MRC/NB's Bozell: Media Covered Enron More This Year than Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Corruption

By NB Staff (Bio | Archive)
September 25, 2008 - 09:56 ET
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Networks have given more coverage this year to the 6-year-old collapse of Enron than the role of federal government-sponsored mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the present financial crisis, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell noted in a September 25 interview with the hosts of Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends." The NewsBusters publisher argued that the media's lack of interest was due to its ideological commitment to the liberal social aims of Fannie and Freddie: extending loans to people who otherwise were priced out of owning their homes.

Bozell appeared via satellite from Nashville, Tennessee. A portion of the transcript follows [audio of segment here]:

STEVE DOOCY, co-host: Look at the coverage that the Fannie Mae catastrophe is getting as opposed to say the Enron collapse a number of years ago. Much different.

BOZELL: That's an understatement.... If you look at the height of the crisis during that time period, you know that the word Fannie Mae never appears in an ABC transcript? ABC never reported it. And ask yourself what's bigger, Enron or this? CNN, how about this, CNN gave at the height of this gave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac three percent the coverage that they gave Enron. Get this statistic: This year, this year, there's been more coverage by the networks on Enron -- which isn't in the news -- than on both of these calamities combined.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, co-host: And here's what's interesting: It's not as though the mainstream media didn't know about this crisis. As you just heard in Jim Angle's package, in 2005, Alan Greenspan sounded the alarm, as did John McCain. And in 2004, the Wall Street Journal did an expose on how Fannie and Freddie were cooking the books. So why didn't the networks do more?

BOZELL: This is one of the Holy Grail issues for them. They like these programs. They like the idea of these home loans for disadvantaged people. This was to them a very good thing and they just chose to look the other way as this house of cards collapsed.


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Bill Clinton supports McCain's plan to delay debate

September 25, 2008 - 10:08 ET by Pasco Conservative

Must see Video Here

 

 

Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any
man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.

 

 

»→ Thanks, Pasco

September 25, 2008 - 10:15 ET by Cool Arrow

That Bill is really helping out Barack, isn't he?

I'm laughing. 

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" - Joe Biden 6/12/87

But No Connection to the Democrats?

September 25, 2008 - 10:12 ET by Chasvs

And yet they just can't seem to find any connection to BOTH of these failures to the party that caused them!

Enron conducted it's illegal activity under the CLINTON administration and the FM/FM Collapse was directly caused by the lack of action and obstruction of the Democrats!

Go figure! 

Chasvs. Indeed, Enron, but one of the Clintoesque era towers of

September 25, 2008 - 11:18 ET by Gary Hall

Chasvs. Indeed, Enron, but one of the Clintonesque era towers of excess and greed (Global Crossing, WorldCom, Anderson Consulting, etc) was under the Clinton administration. The CA energy crisis was under the Clinton administration. It was the Clinton administration that took Enron executives jet setting  around the globe on trade missions, making questionable deals at most every turn, and provided $billions in guaranteed US government loans to Enron. It was the Bush administration, which rejected the approaches by Enron for extensions of the loans and questionable interference in maintaining a higher credit rating. That last effort being the work of none other than former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who ended up on the Board of CitiGroup, the prime holder of much of Enron's commercial paper.

Obviously there is no interest within the MSM for any of this, otherwise, Bill Clinton would have often been asked the question, "Mr. President. Come on now, buddy. Don't you feel just a wee bit culpable in all of this mess you left behind?"

An added note (in regards to today's issues), from Wikipedia:

In 1999, affirming his career-long interest in markets, Mr. Rubin joined Citigroup. Of note, the supermerger between Travelers Group and Citicorp was facilitated by the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act). This legislation was passed under the Clinton administration, days before Rubin's resignation. Consolidation of investment, commercial banking, and insurance services as practiced by Citigroup under the direction of Rubin, has been implicated in the subprime mortage crisis. Despite criticism for his role in this debacle, Rubin serves as a Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee, and remains there to this day.

Isn't that nice? The MSM trusts DailyKos, but not Wikipedia?

Heads in Congress need to roll

September 25, 2008 - 10:28 ET by Bluegill

Congress pushed for these loans,  Chris Dodd and Barney Frank need to be booted out. If heads roll, maybe I could swallow this bail out if not, no way.

Bluegill - unfortunately the media is derelict in it's duties

September 25, 2008 - 10:37 ET by Dee Bunk

and the vast majority of American people will never get the truth about how this happened.

Rosie

September 25, 2008 - 10:51 ET by iveseenitall

The media  gave more  coverage to Rosie and The View than it did to the Democrats who were supporting bad loans for "minorities". So much for what passes as "journalism". Today, our "intrepid reporters" are more like variety show hosts. Sad. 

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

I caught this segment early

September 25, 2008 - 12:17 ET by bigtimer

I caught this segment early this morning here...as usual...great job Mr. Bozell..plus another Nbps plug!

I was furious nothing ever was in the news about the farce of Freddie adn Fannie when the same came out, naming Franklin Raines ect...and no coverage...this was by far bigger than any of the Enron's etc...but of course the most was going to cover for their arm of the party...plus good lord knows just how many in the msm were getting paid off by the same institution too.

I was shocked to read this morning that Krugman was getting money from F&F too...along with one other that we know of that is in the same field.

 

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

OPEN THE JAIL DOORS

September 25, 2008 - 21:29 ET by PacificGatePost

WHO SHOULD OVERSEE THE FIX and WHO SHOULD BE HEADING TO JAIL?

 

Too manyhave fed at the trough.  WhatFannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives did was illegal. Taking their cash favors wasmorally bankrupt.

 

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/09/fanny-mae-freddie-mac-congressional.html

 

Still notime to panic, but some executives and some in Congress should see jail time.

 

….AND,  How about starting with all Senators who took cash from Fannie and Freddie?