Media Research Center President Brent Bozell took to MRC's state-of-the-art studio earlier to record a video statement accompanying his open letter to ABC News President David Westin. The complaint: "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos's reported ongoing communication strategy phone calls with Obama chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel. [audio available here]
Calling the development, if true, "a clear violation of journalistic ethics," the NewsBusters publisher challenged ABC News President David Westin to come clean on behalf of his employee and his network:
With each passing day, ABC's failure to speak to and about this issue tarnishes further the network's reputation as a legitimate news entity. I've sent a personal letter to Mr. Westin, calling on him now as President of ABC News, to publicly address and resolve this issue. If the charges are false, provide the evidence. We will gladly accept it and consider the matter closed. If the charges are correct, then ABC News must address this publicly and comprehensively.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓ABC News may decide that silence is the best policy. I assure them that will be a mistake. We will not stop this discussion. If they think they are bleeding audience numbers now, what do they suppose will be their audience's reaction when it is established that their chief Washington correspondent continues to be a key strategist for the Democratic Party?
Mr. Westin, we await your response.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Appalling
February 4, 2009 - 14:01 ET by guttermouthI can't believe they're still on the air.
Here is the remote ...
February 4, 2009 - 14:06 ET by legacyrepublicanChange the channel. Turn on Fox. No, wait, that is what we have been doing.
Maybe they are on the air because Stephacocoulus Germanicus is looking to get a job with Ceaser.
I didn't know
February 4, 2009 - 14:10 ET by guttermouthABC news is still on the air? I don't think I get that channel. Disney brats.
Mine are too
February 4, 2009 - 17:27 ET by legacyrepublicanMine are Disney brats too. Too bad their mother used to work for Disney. It is nothing but endoctrination in this house. Worse than the MSM. I have given in as my only recourse. 6 trips now and still counting.
And meanwhile, you're not
February 4, 2009 - 17:28 ET by bretzysdudeAnd meanwhile, you're not Disney.
I plead ...
February 5, 2009 - 00:06 ET by legacyrepublicanthe fifth on the grounds that I might look guilty no matter how I respond.
Well, at least I responded which more than I can say for ABC.
I can't believe you're still posting here...
February 5, 2009 - 00:13 ET by MightyMouthwith a user name like that.
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Appalling? gutterbrain..............
February 5, 2009 - 06:00 ET by old croNice try to change the subject and redirect the thread. As you see, it didn't work. The subject is the total lack of "ethics" shown by ABC and stepoffthebus. Try looking up the word, you may learn something.
Thank you, Mr. Bozell.
February 4, 2009 - 14:10 ET by HelenSThank you, Mr. Bozell. Whether ABC can play the required synaptic connect-the-dots to figure this out with all the help given is still doubtful but at least they have been notified that their duplicity has not gone un-noticed.
Me - "The libs/dems of today are the Quislings of former years. The cowards who would vote a fraud into office in exchange for handouts from the devil."
Mr. Westin, we await your
February 4, 2009 - 14:12 ET by motherbeltMr. Westin, we await your response.
Of course, NOT holding our breath while we wait....
As Mr. Bozell said, if the story is false, OK, end of discussion; and I hope Politco will publish a retraction. If true, it is a disgrace.
Excellent
February 4, 2009 - 14:30 ET by SickofLibsPlease keep this on the front burner on HIGH!
The issue
February 4, 2009 - 14:31 ET by KC MulvilleI've heard ABC's first attempt at a response the other day. They argue that Stephanopolous, as a journalist, is simply using his inside connections to learn what's going on. They argued that these strategy sessions aren't all he listens to - he regularly calls conservatives, Republicans, etc., to report the full range of news.
Stop laughing. That's the defense.
The argument isn't against Steffy because he's on a conference call. The problem is that he is helping to craft strategy, and then gives biased reports based on the strategy. Their denial on the grounds that he's a journalist and has foresworn strategy is just too hilarious to take seriously. So they would have you believe that Emanuel, Begala, Carville, and others are discussing strategy, but Steffy (with all the purity of Lancelot) scrupulously listens but doesn't participate? The denial is insulting.
"Quick, George! Put Mitch
February 4, 2009 - 14:44 ET by Chris Norman"Quick, George! Put Mitch McConnell on your speed dial!"
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
LOL!
February 4, 2009 - 15:47 ET by KC MulvilleNo, Chris, that would be worse, to think that Stephanopoulos was also participating in GOP strategy meetings!
Come to think of it, that explains a lot ...
OK, are you wondering like I am, whether there are any GOP "journalists" participating in strategy meetings? Remember the White House talking points memo? That wasn't as bad as this, but now I'm waiting for some other shoe to drop.
My Senator
February 4, 2009 - 16:45 ET by UtherpendMitch isn't that stupid, he would either not take the call or record the entire conversation to use later on when Georgie tried to use him as an alibi.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you."
Brent - don't be such a scold
February 4, 2009 - 14:37 ET by CaringwhiteguyIf these charges are indeed true I'm sure Stephanopoulos' conflicts are just an honest mistake (see Daschle, Tom & Geithner, Tim).
That should clear everything up.
good luck with that
February 4, 2009 - 14:43 ET by silent conservativeMr. Westin, we await your response
Good luck with that Brent, you will be waiting a long time.
I've been waiting for the most transparent administration since Jan 20
still waiting
silent conservative
Go Boz!!!
February 4, 2009 - 14:44 ET by SQL_SamWhile I'm grateful to Mr. Bozell....
