MRC President and NewsBusters Publisher Brent Bozell appeared on today's "Fox & Friends" to discuss findings by MRC analysts that Gov. Eliot Spitzer's (D-NY) party affiliation (and Hillary Clinton superdelegate status) has been persistently overlooked in broadcast and print media outlets.:
BOZELL: ABC and then NBC "Nightly News" two days ago, not once mentioned that he was a Democrat. "Good Morning America," not once mentioned that he was a Democrat. ABC nightly news, not once mentioned that he was a Democrat. CBS, one mention on the nightly news, no mention on the morning news. AP did a three-paragraph breaking story, never mentioned that he was a Democrat, then they came out with a full story, never mentioned that he was a Democrat. Last night, NBC, never mentioned he was a Democrat. Last night, ABC never mentioned that he was a Democrat. It is unbelievable.
Co-host Steve Doocy noted that this is not new for the news media, recalling the 2001 Gary Condit saga. Condit, you will recall was suspected in the disappearance of former intern Chandra Levy:
DOOCY: You know, remember back with the [then-Rep.] Gary Condit scandal, barely mentioned he was a Democrat. Now the same thing with Eliot Spitzer. However with [Sens.] Larry Craig and David Vitter, did they jump on "he's a Republican!"?
BOZELL: Yeah, in less than 8 percent of the stories on Condit that we covered did they mention that he was a Democrat. The mayor of Detroit who was caught in a sex scandal, never mentioned that he was a Democrat. But everyone who knows the word Larry Craig knows he's a Republican. Everyone who knows Mark Foley, the disgraced congressman from Florida, knows he was a Republican, why, because they attached the label to him every single time, as they should.
Here's a transcript of the interview:
STEVE DOOCY: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer having a rough week. That seems to be an understatement. But would media coverage of his sex scandal be even tougher if he were a Republican?
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Brent Bozell is the president of the Media Research Center and he joins us now from D.C. So you've been monitoring all of the network coverage of this and you say that on two of the networks, ABC and NBC, in their coverage of Eliot Spitzer they haven't even mentioned that he's a Democrat?!
BRENT BOZELL: It's unbelievable. Two days ago on the "Today" show. Fourteen segments. Not once did they mention he was a Democrat.
DOOCY: You're kidding.
BOZELL: ABC and then NBC "Nightly News" two days ago, not once mentioned that he was a Democrat, "Good Morning America," not once mentioned that he was a Democrat. ABC nightly news, not once mentioned that he was a Democrat. CBS, one mention on the nightly news, no mention on the morning news. AP did a three-paragraph breaking story, never mentioned that he was a Democrat, then they came out with a full story, never mentioned he was a Democrat. Last night, NBC, never mentioned he was a Democrat. Last night, ABC never mentioned that he was a Democrat. It is unbelievable.
DOOCY: You know, remember back with the [then-Rep.] Gary Condit scandal, barely mentioned he was a Democrat. Now the same thing with Eliot Spitzer. However with [Sens.] Larry Craig and David Vitter, did they jump on "he's a Republican!"?
BOZELL: Yeah, in less than 8 percent of the stories on Condit that we covered did they mention that he was a Democrat. The mayor of Detroit who was caught in a sex scandal, never mentioned that he was a Democrat. But everyone who knows the word Larry Craig knows he's a Republican. Everyone who knows Mark Foley, the disgraced congressman from Florida, knows he was a Republican, why, because they attached the label to him every single time, as they should.
CAMEROTA: So because you think that party affiliation is relevant?
BOZELL: Well, you know, it's like saying that Eli Manning is a football player but never mentioning that he plays for the Giants when you do a story. It's a part of the story, of course it is.
DOOCY: You know, something else that's interesting. We talked yesterday on this program we talked about the fact that Eliot Spitzer is a superdelegate for Hillary Rodham Clinton. We talked about whether or not they'd be political ramifications for her. And yet in the mainstream media, nada!
BOZELL: Well, there won't be political ramifications if nobody knows that he's a Democrat. Now, I hate to be conspiratorial about it but look, the evidence is the evidence, they're just not saying he's a Democrat. I mean, and you know, at the same time anytime there's a Republican sex scandal, they can't stop talking about the Republican sleaze.
DOOCY: I know. Not fair. Alright, Brent Bozell. His Web site is MRC.org and its all right there. Brent, always a pleasure.
Audio of the interview also available here (837 kB | 2:48).
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Let's see if this has any Effect on the Resignation story
March 12, 2008 - 09:56 ET by JayTeeAnother opportunity for MSM to commit the "Sin of Omission" when Spitzer does his Resignation, and the Story is Reported.
Democrat Governor Spitzer Resigns (?)
Democrat Lt. Gov. takes over (?)
How are these?
