On Monday night, the CBS Evening News failed to identify Kwame Kilpatrick as a Democrat in reporting criminal charges filed against the Detroit Mayor, but on Friday night the same anchor, Harry Smith, used the very first word, of his introduction to a story on another politician in criminal trouble, to name the party:
Republican Congressman Rick Renzi of Arizona goes on trial next month, charged with using his office to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars. He denies breaking any laws, but the indictment spells out a string of alleged dirty deals.
A little under two years ago, then-CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer avoided the party affiliation of a Democratic Congressman in introducing a Monday, May 22, 2006 story:
The government says FBI agents videotaped Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson taking $100,000 in cash from an informant and later found $90,000 in his home freezer. But Jefferson said today he will not resign from Congress and he said he thought it inappropriate for the FBI to search his Capitol office this weekend. To the surprise of some, the Senate Republican leader said he too has concerns about the search.
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That reference to the “Senate Republican leader” may have been a hint, but in the subsequent story, Gloria Borger did explicitly tag Jefferson as a Democrat: “Federal investigators now allege that last July, the Louisiana Democrat removed a leather briefcase from a car trunk containing $100,000 in $100 bills...”
Borger, however, concluded her report by declaring a pox on both parties: “At a time when 77 percent of the American public believes that all members of Congress take bribes, Congressman Jefferson's troubles help no one in either party.”
It should be noted that the CBS Evening News, anchored by Katie Couric, was the only broadcast network evening newscast to identify Eliot Spitzer as a Democrat the day news of his use of prostitutes broke -- Monday, March 10.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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Picture.
March 28, 2008 - 20:36 ET by Missouri ConservativePlus, check out the menacing picture they have of Renzi. They make him look like a serial killer.
"women and minorities hardest hit"
CBS Faster to Identify Party of Republican Than of Democrats
March 28, 2008 - 20:57 ET by gopsteveOh, really, no %$#$
MSM Out of the closet
March 28, 2008 - 21:06 ET by pearlThe MSM is really out of the closet now.
If ObamaX can go in front of the American people and say it's OK to be a racist and hang out with racists, the MSM is really letting themselves go now.
same as it ever was...
March 28, 2008 - 21:20 ET by surroundednycThey are as predictable as the sunrise. At least the word is getting out to many Americans that used to trust these bufoons.
“Without freedom, there is no true humanity.”
W.F.Buckley
It's Not Liberal Bias
March 28, 2008 - 22:06 ET by kbielefeIt's not media bias. Everyone just assumes corrupt politicians are Democrats unless they hear otherwise.
Harry the Hack
March 28, 2008 - 22:39 ET by AgentAmericanHarry Smith is a legendary hack for the donkey party. I remember the night of the 1996 Election where he commented on such a good job the media is doing covering the election. I wanted to kick the TV. I look for the day everyone turns them on their ears.
This whole "name that party"
March 28, 2008 - 22:51 ET by fitzfongThis whole "name that party" game has started to appear like the Martin Lawrence "asparagus tips vs. asparagus spears" discussion from "Boomerang". And when you have such a blatantly partisan hack like Harry Smith blowing his cover so early on in this story...you can only conclude that, like Martin Lawrence's character, we aren't entirely paranoid after all.
Again, not a true apples to
March 28, 2008 - 23:55 ET by JerAgain, not a true apples to apples comparison. If a politician holds national office, e.g. William Jefferson, the party affiliation is generally noted. However, in the instances of state and local officeholders, the party identity is frequently omitted--be it Democrat or Republican.
Jefferson is a Democrat in the U.S House of Representatives. On the occasion cited by Brent, Elizabeth Vargas, anchoring the ABC Evening News, noted that he is a Democrat. NBC anchor Campbell Brown did likewise. Bob Schieffer of CBS, in a brief introduction, did not identify Jefferson's party, but Gloria Barger, the CBS correspondent who provided the principle details of the charges against Jefferson, explicitly identified him as a Democrat. And so, folks, there you [supposedly] have yet another example of egregious media bias. Sorry, but I'm underwhelmed.