February 4, 2009 - 14:49 ET by Lord Erond....it's basically a rhetorical statement when he says that "ABC's failure to speak to and about this issue tarnishes further the network's reputation as a legitimate news entity." C'mon Mr. Bozell you can't tarnish a turd. ABC passed beyond being tarnished ages ago when they and the rest of their ilk jumped into the Obama Love Boat. But I appreciate you going to bat for some common sense.
"What you can not enforce, do not command" -Sophocles-
Bozell to ABC's Westin: Address Conflict of Interest
February 4, 2009 - 17:44 ET by AMR1960It's tragic that our country...our society is currently suffering a socio-political malaise due to the deprivations of a: carven, debauched, and vile pack of wormtongues called The Main-stream Media.
Years ago I read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, never in my wildest dreams, would I have believed that the vision of that masterful novel would in my lifetime, play itself out in the news of the day.
These Collectivist, Uber Alis Progressives, in the media, are the driving force, via misrepresentation, personal/political bias, and agenda driven storylines, of America's frog-march towards a Socialized...Collectivized America
Long Live...THE REPUBLIC !
Didn't Westin...
February 4, 2009 - 15:08 ET by Wilbur747(or the previous ABC News prez) actually admit about a year or so ago that their news slants left?
If so, then Mr Bozell is right, ABC will lose any scrap of trust left when it comes to unbiased news (as if they haven't already).
I think ABC will either;
A. Not officially answer Mr. Bozell, hiding Stepho till it blows over,
B. Come up with another lame excuse or,
C. Come up with a new moniker for Stepho. They'll call him something like a 'Democratic Consultant' instead of a 'news correspondant'.
BTW...The Obamessiah's mouthpiece just said we're going to lose 5-6 million jobs if the 'stimulus' bill isn't passed NOW!
OMG! The sky's falling! Everybody run!
May hat's off to you Brent
February 4, 2009 - 16:03 ET by midnight cowboyMay hat's off to you Brent and keep the pressure on.
However in the eyes of the alphabet networks you are right of center, therefore you are the sworn enemy. Like any combatant, they will not give up one square inch to their foe. They would go bankrupt, walk on hoat coals, allow themselves to be waterboarded, and they would even go further than any conservative would ever do. They would look at a naked picture of Helen Thomas, before they will offer up one of their own.
How can ABC remain silent
February 4, 2009 - 16:25 ET by TN MomHow can ABC remain silent and call themselves a 'News' Network? Wasn't it just a month ago Barbara Walters was saying that ABC was the most credible news network??
Thank you Mr.
February 4, 2009 - 16:31 ET by bigtimerThank you Mr. Bozell...you're speaking for millions of us.
I'm not holding my breath though waiting for the response, let alone anything being done about all of this anytime soon...or possibly in the future either...yet these are the very critters who would love the Fairness Doctrine to be implemented in any way they possibly can, via any method or name they use to do so....as long as they aren't included...only conservatives need to be silenced.
abc
February 4, 2009 - 16:33 ET by NecromancerPeople still watch that channel?? As for me I only watch the tv shows and not the news and the talking heads.And only the shows on Fox cable or CBS. ABC used to be good for sports years ago but now CBS and NBC and Fox Sports and even ESPN have all the good stuff.
There is more information on the internet such as sites like this than on TV.
I heart Brent Bozell. You
February 4, 2009 - 19:10 ET by FairlightI heart Brent Bozell. You are one person that I know will keep his word when it comes to protecting the integrity of journalism.
There is an interesting
February 4, 2009 - 20:51 ET by semolina_filcherThere is an interesting revelation where key former Clintonistas Rahmbo Emmanuel, Forehead Begala, Serpenthead Carville, and Stephanie Poulos have been conducting teleconferences between themselves and the rest of the liberal MSM, which is now clear why the Dem talking points sound so synchronized. Apparently tis has been going on for the last 17 years! Many of you may have read this at American Thinker but here is the link anyway:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/obama_may_become_a_disaster.html
A must read...
Strange things are happening.
February 4, 2009 - 21:21 ET by pbthinkerIt almost seems that God is saying to the Democrats, "Be careful what you pray for." They got their majority, they got their president, Chuck Schumer has a **it eating grin on his face. Part of all of that was the press that allowed it to happen. Georgie was a part of that, with his puff-ball interview with Obama. Now we find out that Georgie has not only latched his star to Obama but he's hooked up with his CNN group and Rahm to provide some advice on how to Beat the Press, or something along those lines.
Just like the environmental movement hooked their star to Al Gore, now the American media has latched their star to Obama. Strangely, it appears both are meeting the same fate.
Election 2008-God's way of showing us that elections count.
ABC NEWS LITE
February 5, 2009 - 10:25 ET by MikeLIWe can't really say, we are SURPRISED, that a network news organization panders to the current POTUS, but we can express, again, at least we know "where they are coming from" !
NEVER can we expect the Press to be open about themselves, when they cloak themselves, fervently, in the First Amendment Principles, they "sell" cheaply, in the marketplace, for a small price of advertising revenue, these days. Pandering to public opinion has always been a smarmy practice, but selling it to the first pretty face, is disingenous of their original purpose, for use of THE PUBLIC'S AIRWAVES.
I'm wondering how they will act as President Obama's popularity plumets. If past is prologue, and the President's "thin skin" becomes more sensitive, they will act as if the President was that miscreant relative, most of us have, that owes us money, with NO intention of paying it back.
It's always, a little amusing, in a perverse way, to see the Media's shifting allegences.
As for Mr. Westin, once I saw Mr. Stephanapolis, in the booth of a popular New York City, neighborhood, kosher deli, eating his lunch...it consisted of a full plate of plain, Turkey Breast !
Like they say, "You ARE, what you eat !"