March 12, 2008 - 10:34 ET by Prester John"Embattled Governor and Former Wall Street Scourge Resigns Under Republican Pressure"
"Former Crime Fighting Governor Resigns to Avoid Devisive Political Battle"
"Democrat Becomes First Black Governor of New York"
Prester not a John...That's pretty good and off the main Points
March 12, 2008 - 11:04 ET by JayTeeYou worked in REPUBLICAN in one headline,
You did NOT mention Democrat in two of them
And when you did mention Democrat, you tied to the Lt. Govenor taking over.
Uhhh...Prester ...uh...How and Where did you get the nickname "JOHN" ?
Spitzer
March 12, 2008 - 10:23 ET by celebrate.lifeMajor concern for Clinton candidacy:
Former President
Clinton's history with infidelity. I would not want all of US to
re-experience the pain, embarrassment, should former President Clinton
not be able to conduct himself appropriately as First Gentleman
of the country.
annon.
It's obvious
March 12, 2008 - 10:46 ET by crosspatchIt is very obvious why various "news" outlets fail to mention the party when it is a Democrat. They want to make sure that a search on the name of the party in conjuction with words such as "indictment" or "indicted" or "corruption" only returns references to Republicans when archives or data bases are searched.
In doing this they are attempting to manipulate not only the opinion now, but also the opinions of the future which will be based on research. Some papers will even slip in a mention of "Republican" when talking about some other figure so a story about Democratic corruption only appears when searched for "Republican".
Our "news" media are farces. Our "journalists" are liars. Plain and simple. Journalists rate down with used car salesmen and politicians in trust and they have only themselves to blame.
The blogs are the real press these days.
Very good point!
March 12, 2008 - 11:11 ET by MaximusBraveheartThanks for that comment. People look up republican and bad stuff comes up. Look up Dem & less shows up; when in fact I would guess exactly the opposite is the reality.
Well only 1 puts the (D) in it today at resignation!
March 12, 2008 - 10:58 ET by PawpawNAre those SUV's that Spitzer's entourage are in, not Prius! Also, quick going thru channels only FOX NEWS showed a (D) at resignation speech. Even C-SPAN didn't!
Question... Can anyone
March 12, 2008 - 11:12 ET by Clear thinkerQuestion...
Can anyone explain to me what happens to Spitzers Super Delegate vote now that he will be officially out?
If the vote goes with him when he leaves on the 17th, will Hillary quit on the 18th?
Sorry folks. I'm serious about Q #1, Q #2 is just wishful thinking.
"Abstain from McCain"
Give me a break...this has
March 12, 2008 - 11:14 ET by JerGive me a break...this has been the most intensively reported three-day story in a very long time--and no one can possibly contend that the coverage has been favorable to Mr. Spitzer.
The print media didn't identify him as a Democrat? Nonsense. The New York Times broke the story, published a slew of articles and consistently identified Spitzer as a Democrat. So did the lead AP stories, as did the Washington Post, the LA Times, and USA Today left no doubt whatsoever about which party he belonged to.
I know it's been mentioned on CNN, MSNBC, and CBS as well as on local network affiliates and the liberal blogs. The notion that this scandal has been buried, or Spitzer's party afiliation deliberately concealed is laughable. [As I type this, CNN is speculating on whether his successor will be more liberal or less liberal than Spitzer has been.]
Jer
Jer calls Brent a
March 12, 2008 - 11:22 ET by Clear thinkerJer calls Brent a liar.
Jer, this is not one you can win so sit back and enjoy the rest of your day.
"Abstain from McCain"
clear thinker...before I
March 12, 2008 - 11:34 ET by Jerclear thinker...before I enjoy the rest of the day, exactly where did I call Brent a liar?
Jer
two posts up:) and it
March 12, 2008 - 12:08 ET by TruthMongertwo posts up:)
and it seems we can easily argue the coverage has been much more favorable, sympathetic, understanding for Spitzer (who actually committed a real crime) compared to Larry Craig (who was busted for shoe-tapping as "disorderly conduct")
NB has a web site with all of the objective documentation
so what do you have...?
TM... ... msnbc and CNN
March 12, 2008 - 12:14 ET by bigtimerTM...
... msnbc and CNN all but have just about exonerated the guy, it is absolutely sickening.
i do concur bt
March 12, 2008 - 12:24 ET by TruthMongerMSM scum, as always
but way to go Brent and MRC!!!!
so lets get an explantion on the party affiliation thing already
anyone from the MSM have the balls to face the public on this?
frackin cowards
just like your terrorist buddies
TM: Well, even if we were
March 12, 2008 - 12:22 ET by JerTM: Well, even if we were to disagree about the favorability or unfavorability of the coverage, my question is where did I call Brent a liar? I understand the post to which you and C T are referring. But where within it do I say Brent lied?
