Is NBC "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams really a conservative? "Washington Post" media analyst and CNN "Reliable Sources" host Howard Kurtz implied that he is. Kurtz appeared on the October 10 edition of "The O’Reilly Factor" to promote his new book "Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Televsion News War." When Bill O’Reilly inquired on the lack of conservative representation on the network news, this exchange followed.
BILL O’REILLY: What news man at CBS or NBC is conservative?
HOWARD KURTZ: I wanted to make- first of all, Brian Williams, we can talk about him in a moment, probably President Bush’s favorite anchor.
O’REILLY: He just likes his ties.
KURTZ: Has quoted Rush Li- has quoted Rush Limbaugh, reads conservative blogs as well as liberal blogs.
O’REILLY: I know Brian Williams. He’s about as conservative as Les Moonves.
As the MRC’s Brent Baker documented in a "National Review" column, Brian Williams has a long history of liberal bias. For example, Williams called the late Bob Casey, former Democratic Pennsylvania Governor, "ultraconservative" because of his opposition to abortion.
Since his anchor position at NBC, Williams suggested leaders of the American Revolution "might have been called ‘terrorists’...by the British crown" and gave hard left academic Michael Eric Dyson a platform to call the Bush family "clueless patricians."
More examples can be seen at Brian Williams’s "Profiles in Bias" page. Click here to read all of NewsBusters’ past coverage of Williams.
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Yeah, I guess it depends on
October 11, 2007 - 09:45 ET by BDYeah, I guess it depends on where on the political spectrum you place the conservative boundarlies. If you consider Chairman Mao to be a moderate conservative, then sure, Brian Williams is a conservative.
The Comedy Team of Kurtz, Kalb, Koppel and Rather
October 11, 2007 - 10:06 ET by allanfThere was a time when I assumed people like Dan Rather were kidding when they said things like:
No one could be that silly. Perhaps Dan had just confused CBS for the Disney owned network of ABC.
Marvin Kalb insisted the New York Times and its editorial page were not liberal on the July 12th 2006 O'Reilly Factor. Yet in a July 14th interview with Joe Strupp in Editor and Publisher, the Times Editorial Page Editor Gail Collins said:
An ordinary person might be embarassed. He might choose his words more carefully in the future. But not Mr. Kalb!!!!!
I've come to realize that folks like Rather, Kalb, Ted Koppel, and Howard Kurtz live in their own self reinforcing world. They firmly believe what they say, and any evidence to the contrary is discarded.
And these folks have the nerve to claim Bush does not grasp reality. I wonder if there is some "projection" going on here.
Spot on, allanf.
October 11, 2007 - 11:43 ET by Galvanic"I've come to realize that folks like Rather, Kalb, Ted Koppel, and Howard Kurtz live in their own self reinforcing world. They firmly believe what they say, and any evidence to the contrary is discarded."
Every quote they utter, either on the air or in print, reinforces this assessment. And Rather is the worst of that lot. Just look at his $70 million lawsuit against his former employer. He's locked into an Ahab-esque quest to prove that his bogus Texas National Guard memo story is true. Oblivious to how bizarre and trivial this appears to the public, Rather seeks a vindication he can never attain.
In last night's interview, Kurtz was genuinely stunned that O'Reilly didn't believe that Brian Williams is a conservative. Apparently, to the MSM elitists like Kurtz, reading conservative blogs and quoting Rush Limbaugh is proof of conservatism.
Of course, their distorted world view explains why they see Fox News and Rush Limbaugh as big threats. They can't understand why the MSM loses audience share to those whom they paint as ultra-conservatives and Far-Rightists, because the very popularity of those resources openly calls to question the objectivity of the MSM. So, using tactics taught to them by Media Matters and MoveOn.org, they merely smear the opposition with personal attacks and lies.
Wow ... News to Brian.
October 11, 2007 - 09:45 ET by drillanwrWow ... News to Brian.
ugghh
October 11, 2007 - 09:50 ET by taterNext thing you know they'll make outrageous claims like Keith Olbermann is conservative and Jimmy Carter was the "greatest" president.
Brian Williams is
October 11, 2007 - 09:54 ET by midnight cowboyBrian Williams is conservative.
Yeah and Osama bin Laden is a Christian.
Conservative?
