On Monday’s "Good Morning America," ABC devoted 38 minutes of air time to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards in a town hall special. This is in addition to the over 26 minutes they provided fellow ‘08 contender Hillary Clinton back in March. That’s a grand total of 64 minutes of publicity for Democratic candidates and zero for Republicans.
Now, to be fair to "Good Morning America," GMA host Diane Sawyer did ask tougher, harsher questions than her colleague Robin Roberts did when she interviewed Senator Clinton on March 26. However during the July 16 program, Sawyer found no time to ask Edwards about the hateful anti-Christian bloggers that the campaign hired, and then was forced to fire, earlier this year. Instead, the ABC anchor did manage these tough queries:
Diane Sawyer: "What’s the worst meal you’ve had on the road?"
....
Sawyer: "Do you listen to an iPod? Does it relax you on the road?"
(What is it with Sawyer and iPods? She asked Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad a similar question.)
GMA must address this fundamental problem: Their 2008 town hall segment kicked off nearly four months ago and they have yet to feature a single Republican. Is Mitt Romney not interested? Would Senator John McCain, whose White House bid is low on cash, turn down free air time? If ABC is truly interested in a balanced look at campaign ‘08, the network needs to answer this objection.
[Special thanks to MRC intern Michael Lanza for transcribing parts of the Edwards special.]
—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.
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The truth
July 17, 2007 - 06:46 ET by mcderek3000Here are some other questions from the interview - sourced from the official trancript at ABC news: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=3382566&page=1
"But you have talked about withdrawing 40-50,000 troops immediately and then within a year virtually pulling all out...what does that say to the Iraqi people? Where does that leave them? What if ethnic cleansing begins? Do you send troops back in, what do you do?
What would you do if the nuclear weapons of Pakistan seemed vulnerable to the resurging al Qaeda? What would you do? Would you send in American enforcements to protect the nuclear weapons in Pakistan?
Patrick Quinland, audience member: If I could do one thing it would be to fix public education. The best cure for poverty is the ability to get a job and chance... Do you have the interest to lead fundamental change in our public education system? Do you have the courage and the ability to confront the educational establishment including some of your key constituents, like teachers union to put the interest of students and employers first?
Audience member: How do you justify spending $400 on a haircut? "
I don't see how this is pandering to a politician.
As for the selection bias, this is just 2 people. It's common knowledge in mathematics that you cannot prove a coin biased by tossing it just 2 times - you would need many more.
Look. I've been reading through some of the comments that you posted and it's all just getting ridiculous. Your blog is consistently biased, your information is often manipulated and you display very selective memory and perspective.
I understand that Newsbusters has the right to send deliberately manipulated news to people and that you have the right to provide a zone free of any criticism of yourself or opposing opinion. However, right engenders resposibility and you have completely failed your responsibility to always tell peple the truth.
PS: Why don't you provide the source for this information so people can read it for themselves?
Typical pompous liberal jackass discovers non-echoing forum
July 17, 2007 - 07:21 ET by reasonsjesterOMG, call the Thought Police, some people actually had the audacity to set up a forum to criticize the MSM and they used that "distorting" device of pseudohominids - parody! We get it already - you don't like the opinions you read, that doesn't mean there is any "deliberate manipulation" going on. There are just a few people out there who see Karl Marx as the missing Marx brother, and when they see gross attempts by a Gramscian cohort of academics and "journalists" to capture the (successful) institutions of the American Republic and turn everything into a paternalistic heel-licking mass of victim-obsessed sycophants, well, time to call a spade a spade. I know you guys didn't get the memo, Marx and Lenin are as dead as doornails. Amazingly enough, some of us out here can connect the dots between modern liberalism and socialism and when both so thoroughly undergird the editorial process in the MSM, as well as the selection of collegiate curricula, a random sampling is sufficient to represent the bias. Does that mean the forum looks to be fair and balanced? NO. This forum looks to BE the balance. You can go anywhere else on the web to look for liberal clap-trap. Now go report back to the Ministry of Truth like a good lapdog.
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. - Churchill
ABC's answer
July 16, 2007 - 13:27 ET by LionKing"If ABC is truly interested in a balanced look at campaign ‘08, the network needs to answer this objection."
Answer: NO !!!
abc
July 16, 2007 - 13:28 ET by the mad poleAnyone But a Conservative
Maybe someone should ask the
July 16, 2007 - 13:31 ET by mikejMaybe someone should ask the esteemed Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, if the American people deserve to hear both sides of the argument?
Also, Mr Durbin, will you ensure that the GOP candidates will be asked about what's on their I-Pods or what's their favorite meal they've had on the campaign stops and other softball questions that are so prevelant when Democrats are interviewed?
I think it was Katie Couric that asked Hillary Clinton a few years ago, "how hard is it being a saint?"
Once again, people are gettin
July 16, 2007 - 13:39 ET by NoMoreClintonsOnce again, people are getting this woman confused with a real journalist. She is a celebrity groupie plain and simple. Whoops, Diane, you forgot to ask him what his favorite color is!