Jer
on my screen your whole
March 12, 2008 - 12:26 ET by TruthMongeron my screen your whole post screams it in great big capital letters
are you maybe experiencing some LMP - liberal monitor problems:)...?
I guess
March 12, 2008 - 13:15 ET by cvgbuckeyeI guess "it depends upon the meaning of what IS, IS" jer.
For Jer
March 12, 2008 - 13:21 ET by pearlI posted this elsewhere, but I thought you would like some facts.
Google news search:
spitzer +resigns -democrat (1,242 results)
spitzer +resigns +democrat (1,043 results)
"...party affiliation
March 12, 2008 - 12:21 ET by mattm"...party affiliation deliberately concealed is laughable."
That is just typical unsubstantiated B.S. from you. Your comments are laughable.
If you can back up your commentary with facts - the way Brent Bozell does, then I'll retract that statement...until then...
Jer & all in the "denial camp"
March 12, 2008 - 12:21 ET by MrShyBelow are seven selected major online news sites:
CNN
MSNBC
CBS News
ABC News
NY Times
Washington Post
CNBC
Comparison: Spitzers resignation and Craig's resignation (or related articale at that time)
For some, I've pulled the first 3 or 4 paragraphs, and usually a few more for Spitzer just to further demonstrate.
SPITZER:
"Democrat" - 1
"DNC" - 0
CRAIG:
"Republican" - 16
"GOP" - 4
Some R's and GOP's are right in the headline, some in the subhead, some articles have up to 4 instances in the first few paragraphs, and one paragraph injects the word 3 TIMES!
What's more hilarious -- although, really, it makes me that much more ill -- is the one D mention is to annouce Spitzer's successor, which is uplifting news (legally blind black man, etc..)
Jer, it's clear as day, it's beyond corrupt, and it's just out-right sickening.
I won't even go into the many ways that Spitzer is painted in a more glowing light, of a man who made a mistake. Craig is basically thrown to the wolves, and top to bottom there are mentions of the crisis within the GOP, etc..
ELIOT SPITZER SCANDAL:
http://www.cnn.com/2...
'Deeply sorry,' Spitzer to step down by Monday
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday that he will step down from the state's top office, saying he cannot allow his "private failings to disrupt the public's work."
"I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me," he said in a brief news conference announcing his intention to resign, effective Monday. "I will try once again outside of politics to serve the common good."
He added, "Our greatest glory consists not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."
The announcement came as the New York governor faces allegations -- but no charges -- that he is tied to an international prostitution ring ensnared in a federal probe.
- - - - -
http://www.msnbc.msn...
Spitzer resigns after stunning fall from power
N.Y. governor was repeat prostitution customer, may have spent $80,000
ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned on Wednesday, completing a stunning fall from power after he was nationally disgraced by links to a high-priced prostitution ring.
"I cannot allow for my private failings to disrupt the people's work," he said with his wife at his side at his Manhattan office. “I’m deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me."
Democratic Lt. Gov. David Peterson will become governor when Spitzer’s resignation is made effective on Monday, March 17. Paterson will be New York's first black governor.
- - - - -
http://www.cbsnews.c...
It's Official: N.Y. Gov Calls It Quits
Eliot Spitzer Apologizes For Sex Scandal And Resigns After Being Linked To Prostitution Ring
CBS/AP) Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace Wednesday after getting caught in a call-girl scandal that shattered his corruption-fighting, straight-arrow image, saying: "I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work."
Spitzer will be replaced by Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who becomes New York's first black governor, effective Monday. Spitzer's minute-long statement made no mention of whether he had reached a deal with federal prosecutors to avoid charges.
"I go forward with the belief as others have said that as human beings our greatest glory consists not in never falling but in rising every time we fall," Spitzer said at a Manhattan news conference with his wife, Silda, at his side. He left without answering questions.
- - - - -
http://abcnews.go.co...
ABC News: Spitzer Resigns; White Knight Tarnished by Prostitution Scandal
Spitzer Resigns: 'I Cannot Allow My Private Failings to Disrupt the People's Work'
Eliot Spitzer resigned as governor of New York at a press conference in Manhattan today.
"Over the course of my public life, I have insisted, I believe correctly, that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct," Spitzer said with his wife Silda by his side again. "I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor."
"I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me...I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been," Spitzer said, apologizing for the second time this week. "There is much more to be done, and I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work."
"The remorse I feel will always be with me," he added. "I hope all of New York will join my prayers for my friend, David Paterson, as he embarks on his new mission."
- - - - -
http://www.nytimes.c...
SPITZER RESIGNS
Accepts Responsibility for ‘Failings’
Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson Set to Succeed Him
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, reeling from a prostitution scandal, announced his resignation today, and said that David A. Paterson would take office Monday.
- - - - -
http://www.washingto...