October 11, 2007 - 09:56 ET by iveseenitallWilliams, a conservative? And this guy Kurtz is a noted "journalist"? When I heard him say that, I couldn't stop laughing. But thinking about it later, I had to weep for the future of our nation as lies and deception pervade the media.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
I saw this segment last
October 11, 2007 - 09:57 ET by bigtimerI saw this segment last night and still chuckling reading this now....
People like Kurtz have been in the Belt-Way far too long, they just do not really realize it...living in that bubble and all.
unbelievable
October 11, 2007 - 12:27 ET by TruthMonger"he reads conservative blogs?"
i read liberal blogs - does not make me a liberal - keeps from being one actually
"has quoted Rush Limbaugh?"
yeah, the left has "quoted" Limbaugh alot over the last few weeks - they must be conservative too...?
A service of the new NB respect police
Nice try, Howard. You had
October 11, 2007 - 10:17 ET by Chris NormanNice try, Howard. You had so little material to work with.
surrounded by themselves
October 11, 2007 - 10:21 ET by JayTeeIf you surround yourself, with yourself, pretty soon you're talking to yourself and agreeing with every little thing you said to yourself.
If you don't believe me, just ask yourself.....
MSM, doesn't like DIVERSITY...they are Liberal Bigots.
What good is a Free Press, if it is a False Press ? David Foote GoE
Maybe Kurtz can identify a
October 11, 2007 - 10:25 ET by TEMaybe Kurtz can identify a single "reporter" at the Washington Post who has voted for a single presidential candidate in the last 30 years who has received a majority of the popular vote. Hint for Kurtz: No Democrat party nominee for president in the last thirty years has gotten a majority of the popular vote. Out of hundreds and hundreds of Washington Post "reporters" who have voted in presidential elections over the last thirty years, does he know of a single one who has voted for the Republican nominee?
I was watching this last
October 11, 2007 - 10:30 ET by Free ThinkerI was watching this last night while enjoying a cold one and had one of those beer-through-the-nose moments when he said it. It was certainly a good laugh and I'm not sure how O'Reilly kept a straight face.
How can Kurtz ask to be
October 11, 2007 - 10:52 ET by Chris NormanHow can Kurtz ask to be taken seriously when he comes up with stuff like this? He's a "media critic" who is actually a media defender, defending the indefensible - a useful tool for the MSM. His occasional mild criticisms are just a cover to protect himself. He tries to explain away all of the bias, using every explanation except the obvious...
Brian Williams Is Conservative
October 11, 2007 - 10:50 ET by pocomocoI had to suppress my gag-reflex when Kurtz said that on O'Reilly.
However, Williams, when not newsreading, is a very funny person. I believe he's missed his calling.
I was on a treadmill at the
October 11, 2007 - 10:58 ET by BDI was on a treadmill at the Gym when I watched that on the TV in front of me. damn near swerved off it into the next machine over....
Blog reading
October 11, 2007 - 10:58 ET by KC MulvilleI read articles in Slate everyday. I scan the Huffington Post and Media Matters nearly every day. Every day, I read from the rag where I currently live (Baltimore Sun) and from the rag where I grew up (Philadelphia Inquirer), as well as the Washington Post. In all those, I read the opinions as well, not just the sports and obituaries. These are all liberal points of view, and I read them regularly.
I am not a liberal because of that.
Brian Williams is not a conservative because he reads conservative blogs and drops a Rush quote now and then. And I wouldn't even mind if he was liberal, so long as he kept those biases out of his reporting. The problem is that Williams is part of a news operation that is astonishingly liberal, and they don't keep their biases out of their reporting.
Speaking of Slate, KC, Camille Paglia is the only thing I read..
October 11, 2007 - 11:16 ET by RJthere. Been doing that for years, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't make me a liberal lesbian... :^)
"Harry Reid is a complete buffoon." -Lou Dobbs
Liberal journals
October 11, 2007 - 12:25 ET by KC MulvilleMe too, and I'm definitely not a liberal lesbian. On Slate, I enjoy William Saletan. He writes persuasively about ethical issues, and I eat that up. I don't agree with him (he usually favors the pro-choice side, for example) but he usually assembles a respectable argument, and occasionally tells me something I didn't know. He's worth a look everyday. He writes for everyone.
