Gaggle is a daily comic strip about the Washington press corps and Larry the press secretary. Larry deals with the shenanigans of reporters who couldn't imagine anyone voting for a Republican.

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ABC, CBS and NBC all ran stories Tuesday night explaining the “anger” behind the rioting in France by Muslim “youths,” but on the NBC Nightly News reporter Jim Maceda went so far as to specifically complain about how “immigrants are left to fend for themselves, with no government affirmative action programs.” Maceda did add how “even worse, the French economy is stagnant, with few new jobs being created," but he moved on to other comments about the rioting without anything more about the role of high taxes and regulation in causing that “stagnant” economy. (A lengthier transcript follows.)

A Reuters story written by reporter Vicki Allen begins as follows: "Top U.S. Republican lawmakers on Tuesday called for a congressional investigation into leaks of information used by The Washington Post in an article on the CIA's secret global prison system

The story, titled "Congress may probe leaks in CIA prisons story" would seem to indicate that the piece will be about a major intelligence leak that may possibly put American lives at stake, much the same way the media ballyhooed the alleged administration outing of CIA-something Valerie Plame. 

Got your attention, did I not? No beloved sixty
minute's wit,
does not go out on NY's Park Ave, and charge fifty bucks,
for some old lady to roll down his support hose. This sortie of words,
is to discuss, CBS's attempted at getting on the net's bandwagon, by
hosting THEIR version, of what THEY believe is used of the first
law of this country!

CBS called it " PUBLIC EYE"
http://www.cbsnews.c....
Well as you can see, one of the so called public, attempted as showing
that Public , is not a CHEAP pr trick. Is to let readers of
PE, to ask and then comment to questions, asked CBS personal. As
you can read, "Andy " parties in one of their
PR,adventured.

Do you pro, writer out
their, consider the word ,WHORE, to be a CUSS word?

This noun, which most people use as
a description, of a lady(I wonder why not a male), who sell sex
for
money.

I like to use it as a adjective, to
description, the
selling of ones principals. I used it many times, just asked
O,(lady with a mag and talk show).
I was adding
a , what I believe was a satire,comment, to his answer from
viewer of PE, by claiming Andy was a whore> PUBLIC EYE, killed
the word whore and replaced, well you know the kind of
typewriter(are they still around) characters that are used>
WHY! Read it yourself (under rmichem), and decided. Is CBS , such
a prude. that they afraid, that the readers of PE, see the word WHORE,
their going to go into some fit and and start walking the streets
of NY looking for sex. Are they afraid, that some little kids, is going
to ask Mommy, "WHAT's a Whore,? ARe you one?
Is Andy, so insecure in his job, and he is going to have a nervous
break down, if someone called him a whore in humor? Maybe,
from what my sources in CBS tell me, CBS is so CHEAP, with pay.
That CBS news people have to go out looking for extra
income? Just to be safe, keep a close eye on your Grandma support
hose?

The Associated Press continued the media crusade against Scooter Libby continued today by clarifying the aims of his enemies, but revealed a typical omission instead. The cleverly-titled piece, “Democrats Don't Want Libby to Be Pardoned,” speaks volumes about its bias.

AP special correspondent David Espo began by quoting a letter from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to the White House:

"We also urge you to state publicly whether anyone in the White House -- including White House counsel Harriet Miers or Vice President Cheney -- has already discussed the possibility of a pardon with Mr. Libby."

Lou Dobbs and the Merry Men and Women of CNN promoted a “windfall profits tax” on oil companies that Dobbs nicknamed a “Robin Hood Tax.” Dobbs set up a November 7 story asking if oil companies should have to give back some of those “giant profits to American citizens.”

Reporter Louise Schiavone’s story told viewers that “Energy prices have gone through the roof and somehow taken a route through your wallet to get there.” Schiavone didn’t stop there. Her broadcast featured complaints about “A long simmering post-hurricane resentment about rising gas prices erupted into out-and-out charges of price gouging after Exxon Mobil posted third-quarter profits of almost $10 billion.”

Oil companies profited from price spikes, but they didn’t arbitrarily set their prices extra-high. Market forces determined prices. But Schiavone didn’t explain that, and she didn’t bother to mention that gas prices have dropped 68 cents per gallon since their post-Katrina highs, declining every business day since October 6.

Remember how the mainstream media was so quick to jump all over the story when Pat Robertson called for the assassination of President Hugo Chavez? How could anyone forget that, after all it was front page news for almost a week.

Yet when AIDS activists invade the Family Research Council yesterday, Monday, November 7, the mainstream media is totally silent on the event, with the exception of one small story from the Associated Press.

The Associated Press reported that a dozen AIDS activists were arrested after invading a Christian organization's Washington headquarters and chaining themselves to objects in the lobby."

Mary Mapes, the fired CBS News producer who oversaw the report which led to the Memogate scandal is out promoting her new book on the affair. Her first TV interview since being shown the door airs tomorrow morning on ABC's "Good Morning America." Here's some excerpts from the ABC preview:

In her interview with ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross, to be broadcast Wednesday morning on "Good Morning America," Mapes says she is unrepentant about her role. "I don't think I committed bad journalism. I really don't," she says.