Eliot Spitzer Resigns as N.Y. Governor
Rising star bows to mounting pressure to step down after he was identified as a client of a high-priced prostitution service.
- - - - -
http://www.cnbc.com/...
Spitzer Quits as Governor Over Call-Girl Scandal
Eliot Spitzer resigned as governor of New York, effective Monday, two days after being implicated in a prostitution ring.
"I look at my time as governor, with a sense of what might have been," Spitzer said from his New York Office.
"There's much more to be done and I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work," Spitzer continued. "Over the course of my public life I have insisted, I believe correctly, that people regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself."
Spitzer will be succeeded by Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who will become New York's first black governor and the first in the nation's history who is legally blind. Spitzer said he consulted with Paterson on picking a resignation date that "will allow an orderly transition."
= = = = = =
LARRY CRAIG SCANDAL:
http://www.cnn.com/2...
Craig stripped of party leadership on Senate committees
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Larry Craig has agreed to temporarily step down as the leading Republican on several Senate committees as pressure mounts within his party for him to resign.
On Wednesday, three Republican lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain, called on Craig to resign.
Their statements came a day after Craig made his first public statement about pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge relating to allegations the Idaho Republican solicited sex in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
- - - - -
http://www.msnbc.msn...
Craig resigns over airport bathroom sex sting
Republican U.S. senator from Idaho to leave Senate on Sept. 30 after arrest
BOISE, Idaho - After a week filled with scandalous headlines and ribald late-night TV humor at the expense of one of their own, Republican leaders got what they wanted Saturday: the resignation of Idaho Sen. Larry Craig.
“Senator Craig made the right decision for himself, for his family, his constituents and the United States Senate,” said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.
One of Craig’s harshest critics, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Craig “made a difficult decision, but the right one.”
- - - - -
http://www.cbsnews.c...
Larry Craig Resigns From Senate
Idaho Republican Announces Departure Effective Sept. 30, After Calls From Within Party To Quit Over Arrest
(CBS/AP) In a subdued ending to a week of startling political theater, Sen. Larry Craig announced his resignation Saturday, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about damage from his arrest and guilty plea in a gay sex sting.
- - - - -
http://abcnews.go.co...
GOP Sen. Craig Resigns Over Sex Sting
Idaho GOP Sen. Larry Craig Resigns in Storm Over Sex Sting in Minneapolis Airport Men's Room
Sen. Larry Craig resigned Saturday over a men's room sex sting, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about a scandal dimming their election prospects.
- - - - -
http://www.nytimes.c...
Craig Said to Consider Not Resigning
Published: September 5, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 — Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho opened the door Tuesday to returning to the Senate, creating another twist in his unfolding political drama and raising the possibility of an ugly showdown with national Republican leaders.
Dan Whiting, a spokesman for Mr. Craig, an Idaho Republican, said Tuesday night that Mr. Craig had not ruled out reversing his plan to step down Sept. 30. After intense pressure from Republican colleagues in the Senate, Mr. Craig announced Saturday that it would be best for “the people of Idaho” if he resigned after the disclosure of his guilty plea last month to disorderly conduct charges stemming from his arrest in June in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bathroom.
“As he stated on Saturday, Senator Craig intends to resign on Sept. 30,” Mr. Whiting said in a statement. “However, he is fighting these charges, and should he be cleared before then, he may, and I emphasize may, not resign.”
- - - - -
http://www.washingto...
Craig Is Expected To Resign Today
GOP Senate Picture Is Clouded Further
Saturday, September 1, 2007; Page A01
Abandoned by his party, Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho is expected to announce today that he will resign his seat amid criticism over his arrest and guilty plea in a police sting operation in an airport men's room, according to two national Republican officials.
They said Craig began notifying party leaders of his decision last night, telling them he will step down Sept. 30.
Craig has scheduled a news conference for midday today in Boise. His spokesman, Dan Whiting, would not comment on resignation plans, saying: "He will make an announcement about his plans tomorrow morning."
- - - - -
http://www.cnbc.com/...
Wednesday, 5 Sep 2007
Sen. Larry Craig Creating Pain And Headlines
The Republican headache that is the Larry Craig scandal just turned into a migraine. By signaling that he might reconsider his decision to resign, the humiliated Republican has extended his party's pain--the headlines, the late night TV jokes, the discomfort within the Senate Republican Caucus.
Perhaps no one should be surprised. Two things have happened since Craig offered what GOP leaders had hoped would be a quick, clean conclusion to the scandal. One is heightened commentary criticized the actions of police in such "sting" operations targeting behavior that on its face is essentially benign. The other is a raft of stories about the decision by fellow Republicans to push Craig overboard to protect themselves.
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
C'mon man!