Dahlia Lithwick used to be that way. She used to tell the stories behind Supreme Court cases. But in the last couple years, she's stopped telling stories and wasted time on snarky potshots at the four conservatives. Now she's only writing for her closed circle of fellow liberals, and it reads like she's intentionally shutting others out. Fred Kaplan and Timothy Noah also seem to write for limited audiences.
You can find good writing, and good arguments on the other side, but you have to look for them. The overwhelming number of pundits are just repeating what they heard the previous liberal hack say. And as I say, I don't mind them being liberal, but when they stop seeing reality and see only what they want to see, well, they cease to interest me. At this point, all I need is one comment where they blame something on Bush, and they turn me off.
KC, the thing I enjoy most about Camile Paglia
October 11, 2007 - 14:50 ET by RJ...is her impatience and distain for knee-jerk leftists, including the agenda-driven homosexual community....and, boy, don't they castigate her for that!
Just as you both agree and disagree with the writers you mentioned, I agree or disagree with her on many of her positions...but I can always count on her to make logical, fact-based arguments.
Paglia is a lefty I
October 11, 2007 - 14:58 ET by bigtimerPaglia is a lefty I love.
She drives the commie leftists absolutely nuts.
KC - right - liberals not allowed..
October 11, 2007 - 11:57 ET by Gary HallKC - right - liberals not allowed..
I see that you touched on what I was going to say. This, sadly enough, is how it works. Generally, liberals - especially the more leftist - activist ones, do not allow themselves to actually read, listen to, or watch any medium with a conservative view. On the other hand, they are like a sponge with the leftist news. We noted, that in the recent Limbaugh and O'Reilly smears by the media, that the journalists were not actually listenning to or watching the show - they simply took the word of left wing activists.
I also expose myself to all sides of the issues - from the radical right to the far left - which reminds me often that the radical left dispised Bill Clinton - only the Democrat press [Brian Williams] ignored the whinning of the far left then, unlike today.
Every angle of the main stream news is to protect the Democrats.
Brian Williams is
October 11, 2007 - 11:11 ET by Conservative_in_mass.Brian Williams is conservative. I had to follow up on this revealing bit of news from Howard Kurtz, so off I went to conduct an in depth survey.
As I was making my way from the north pole in Santas' sleigh, the Easter Bunny and I stopped off to ask the Tooth Fairy what his thoughts were on the subject. Come to find out, he agreed with the St.Patricks' Day Leprachaun, Snow White and all seven Dwarfs that Williams is indeed a conservative. As we were running late, Cindarella let us use the Pumpkin carriage so we could make it back in time to publish our results.
Yeah, I do believe Willams is conservative. <sarc off>
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. ~ Unknown
Conserva-shun
October 11, 2007 - 12:15 ET by acumenBILL O’REILLY: What news man at CBS or NBC is conservative?
And in the spirit of breaking through that transparent glass ceiling; What news "woman" at CBS or NBC is conservative?
Kurtz is sooooo stupid that
October 11, 2007 - 14:10 ET by TEKurtz is sooooo stupid that he also calls the the high priestess of the fundamentalist homosexualist religious cult, Andrew Sullivan, a "conservative".
The MSM also thinks Matt
October 11, 2007 - 14:47 ET by american-americanThe MSM also thinks Matt Drudge is a right wing hack... lol
Brian Williams
October 11, 2007 - 14:48 ET by Dr. Ronpass along to Howard Kurtz...last night's example:
Jimmy Carter Derides Cheney and NBC's Brian Williams Jumps
“Jimmy Carter is back in the news tonight,” NBC anchor Brian Williams declared Wednesday night in making true what he, but not the ABC or CBS evening newscasts found newsworthy, “this time because of harsh words for the current Vice President.” Williams proceeded to highlight how “in an interview with the BBC, former President Carter calls Vice President Cheney quote, 'a disaster for America' and 'a militant,' who has been in Carter's words, 'overly persuasive' on President Bush.” A few hours later, MSNBC's Live with Dan Abrams led with Carter's derision with “'DISASTER'?” on screen under a picture of Cheney
PRICELESS
October 11, 2007 - 15:41 ET by blogonatorIt was absolutely PRICELESS to see Kurtz's face drop to the floor with Bill's statement "You work for CNN, there's not a conservative over there". I wish they had the camera on his face when he made the comment about the kooks he works with at the washington compost.