keith from its July
Fourth TV special. They did not want him to sing his song about the September 11th attacks,
"Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)." Earlier, a similar thing happened with PBS and
Charlie Daniels and his song, "The Last Fallen Hero." This is a disgrace and the rankest kind of
hypocrisy from these so-called advocates of free speech.
ABC News standards
and practices: For people who believe the broadcast networks are biased and employ mostly
people who favor liberal Democrats and oppose conservative Republicans, ABC's reaction to these e-mails
provides additional confirmation.
Media Now Roast Rove, But Wouldn't
Fry Bacon. ABC, CBS and NBC are maintaining their relentless coverage of the CIA leak investigation,
with 58 stories on their morning and evening newscasts since July 10. But when a high-ranking Clinton
administration official, Kenneth Bacon, used an illegal leak to malign Linda Tripp, an anti-Clinton whistleblower,
the networks were nearly completely silent.
The ABCs
of Liberal "Journalism". So I tuned in this week to a network news program, with the expectation
that they would at least pretend to be fair. It took only 10 minutes to dash my hopes.
ABC
asked to drop ties with 'Anti-Catholic' web site: For the Catholic League, it's bad enough
ABC News partnered with a Web site that promotes abortion and irreverently discusses sex. It's
even worse, the group says, that Beliefnet.com makes a mockery of Catholic dogma. Catholic League
officials condemned Beliefnet — ABC News' new source for religious coverage — for
poking fun at the pope, asking "politically charged" questions on women in Catholicism and insinuating
that priests are perverts.
ABC Picks Up Where CBS' Dan Rather Left
Off. Biased reporting by liberals at the media giant gets more and more obvious.
ABC Highlights Embarassing Moment
for Bush Daughter: For the last eight years the American press honored one ironclad if unwritten
rule: Hands off Chelsea Clinton. But it didn't take long for the media to make it clear that the
Bush daughters won't be afforded the same consideration.
A Protest in the Dark: Arrested
Cuban dissidents feel betrayed by CNN.
CNN Correspondent Jumps to
Al-Jazeera. Lucia Newman, CNN's first and only correspondent based in Havana, has jumped to
the new Al-Jazeera International network, which plans to begin operations later this spring.
CNN called Castro's
"megaphone": After analyzing every Cuba-based story that has appeared on CNN since it established
a Havana bureau five years ago, the Media Research Center is calling the network a "propaganda tool for Fidel
Castro's government" and a "megaphone for a dictator."
Health Insurance Group Blasts CBS
for Bias
Report Card
Gives CBS an "F" for Coverage of Bush's First 100 Days: Two other networks, ABC and NBC,
received a "C minus" and "B minus," respectively.
CNN's
Education "Reporting": Adam Young takes issue with yet another shallow CNN report which glosses
over the obvious fact that a "patriotic club" in Russian schools is actually a mandatory military program for
children.
For MSNBC,
Time to Get Political. MSNBC has seen the future, and it is politics. Delivered with plenty
of opinion. … "We've found a voice as of late, and a large part of that voice is politics," says MSNBC
General Manager Dan Abrams.
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