March 12, 2008 - 12:22 ET by mattmFacts don't prove nuthin'. </sarc>
These facts are why
March 12, 2008 - 12:31 ET by sarcasmoI still want a joint study with the MRC & Media Matters actually cooperating on measuring this kind of bias. If ground rules for party identification were laid out in advance, I don't see how the lefties could maintain the denial of party label coverage media bias. I think such a study by media critic groups might even lead to what "professional" journalists really need, which is an accepted style convention to avoid bias on this subject by putting party ID up-front, which would have the side effect of (horrors!) better informing readers.
It continually amazes me that we have to fight "professional" journalists for this seemingly obvious thing. As things stand, the left MUST see by now just how much intellectual ammo they give the right every time this happens, which is pretty much every scandal.
JMR
A corruption-story the TV media will-not cover.
MrS... Excellent!
March 12, 2008 - 12:26 ET by bigtimerMrS...
Excellent!
Thanks. Outside of
March 12, 2008 - 12:45 ET by MrShyThanks. Outside of pretending to be a rock star, I really have not much of a life :p
(attention Leon!)
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
would you like more?
March 12, 2008 - 13:06 ET by MrShySnippets of how articles began, roughly (either the headline, sub, or early in article/first paragraph...
SPITZER:
'Deeply sorry,' Spitzer to step down by Monday
Eliot Spitzer Apologizes For Sex Scandal
White Knight Tarnished by Prostitution Scandal
Accepts Responsibility for ‘Failings’
Rising star bows to mounting pressure to step down
"I look at my time as governor, with a sense of what might have been," Spitzer said
CRAIG:
Craig stripped of party leadership on Senate committees
After a week filled with scandalous headlines and ribald late-night TV humor
In a subdued ending to a week of startling political theater
Larry Craig Resigns in Storm Over Sex Sting
GOP Senate Picture Is Clouded Further
Abandoned by his party
The Republican headache
And lest we forget...
SPITZER:
Spent upwards of 80 thousand dollars (and not yet known who's money this was) over several years, paying for illegal prostitution sex, over state lines.
CRAIG:
Tapped a man's foot in the bathroom stall next to him, allegedly to solicit sex.
No bias here folks. Move on... (.org)
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
Wow MrShy! You did what I
March 12, 2008 - 13:39 ET by stratmanWow MrShy! You did what I thought of doing but was too lazy to do.
Excellent job.
In deference to your tagline, you blew the "socks" off of this one.
Jer - it may only be one example but it is a valid example of the bias in the MSM today. Buckle up. You're going to have a bumpy ride on this one with NB posters.
RRAM Tough!
stratman
March 12, 2008 - 14:19 ET by MrShyThanks! :)
As for Jer..... so far it's.....
cricket
cricket
cricket......
bird call in the distance...........
another faint cricket...
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
Fabulous Research
March 12, 2008 - 14:10 ET by ecnirPThis is fabulous research. I would love to see an analysis of the media coverage of Gov. Spitzer pre-scandal, and see if they were similarly negligent in mentioning his party affiliation on positive stories about him. I believe that anlysis would prove to be the true indictment of the media (especially if there are stories from the same journalists), on the assumption of what I believe you'll find.
Jer: AP did not initially
March 12, 2008 - 13:12 ET by stratmanJer:
AP did not initially identify Spitzer as a Democrat even though they did identify people as Republicans in the same article. Please see here for more info. This is not a first time occurrence as NB has pointed out repeatedly. Someone here is clearly correct and someone incorrect. The objective data Brent Bozell and others have gathered is difficult to ignore or treat as perception.
The LATimes picked up the story from AP and thus also failed to mention the political affiliation of Spitzer. I would imagine some of the other media outlets ran the AP story and therefore missed the affiliation as well. That does not explain why his political affiliation was missing subsequently from a variety of televised media shows.
What does appear to be true to me is a concerted effort by those in the MSM to deflect the association of criminally behaving Democrat politicians away from the Democratic Party by keeping the "D" out of the story-discussion as much as they appear to want to associate criminality of Republican politicians with the Republican Party by mentioning "R" early and often.
As fantastical as it may sound, how is it that the MSM will hide the political affiliation of one group consistently yet trumpet the other at nearly every opportunity? I am not a conspiricist. I think that people in a profession talk and exchange information on how they do things during casual events/dinners. Also, it is common for competitors to copy methods of another. If those in charge of shaping and disseminating information are of a similar cut of cloth, in this case Democrat supporters, then if may be true what Brent and his researchers are reporting and what I am deducing.
What I want is consistency in treatment by the MSM, otherwise this stinks of advocacy, partisanship and an attempt to sway political elections.
RRAM Tough!
strat...I've said before
March 12, 2008 - 18:35 ET by Jerstrat...I've said before that I wish there were geometrically perfect ideological balance in the media--even though it would put NewsBusters out of business.