Sawyer to Edwards: Does your grandma crochet? Socks or scarves?
July 16, 2007 - 13:53 ET by reasonsjesterDeconstructed interview of Diane Sawyer with John Edwards:
DS: John, I have heard persistent rumors that taupe may be this year's chartreuse. What have you heard?
JE: Well Diane, taupe is making a strong comeback. I thought about painting my $5 billion dollar mansion taupe, but a big chartreuse fan advised against it. Did I mention that I'm a big advocate of the poor?
DS: Fascinating. Just fascinating. Now John, oh wait (to producer), is this the part where we make him look Presidential? Uh, huh. OK. Now, Senator Edwards, there have been recent attacks against you based solely on your relatively expensive haircuts. Why do you think these silly people care about the length of your bangs?
JE: Well, Diane, there are always some people who are going to be envious of good looking people with nice haircuts. I'm sure you get it too (pause for chuckle). Did I mention my wife has cancer?
And so on. The point is these people get treated with kid gloves, tossed soft balls one right after another while Republicans get meleed with vile, hypocritical and simply STUPID questions on a daily basis. But of course, there is no such things as liberal bias. At least not according to those so far gone on the left.
So where's the fairness doctr
July 16, 2007 - 14:01 ET by dscottSo where's the fairness doctrine now? Any balance? No equal time? When do the MSM propose to give 64+ minutes to the Repubs for all this free publicity? Sounds like a violation of the campaign finance laws to me. How much was that air time worth? When you extend more time to one party than the other, you have essentially made a campaign contribution "in kind." So where's the room to complain about talk radio when the MSM does this??? Sounds like a little hypocrisy to me.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius
The liberal interpretation of
July 16, 2007 - 14:39 ET by Gat New YorkThe liberal interpretation of the Fairness Doctrine is more in line with a state run news and information bureau that erases all conservative doctrine.
I get a charge out of how the media gush over this rock star line-up of Dem candidates and how the GOP has no one. If you look at their looney left Daily Kos you find no one supports their front runner Clinton and Obama trails Edwards by quite a bit. So how much confidence does their so-called base have in the front runners? Hillary going into the general election will have a solid 45% - 52% who will never vote for her. And even with the GOP confronted with the Iraq situation, one-on-one match ups still favor the GOP candidate.
So what is this positive outook based on? George McGovern himself said last week that the Dem's anti-war stance will lose them the White House race.
LMAO, George McGovern knows w
July 16, 2007 - 15:04 ET by dscottLMAO, George McGovern knows what he's talking about. Hahahahahaha
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius
This is the "TASS News Agency
July 16, 2007 - 19:20 ET by mytwocentsThis is the "TASS News Agency". They don't have to be fair.
There's been a TASS news sighting...
July 17, 2007 - 14:43 ET by reasonsjesterHoly gob-knobblers Batman, there's been a TASS sighting! I used to work in the ITAR-TASS building in Moscow for an independent affiliate - Prime-TASS. We reported non-controversial econ news like oil & gas figures, telecom stocks, etc. ITAR-TASS is somewhat akin to a domvent with the Kremlin playing CookieBear to the yesman subs. Thank you Puto may we have another? BTW- reports have it that the safeword is SMERSH.
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. - Churchill
I am sure the ipod question w
July 16, 2007 - 14:09 ET by Free ThinkerI am sure the ipod question was only a leading question to get the Breck Girl to admit that some of America's poor do not own ipods and he will do whatever he can to make sure that no American goes without such a necessity. Who cares about Edwards enough anyway, he is not even a leading candidate. he has as much chance of being elected as I do.
But Hillary and John had plan
July 16, 2007 - 14:28 ET by dscottBut Hillary and John had plans.... and they didn't include Obama.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius
Cowardly journalistic integri
July 16, 2007 - 14:14 ET by FastEdCowardly journalistic integrity:
Q - to demolib - " . . meal on the road?"
Q - to republican - " . . how soon will you get meals to the poor?"
Q - to demolib - ". . listen to an iPod?"
Q to republican - " . . why won't you buy iPods for the poor?"
Q - to demolib - " . .relax you on the road?"
Q to republican - " . . when will you hit the road?"
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
But of course, this can in no
July 16, 2007 - 14:29 ET by mattmBut of course, this can in no way be considered evidence of Liberal MSM bias....oh noooooo!
Here are two better questions
July 16, 2007 - 15:54 ET by Ruths husband BenHere are two better questions for Edwards:
Do you listen to an iPod or do you suck as bad as we think you do?
What is the worse meal you've ever had on the road or do you suck as bad as we think you do?
Sawyer is so annoying, my 12
July 16, 2007 - 16:11 ET by msh1973Sawyer is so annoying, my 12 year could come up with better questions. We all know that NO ONE in the msm would dare ask Edwards about Marcotte and her filthy commentary.