Mapes is author of a newly-published book about the controversy, called "Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power" (St. Martin's Press). [...]

Mapes tells Ross she feels in no way responsible for what happened at CBS News in the wake of her "60 Minutes II" report.

"If you're talking about an investigation that basically gutted a news organization, and turned people one against another and made people afraid of each other, and really scooted the country's most experienced anchor out of his anchor chair, and now has the evening news casting about for some kind of format that will be zippy and new, I didn't do that. I had absolutely nothing to do with any of that," she said. [...]

The mainstream media seemed to have settled on the sobriquet of “youths” to describe the people who are in their 13th night of burning cars, buildings, and in one instance a handicapped woman, in cities across France. Of course, it is hard to get an exact demographic profile of rioters on the run; however, reports on those who have been arrested are that only 30% are under 21.

Typical of the 2,300 stories on this subject currently available on Google News, is this one from ABC International, posted in written form on the Net on 6 November, entitled “Chirac vows order as French riots spread.”

This two-page article refers to the perpetrators alternately as “rioters” or “youths,” using both phrases multiple times. Not until near the end does the article make any reference to the fact that most of these rioters, in Germany and France, are Muslims.

I just came across this today while purusing the Christianity Today (CT) website: Ted Olsen in the CT weblog last Friday tackled bias in a liberal Austin, Texas newspaper in "Who Brought Up the Klan?":

The Austin (Tex.) American-Statesman has a story today on 30 pastors rallying to support the state's marriage amendment. It's got the five W's, but given the point of the story, the most important question is never answered.

The title: "Pastors gather in Austin to back marriage amendment."

The deck: "Group careful to distance itself from KKK, which also supports Prop 2."

Of the 298-word story, 126 words are devoted to the Klan:

While supporting the amendment on Tuesday's ballot, several Austin-area pastors said they wanted to distance their message from that of the Ku Klux Klan, which is planning a rally on Saturday to support the amendment.

"We have nothing in common with the Ku Klux Klan," said Michael Lewis, the president of the Austin Area Pastors Council. "As Christians, we have to distance ourselves, particularly on racial issues. We're separate from them."

"I am particularly concerned about the Ku Klux Klan and other rogue groups that are supporting the passage of Proposition 2," said Steve Washburn, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Pflugerville. "But their language is laced with hate, and we want all who are listening to know we are here out of love."

So here's the question: Who brought up the Klan? Did American-Statesman reporter Lilly Rockwell ask Lewis and Washburn what they thought about the Klan's support of the amendment? Or did they just start talking about the Klan?

If Rockwell brought it up, that's an unconscionable smear and a severe violation of journalistic ethics.

If Lewis and Washburn brought it up, they're foolish, and they're wrong to suggest that the Klan has such significant political power that it's an important part of the story.

Even the movie reviews on Today aren't free from liberal bias. During his review of the new movie Jarhead Gene Shalit lapsed into the language of Moveon.org types in his description of the film:

Gene Shalit: "Good morning and welcome to the Critic's Corner. Jarhead, from the distinguished director Sam Mendes, is an immediate classic. No exploding mines, no flying shrapnel its glory is in its understatement, its frightening quietude. Jarhead, that's slang for a Marine, is set in Desert Storm, America's first oil war."

After coming back from a clip of the movie I half-expected to see Shalit holding a "No blood for oil," protest sign.

After the debacle nominating his old personal lawyer Harriet Miers to the Court, President Bush has chosen Judge Samuel Alito, a leading light among conservative legal thinkers. The operative question now is: will this be “Armageddon,” as some political analysts claim, the most knock-down, drag-out, knee-to-the-groin, multi-million-dollar alley fight in modern confirmation politics? Or will it be peaceful, more decorous, like the hearings and vote for Chief Justice John Roberts?

Liberals and Democrats have insisted that unless Bush’s choice was soothingly squishy and moderate, there would be war. But that didn’t happen with Roberts, and it might not happen with Alito, perhaps because early polls showed Alito’s nomination was greeted favorably by the people. But that’s quite a contrast with the picture being drawn by the press. Let’s review some of the tactics the media already have employed:

On CNN's Live at Daybreak this morning, anchor Carol Costello described a TV ad in New Jersey's governor race: "The ad highlights comments from Democratic Senator Jon Corzine's ex-wife. She says, 'When I saw the campaign ad where Andrea Forrester said, 'Doug never let his family down, and he won't let New Jersey down,' all I could think was, Jon let his family down, and he'll probably let down New Jersey, too.'"

This led to the following exchange with CNN meterologist Jaqui Jeras.

JERAS: Nice.
COSTELLO: So, isn't that nasty?
JERAS: Like she's going to say something good?
COSTELLO: Pardon?
JERAS: Would you expect an ex-spouse to say something nice?
COSTELLO: No. But I wouldn't expect my political opponent to use the words of my ex-wife either in a campaign.
JERAS: Yes.
COSTELLO: I mean, that's just downright nasty.