The first reports I started seeing about the Spitzer affair were late Monday afternoon. The first relevant AP article that came to my attention was the one appearing on my msn homepage later that evening. It definitely mentioned that Spitzer was a Democrat. If you say this was an edit of an earlier article omitting the information, I'll certainly take your word for it.
But, again, nearly all of the print articles that I had reviewed at the time of my initial post on this thread noted Spitzer's party affiliation.
Jer
Jer: You have taken quite
March 12, 2008 - 19:56 ET by stratmanJer:
You have taken quite a shellacking since I last visited.
You and Brent Bozell may both be correct. The time frame and choice of media outlet are different for your respective observations. Brent spoke primarily about televised media ignoring the party affiliation and it also missing from early AP reports. You speak of subsequent print media articles as including the party affiliation. I have no data to refute either position. If others can demonstrate a continued and current failure of print media to not list Spitzer's party affiliation, then please share it so we all can speak from a factual basis. MRC and NB is doing a fantastic job in monitoring broadcast media's continued failure and print media's initial failure.
A current question I have for the MSM is whether they will stop lionizing Spitzer and stop slurring Republicans as deflection and as an asinine moral equivalency affirmative action program for fallen Democrats.
Yeah. Didn't think so either.
RRAM Tough!
Ummm....
March 12, 2008 - 13:44 ET by ontheright...what does this sentence mean, if it doesn't directly contradict what Brent says?
"The print media didn't identify him as a Democrat? Nonsense."
I'm pretting sure Brent addressed the AP in his article, which you should have noticed had you read it. Otherwise, he didn't mention "print" media.
Interesting spin you put on the story. Unfortunately you have conveniently overlooked the entire story and its basis in truth.
did anyone find it odd
March 12, 2008 - 17:18 ET by UndercoverConservativethat out of almost every article that was supposed to be about Spitzer, there were at least one mention of Craig (of course pointed out as a Republican) when pointing out sex scandals? I've seen three AP articles on the internet (front page stuff for yahoo and MSN mail users) that add a paragraph within the first three paragraphs of the article, naming at least two Republicans who were in a sex scandal, before even going on to the story about Spitzer at all!
Here's a research project: of the news media that deigned to mention Spitzer's party affiliation, how many of them also managed to wedge in at least one republican mention to dilute the issue?
And of the rest of the stories and prints that failed to mention the "D" at all, how many also made sure to point out, by name and party, Republican scandals in the past?
So far, between print (three newspapers) and online, I'm seeing all but one where the writers made sure to prominently link Republicans to sex scandals, bringing names and party affiliation. Which means, of ten "independent" sources, only *one* didn't try to sling mud in a totally irrelevant "observation".
Of the remaining nine, *four* of them brought this partisan turd-slinging in *BEFORE* going on to the story about the New York Governor's disgrace. The first line or paragraph would be some line about a "fallen crusader". The second paragraph would either be the blatant attempt to make sure Republicans were smeared, some sort of attempt to "understand" politicians' wives or a musing on sex scandals in government. If the second paragraph wasn't the distortion segment, it would be the third. If the second paragraph was the smear campaign, the third might actually start on the issue the article was supposed to be about.
I don't remember seeing any references in the MSM to prominent Democratic scandals within the first half of any recent Republican media feeding frenzy (though there would be blogs or commentary added by readers which doesn't actually count). Especially not 90% of front page news articles.
Which reminds me-why are "human interest", apologist pop psychology pieces about "why powerful men cheat" or "why wives stay behind cheating husbands" or other supermarket checkout magazine type stories featured as prominent front-page stories?
Any wonder why there's a "10%" loss in overall newspaper subscriptions? why the LAT has over 20% loss? Wonder no more.
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
This is quite remarkable
March 12, 2008 - 12:49 ET by Sir ThomasThis is quite remarkable hypocrisy from Fox; it is they, after all, who once labelled Mark Foley a Democrat.
Just in ...
March 12, 2008 - 12:50 ET by okiehawk44In the AP story about Spitzer's resignation contained the following paragraph: "Attending the news conference with Spitzer were his close advisers and lawyers, including Ted Wells, a prominent attorney who recently represented I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, was convicted of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI in the inquiry over the leaking of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame."
What the #$%% does this have to do with Spitzer's situation? Hey AP why didn't you give a client by client description of Ted Wells' DEMOCRAT CLIENTS?
It only matters if you're a Republican/conservative
March 12, 2008 - 12:53 ET by greenfairieYou gotta love how the MSM will never mention a disgraced Democrat's party affiliation but will not only bring up a disgraced Republican/conservative's affiliation, it will also attempt to smear the entire party/conservative movement with the scandal.