By the way, did you notice this AP article regarding Spitzer recently posted on the MSNBC website. Not only does it identify the party of the disgraced ex-governor, but it details his unsavory, hard-ball tactics against his Republican rival. Just another chink in the argument that the media constantly covers up for Democrats.
Jer
liberal myth
March 29, 2008 - 09:54 ET by candanceReally? Really?
Observe a news article from 2005 in which the mayor of Spokane, embroiled in a sex scandal, is identified as a Republican in the very first sentence.
Observe coverage of a sex scandal in 1998 in which a County Commissioner is indentified as a Republican within five paragraphs.
Observe an article from 2005 in which a city councilman embroiled in a sex scandal is identified as a Republican.
Observe the Las Vegas Review Journal who identified a city councilman with a record for child molestation as a Republican in the very first sentence.
Observe a CNN article from 2001 in which the mayor of Waterbury Connecticut, involved in a sex scandal, is identified as a Republican in the sixth paragraph.
Yes,
March 29, 2008 - 13:04 ET by JerYes, candance...Really!
Frankly, I don't know whether to commend your research, or dismiss it [embrace it?] as tending to prove my point.
So, to resolve my ambivalence, I'll do both. Congratulations for scraping the bottom of the media barrel to retrieve these...well, shall we say "rather obscure examples. C'mon...the Boothbay Register?...the Vital Voice? The Las Vegas Review Journal and Seattlepi.com at least are recognizable names, but still the subject matter is of purely local interest...hardly intended for a broader audience.
So we are left with one national source: CNN.com. True, the mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut is identified as a Republican. But you might also note that this identification is specifically provided in conjunction with his being a U.S Senatorial candidate who had opposed Joe Lieberman for his Senate seat.
Speaking of CNN, check the following page on its website which includes a gallery of politicians of both parties involved in sex scandals. Mayor Kilpatrick is one of those listed...and identified as a Democrat.
Jer
On one hand, I'm as
March 29, 2008 - 00:52 ET by riff_raffOn one hand, I'm as disgusted by the leftist bias of the MSM as any fair-minded person. But on the other hand, I tolerate it because I appreciate the fact that I live in a country where the press is free to play these games. And I have other reliable news sources (blogs, NB, talk radio, the Washington Times, the OC Register, the WSJ, Fox News, etc.) freely available to expose the lies and half-truths the MSM puts out.
I'm also glad that Republican elected officials are held to a higher standard of ethical and lawful behavior than Democrats. Think about what this says regarding what we expect from our elected officials: It's news when a Republican runs afoul of the law, but when a Democrat does it's nothing unusual, because we expect it from them!
By trying to hide the party affiliation of crooked Dems, the MSM thinks they're being clever. But the only ones they're fooling are themselves. If there's one thing people hate, liberal or conservative, it's being played for a chump. Even most libs have grown weary of covering for the Clintons' lies.
That is when I left the
March 29, 2008 - 04:19 ET by NortoThat is when I left the room. Only get one channel, cbs, and they make me sick!
Jefferson swept under the rug
March 29, 2008 - 07:12 ET by Miket53What has always shocked me is how the William Jefferson story was never a huge stain on the democrats. This guy had $90,000 wrapped in foil hidden in his fridge....like a common 2 bit theif. Yet it was hardly noticed and he stayed in office. How sleazy does he look. And people forgot the other terrible thing he did...he comandeered an army vehicle during Katrina to get to his house to retrive some files while people sat on roof tops. Those files were evidence against him. Yet....he still runs around Washington. And Trent Lott is tossed out for about three questionable words.
Miket53 http://mtaricani.blogspot.com/
Miket53 ,It's because he is
March 29, 2008 - 09:30 ET by obxrayMiket53 ,It's because he is black and is from New Orleans.He's what the msm considers a "victim".
Tic Toc
March 31, 2008 - 08:16 ET by mytwocentsI'll be waiting patiently for Nancy Pelosi's apology speech for condeming the GOP as the "party of corruption" and how she and the Dims were going to fix this. /sarc off