Apparently not qualifying as a downright nasty campaign tactic was an ad run by the Corzine campaign that features a young man paralyzed in a wresting match three years ago. The young man says: "Doug Forrester doesn't support embryonic stem cell research, therefore, I don't think he supports people like me and doctors who say a cure is coming."

CBS's The Early Show ran a positive story set in Iraq today which cast the work of American troops in a positive light and showed CSI: New York star Gary Sinise airing criticism of negative media coverage. The story by correspondent Hattie Kauffman, however, was a gimmicky plug during "CSI Week" on the Tiffany network's morning show to plug new episodes of the trio of highly-watched CBS crime dramas.

Towards the end of her report on Sinise's charity, Operation Iraqi Children, Kauffman set up Sinise's criticism of the media: "In addition to his performances on the USO tour, Sinise continues to stay in touch with the troops in Iraq. From them, he hears the good news that he complains is overlooked in press coverage."

Video available: Real Player or Windows Media Player

Sinise: "I get another side of the story that we don't hear through the media, and it's, you know, more positive things happening than you would think."

Kauffman agreed: "The news reports are a bomb, a car bomb, a suicide bomb."

Sinise continued: "It's always about a bomb or a suicide bomber or somebody getting killed. And, of course, that's dramatic and all of that. But on a day-to-day basis, there's a lot of improvement. There's a lot of hope. There's a lot of kids that are going to school that never got to do that before."

After early stories about French riots in which a reader's questions about Muslims could elicit the response "what's that?" the Washington Post's Molly Moore has started to find a way to write about them. Her major files today are France Beefs Up Respose To Riots, on A1, and an updated version online, French Cabinet Authorizes Curfews Amid 12 Days of Violence.

When earlier stories began bringing up the topic, it was to knock down the idea that there was a connection between the more extreme variety of Muslim identity and the riots. In today's story (I'm quoting from the dead-tree version), Moore approaches it from a different angle--fearful non-Muslim French:

The latest Audit Bureau of Circulation reports continuing declines virtually across the board in the number of daily newspaper readers. Notable among the losers in the top 20 dailies is The Washington Post with a 4.1 percent drop. Other big losers include The Boston Globe at 8.25 percent and The San Francisco Chronicle at a whopping 16.58 percent.

Go here for Editor & Publisher's full report.

But it's not just the readership that is leaving the mainstream dailies, it is the advertising dollars that follow circulation. Did you know Google will sell more advertising this year than any daily newspaper or new network? Check this out from U.S. News & World Report's new report on "The New Media Elites:"

"And that's big bucks. Internet advertising is up by 26 percent this year to $14.7 billion (out of total advertising of $278 billion) and is expected to top $26 billion by 2010, according to research by Forrester Research.
"Google alone sold $6.1 billion in ads this year, double that of last year and more than any newspaper chain, magazine group, or television network. By 2006, its ad revenues are projected to top $9 billion, which would put it fourth among American media companies in total ad sales and ahead of such giants as NBC, Universal, and Time Warner."

We are witnessing the death of the dinosaurs of the mainstream media and their replacement with Internet-based citizen journalism.

The CBS News producer who attempted to start a wine label called Jesus Juice while he was covering the Michael Jackson trial is beginning to backtrack after his activities were exposed.

After NewsBusters broke the story Sunday, other media outlets picked up our scoop including the Associated Press, TheSmokingGun.com and MSNBC's "Countdown." Since that time, the producer, Bruce Rheins, and his wife, Dawn Westlake, have removed all Jesus Juice material, including the label's logo, a crucified Jackson, from their respective web sites.

The New York Daily News spoke to Rheins yesterday, he disingenuously told the paper he never intended to make money from the offensive wine label:

When it comes to conveying the gritty facts of the Paris rioting, the burning cars and shattered shop windows, the mainstream media have typically downplayed the rioters' identity as Muslims. But when it's time to suggest liberal solutions, Muslims are singled out prominently as victims of French racial discrimination, lack of assimilation, and lack of jobs (yet the media are strangely muted about the high taxes and burdensome regulations that keep unemployment in France so high).

One tic particular to the Times is putting the onus for the rioting on France's interior minister and anti-crime advocate, Nicholas Sarkozy.

Sarkozy, who is angling to replace French President Jacques Chirac, got in trouble with Chirac (and the Times) for classifying the rioting thugs as, uh, "thugs."

The Associated Press has found a unique way to ensure that negative statements and comments regarding Iraq get wide circulation.. Just have two writers do similar pieces with different titles and release them on the same day. The articles should contain the same negative comments and talking points. Throw in a few token positives, rearrange the flow of the articles and you have a hit. It’s a given that someone will read at least one of the articles and come away with an idea of bad things in Iraq. If the AP strikes the mother lode and a reader is exposed to both pieces, the repeated negatives work like a subliminal message.

Such is the case with 2 stories released by the AP on October 25, 2005. The subject was the failure to find any fraud in the Constitutional referendum in Iraq. The 10-day audit was completed and the citizens ratified Iraq’s Constitution. Thomas Wagner’s article, “Draft Constitution Adopted by Iraq Voters”, was posted at 0928 EDT. Mariam Fam’s article, “Iraq’s Constitution Ratified by Voters”, came later in the afternoon at 1600 EDT.