For you trivia buffs, Gary Condit's party affiliation was seldom mentioned but it was brought up all of the time that he was "conservative" (he was a Blue Dog Democrat). Not only has there been few mentions of Ex-Gov. Spitzer's party affiliation, not a single MSM source has tagged him as a "liberal." (Which he is.)
More on Craig
March 12, 2008 - 13:07 ET by ProudAmerican33Just from this morning, AP story:
Attorneys for US Senator Larry Craig are asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to correct a "manifest injustice" by allowing the Idaho Republican to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from an airport restroom sex sting.
I didn't even have to look this up, this was printed in the area print newspaper. I'm sure it's just a coincidence it's brought back up after the Spitzer scandal breaks..
Right! And you'll notice
March 12, 2008 - 13:21 ET by MrShyRight! And you'll notice they were dutiful in letting us know he's the Idaho Republican, just as Spitzer is the New York.... shoot, what IS his party affiliation??
I guess he's just the.... New York Governer. (eh, good enough...)
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
greenfairie
March 12, 2008 - 13:17 ET by MrShyTOTALLY. See the post right above yours.... and there have been numerous examples of this, where they find any connection that is completely irrelevent to the Spitzer scandal, simply to drag Republicans into this... more smearing.
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
Stop the fight-Jer is out
March 12, 2008 - 13:02 ET by ironchefofmunchiesSo Jer says that the news media is NOT delibrately hiding the Democratic affiliation of Spitzer, and we see a well documented list of coverage of Spitzer vs Craig showing that is not the case.
So where is Jer's evidence?
Jer is a liberal, so he DOESN'T NEED EVIDENCE. He's right and he knows it and your wrong and he knows it. He's above having to "prove" his contentions-so he's off to do more important things because he doesn't have time to "prove" what he says. He knows he's right.
Seriously Jer, this is EXACTLY how you came across in this exchange. And I personally read the AP articles when they first came out and saw NO reference to Spitzer's party affiliation.
So why don't you post the AP article (with date and time) showing that they DID reference Spitzer's party affliation? SHOW US your facts.
Or otherwise, just go away until you are capable of actually having a civil debate using facts-not your "beliefs".
ICOM
New Guideline: Spitzer now Disgraced Former Democrat Governor Sp
March 12, 2008 - 13:03 ET by pearlI saw where other blogs have started referring to Spitzer as "Disgraced Former Democrat Governor Spitzer".
Interesting to Google
March 12, 2008 - 13:13 ET by pearlIt's interesting to Google these terms in the Google news area:
spitzer +resigns -democrat (1,242 results)
spitzer +resigns +democrat (1,043 results)
Jer
March 12, 2008 - 13:48 ET by cheesegraterNot only is Jer leaving out any evidence of his claim, he's also leaving out the last letter of his screenname. The K.
Wow...that is very clever,
March 12, 2008 - 13:54 ET by JerWow...that is very clever, cheesegrater. Unfortunately, someone already came up with that one several months ago, so you don't win any prize for originality.
Jer
That's the kind of comedic
March 12, 2008 - 13:56 ET by balboaThat's the kind of comedic genius that makes NewsBusted what it is today. :-)
Would that be....
March 12, 2008 - 14:01 ET by ontheright....similar to the genius Jer relied on to call Brent a liar without eve a shred of substantiated evidence to back up his claim....that kind of genius?
Not familiar with that
March 12, 2008 - 14:07 ET by balboaNot familiar with that dispute, so I'll refrain from judgement.
Jer...K
March 12, 2008 - 14:11 ET by cheesegraterI didn't say it was original. It's just my opinion.
Just relax folks. Here is
March 12, 2008 - 15:45 ET by JerJust relax folks. Here is a personal time line with additional commentary which will help clarify my contentions regarding the extent to which Spitzer's party affiliation has been noted by various media outlets.
I turned on the TV to CNN around 5 p.m. Monday evening and the Spitzer allegations were being reported at that time. There was also a screen graphic reflecting his name, that he was Governor of New York with the letter "D" in parentheses. I watched for a few more minutes, but did not hear any verbal reference to his political party. However, as I posted elsewhere, this afternoon, Wolf Blitzer was discussing with a political pundit the comparative "liberalness" of Spitzer and his successor.
Also, if you log on to CNN.com "Politics", you will find a gallery of politicians who have been ensnared in sexual scandals over the past decade. In each and every case, the person's political affiliation is explicitly noted. Accordingly, there are five Democrats, to wit: Eliot Spitzer, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Los Angeles Mayor Miarthala Salinas, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, and Bill Clinton. There are four Republicans, to wit: Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley and Bob Livingston.
On Monday, I watched the local ABC or NBC affiliate which had a graphic similar to the one I described above including the (D). I did not watch the network evening news, but it was reported by one of the NB bloggers [it may have been Tim Graham, not sure] that CBS had mentioned Spitzer's party ID, but NBC and ABC did not.
I later noticed on my msn homepage that the New York Times was reporting on Spitzer, and subsequently learned that the Times had broken the story. Over the course of that night and the following day, I read a number--maybe 6 or 7--of NYT Spitzer-related articles. All but one or two identified him as a Democrat. At some point during that period, an AP headline about Spitzer appeared on my homepage. I opened and read that article which also noted he was a Democrat. I later went to the websites of the Washington Post and the L A Times, both of which had posted articles on Spitzer, and both of which identified his party. I also picked up a copy of Tuesday's USA Today which doesn't explicitly say "Democrat" but it really leaves no doubt that Spitzer is indeed a Democrat--e.g. "Spitzer is a 'super delegate' supporting Clinton...for the Democratic presidential nomination." [Plus a number of additional references]
On MSNBC Monday night, Chris Matthews talked about Spitzer being a super delegate at the Democratic convention, and the fact that he and Hillary Clinton were members of the same party.
I will link some articles at the end of the post, but here is an interesting quote from Howard Kurtz in his Washington Post column today:
What's striking, in the avalanche of news coverage about Spitzer's secret life as Client 9, is how no one is cutting him the slightest bit of slack, including liberal outlets that might ordinarily be sympathetic to a Democrat. Not the NYT editorial page: His short, arrogant statement simply was not enough, not from the Sheriff of Wall Street, not from the self-appointed Mr. Clean who went to Albany promising a new and better day." [emphasis mine]
Here are some linked articles:
AP: http://news.aol.com/story/nc/_a/spitzer-faces-possible-impeachment/200803101413099900
WaPo: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/11/AR2008031100380.ht
WaPo: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031001482_p
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10nyregion/10cnd-spitzer,html?ref=nyregion&pagewan
LATimes: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scandal12mar12,0,7475985.story
I am going ahead and posting this, but those first links may have been cut off. If so, I will correct in another post.
In closing, I have never accused, am not now accusing, and will never accuse anyone here of lying. I do strenuously disagree with the contention that Spitzer's party affiliation has been persistently overlooked in print media outlets as is suggested in the opening of the blog.
Jer
Update: As I feared, the last part of those first four links was cut off. I'll repost ASAP.
Jer
March 12, 2008 - 16:35 ET by MrShyYou're a good man, Charlie Brown :p Meaning, I think some here are getting a bit too snippy with you. I don't think you're a "Jer-K", btw. Also, no problem yesterday... I was just tired and had not looked at that USA Today article.
As for this, I have to say with all due respect, that you're not addressing the very difinitive comparison I posted. Instead, you're coming back with a kitchen-sink/hodge-podge of various things, including dead links, "I did not watch the network evening news, but it was reported by...", and other assorted oddities :p
You're also getting off-topic, bringing up a "gallery" of past scandals on a web site.
Again, what is your take on my very targeted comparison of the 7-8 major news-web outlets covering Spitzer the day he resigned, and Craig the day he resigned?
16 tags for Craig, 1* tag for Spitzer.
(* that one tag was to label Spitzer's replacement, NOT SPITZER!!)
* * * SOCKS THE CAT '08 * * *
For REAL Change
Mr. Shy: First of
March 12, 2008 - 17:18 ET by JerMr. Shy: First of all...thanks very much for the kind words. I do find it somewhat odd that one can strongly disagree with a statement and for doing so be accused of calling Brent a liar and being a jerk.
It's also interesting that the statement I was referring to was not one made by Brent...it was the one in the opening paragraph [a compilation by the NB staff] which asserted Spitzer's party affiliation was "persistently overlooked by the...print media." I disagree with the statement. I think it's incorrect. I think it had not been documented--at least at the time I initially posted. And, in that regard, I did read your post, but I haven't even had the opportunity to check it out. I've been dealing with a very balky browser, trying to get complete links to articles I had printed out, but, unfortunately, with the last portions of the URL addresses clipped off.
Beginning on, and subsequent to, the night of March 10, virtually every online print article I read about Spitzer noted his party affiliation. McShy, you're aware of the usual liberal newspaper suspects: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the LA Times. At the time of my initial post on this thread, I had read a couple of articles in the Post, about 5 or 6 in the NYT, and a couple in the LAT. I also read the initial AP article that posted on my homepage, and I read the article in yesterday's USA Today. Aside from one or two NYT articles, every one identified Spitzer as a Democrat. [And the NYT has led the reporting and been extremely critical of Spitzer. Go to their website. They certainly aren't trying to conceal the fact he's a Democrat.]
Are all of your links post-resignation? I haven't undertaken any survey of that period. This thread was begun prior to resignation. Anyway, let me see if my computer will allow me to access the websites where I still need to get links.
Thanks again, Jer